Torrey Smith's pregame tweet Sunday -- "I have a good feeling about today" -- may have seemed a bit optimistic for a rookie who had never caught an NFL pass and had only been thrown to one time all season.
But it turned out to be right on target, as Smith turned the first three receptions of his career into first-quarter touchdowns in the Baltimore Ravens' 37-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
"I never doubted myself for a minute," said Smith, who finished with five catches for 152 yards. "I've been playing football forever. I've been making plays forever."
Smith hooked up with quarterback Joe Flacco for a 74-yarder at the 12:20 mark, a 41-yarder at 3:38 and an 18-yarder at 1:48 to give Baltimore a 21-0 lead going into the second quarter.
"Torrey had no choice but to keep his confidence up. Our guys have been riding him for a month straight, and they were led by Terrell Suggs," Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said. "They are a band of brothers on the defensive side. They toughen you up quite a bit. Torrey fought through it and the last couple of weeks, he has really been catching the ball well in practice. I think he and Joe are starting to tie this thing together."
Linebacker Ray Lewis added: "He went out today, and everyone knew that this guy could flat-out run, and the scariest thing to do is to give him confidence."
And that's just what this game appears to have done. Smith may have been feeling good going in, but he was feeling even better about himself following his breakthrough performance.
"For me, that's what I can do," said Smith, a second-round pick out of Maryland. "I can stretch the field. To have a game like this, it definitely helps me knowing I can go deep."
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-- Chuck Schilken
Photo: Torrey Smith makes his second touchdown catch during the first quarter against the St. Louis Rams. Credit: Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun / MCT
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