Bucs wide receiver Keenan McCardell remembers good old days with Jags teammate Jimmy Smith and aches over his drug suspension.
By ROGER MILLS and GREG AUMAN
Published August 21, 2003
[Times photo: Brendan Fitterer]
This catch came at practice, but Keenan McCardell could surpass 700 career receptions this season, putting him in rare company.
TAMPA - Through so many NFL years, Keenan McCardell has seen it all. The highs and lows of the game, the peaks and valleys of its effect on life. He understands what the game gives and what toll it takes.
So Saturday night against the Jaguars, when McCardell glances across to the opposing sideline and finds it void of Jimmy Smith, former teammate and close friend, he'll ache but he'll be strong.
Smith, who for many years teamed with McCardell to make the Jaguars passing attack one of the league's most formidable, is serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
McCardell will have him in his thoughts.
"It hurts because he's a great friend of mine," McCardell said Wednesday. "I've been through a lot of things with him, been through a lot of battles, a lot of family stuff. From a player (perspective), I really realize that things happen. I hate that they happened to him. The only thing I can do is be on his side and support him. Pray for him. Talk to him. Tell him, "Hey, it's a hurdle in life.' The thing is, you've got to leap over that hurdle and get by it, leave that hurdle in the past. Once you get over it, you never come back to it."
It was as a Jaguar that McCardell caught 499 passes in six seasons. It was as a Jaguar that he and combined with quarterback Mark Brunell for a record 1,061 receptions from 1996-2001. Their success was fueled by the confidence that defenses could stop one of them, but rarely both.
"I think it showed that we were really dedicated to each other," McCardell said. "It showed that we wanted to be the best, we wanted to be the best threesome in the league.
"We would always hear about Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman, the three-headed monster, that way. Well, we were looking to be the three-headed monster with two wide receivers and a quarterback. I think we felt like every time we stepped on the field (defenses) had to bring their A game.
"You had to pick your poison," McCardell said. "Regardless of what defense we were facing, our job was to go out and shred them. That was the kind of mind-set we had. There was nothing like it. We would go out and look in (each other's) eyes and realize we knew what was up. It was our job to do this. It was our job to do this for the team to be successful."
Both took long paths to their NFL success. McCardell spent his rookie year in 1991 on injured reserve and had 24 catches in the next three seasons before emerging as a star in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns. Smith missed most of his first two years with injuries and did not play in 1994 before his breakout year with the Jaguars in 1995.
By no coincidence, both had their numbers drop off last year in their first seasons apart. Each gained his fewest yards since 1995, and while few saw their totals as disappointing, they commiserated by phone during the season.
McCardell has called Smith since his suspension.
"We chatted a little bit," he said. "It's the last thing you want to talk about. But we talked about staying strong. I'm always there for him if he needs me, any time. That's just the way it was and that's what I said to him. He knew I was going to be there for him. I'll always be there for him.
"It'll be weird. Not seeing him out there, not seeing him suited up, it's going to be a lot different. It's going to be a lot different for Mark Brunell too. ... I know he's going to get over it. He'll be back. Jimmy'll be back stronger than ever."
As for McCardell? Twelve NFL seasons have proven one thing: He'll be remarkably consistent.
He has had at least 56 catches in eight consecutive seasons, a streak only Tim Brown can top. He has had at least five touchdown receptions for six years running, and only Marvin Harrison has a longer streak.
"First you have to be good, you have to be in shape and you have to be a year-round guy," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of McCardell's run. "He's a special guy. It's the one thing I'm most proud of in my coaching career. I've coached Art Monk, Irving Fryar, Mark Clayton, Sterling Sharpe, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Andre Rison, a lot of 600-plus guys.
"Now it's Keenan and Keyshawn (Johnson) and the one trait that they all have is that they know how to play the game. They know how to get open. They catch the football, they have savvy. They have no fear inside."
And what about the possibility of 100 catches from a former 12th-round pick who was cut four times before his second NFL reception?
"You have to set your goals high," McCardell said. "If you set them high, even if you don't reach them, you probably do better than most people expected of you. I always expect more from myself."
There is added incentive this fall, beginning with the comfort and familiarity of a full season in Gruden's offense.
McCardell also is fully healthy after missing two games with a bruised upper neck last year. It might not seem like a long absence, but he had missed one game in the previous seven seasons.
If he stays healthy, McCardell should finish this year with more than 700 receptions, joining a fraternity with fewer members than baseball's hallowed 500 home run club.
He'll likely move into the NFL's top 20 for career receptions, but when asked which active receivers he respects most, he looks at more than statistics.
"Marvin Harrison. Terrell Owens. Jerry Rice," McCardell said. "Jerry is the man, regardless of whether he's 40 or not. I like the guys who play with a passion. A lot of guys who are quote unquote (stars) at this position, but they don't play with passion."
