| TimeForWasp |
02-09-2011 12:48 AM |
I don't think it was Neil smiths decision to leave. Chief had to chose btw Derrick thomas and him because of the cost. Now going to Denver wasn't good. I still have good memories of Neil.
Smith says goodbye to K.C. fans
Adam Schefter, Denver Post - April 1997.
Before he signs his contract with the Denver Broncos, Neil Smith first had other business to tend to Friday: He wanted to bid farewell to Kansas City - until he sees it again on the regular season's opening day, Aug. 31, when the Broncos play the Chiefs.
At a hotel across the street from Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, Smith said goodbye to the city he worked in for nine years while questioning the skeptics who wonder whether he has any more Pro Bowl seasons left in him. "I'm on a mission," Smith declared. "A man on a mission is a dangerous man."
So when Smith follows through on the agreement he reached with the Broncos on Thursday and signs his one-year, incentive-laden contract next week, Denver will be getting a dangerous man. A dangerous man who is anxious to prove to Kansas City coach Marty Schottenheimer. and the rest of the Chiefs organization that they made a, mistake in letting him go.
"This is not an end for me," vowed Smith, who had only six sacks last season, his worst statistical performance since his rookie season in 1988. "I have to say I didn't have one of my best seasons, but I don't feel I'm finished. Decisions shouldn't be based on one year. That's not the right way to do it."
Playing defensive end for the Broncos, Smith will have more motivating factors than just proving his team wrong. After the 1997 season, Smith again will become a free agent. The better he plays this season, the more he could get paid the next season.
"Am I playing for a contract this year?" Smith said. "I am." It was a contract that Smith was not going to land in Kansas City. After visiting Denver last Friday, Smith spent Wednesday meeting with Schottenheimer. The coach explained to the five-lime Pro Bowl defensive end that Kansas City could not afraid to re-sign him.
....{missing}... of it was that I was on the (decline). If it's a (decline) for me, time will tell.
"But this is a part of life and it's something I have to overcome. I've been in worse, but I'm happy that I'm living and I can walk proudly. I can't let words hurt me."
Those close to Smith, those who know him best, insist there still are more Pro Bowls left in his 31-year old body.
"Time is certainly going to tell whether or not he's on the decline," Smith's agent, Eugene Parker, said Friday. "Wasn't it six years ago when people were saying that Bruce Smith's career was over? Remember that? They were saying his knees were so bad there was no way. And wasn't he defensive player of the year last year?
"Neil doesn't have a serious injury that would give rise to that. Neil has always trained hard, and proper off-season training helps a guy mere as he gets up there in age. Neil just turned (31) and defensive ends who keep themselves in good shape can play a long time in this league. And Neil is far from done. He's just getting started."
Smith has not yet finalized his plans to fly to Denver to sign his Broncos' contract. But Parker said he could sign as early as Monday and no later than Wednesday. While he is looking forward to a fresh start in Denver, it saddened Smith to say goodbye to Kansas City, once and for all.
"I'm not going to bash the organization," Smith said. "Everybody has been good to me in my time here. I've done the best I could both on the field and off the field for the Kansas City Chiefs."
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