PHOENIX — A year ago, linebacker Malcolm Smith made a play that instantly became an iconic moment in Seahawks history.
After his 69-yard interception return for a touchdown helped the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII, Smith was named the game’s MVP. He went to Disney World, he was given a new Chevy truck, he did the late-night TV circuit, and he was suddenly famous.
But now, 51½ weeks later, Smith is preparing for a Super Bowl in which he will play sparingly on defense, if at all. The MVP of the biggest game in American sports is back in the Super Bowl, but instead of being a star, he is the fourth-best linebacker on team that plays with three on the field, and — and let’s not undersell the importance of this — a key special-teams player.
This isn’t how fairy tales are supposed to go. After dealing with a rare esophageal disorder in college that caused him to lose weight and in turn, playing time, Smith did enough to get himself drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 draft by his former college coach, Pete Carroll. After spending most of his first two seasons as a backup, he started eight games last season, plus two more in the postseason. It was a great story of an unheralded player making it big in the NFL, right up until he went back to being unheralded. Smith did start five games this season because of injuries, but since Bobby Wagner returned from a toe injury, Smith has barely played on defense.
And while you might think Smith would be a little bummed about going from star to backup, he has a pretty matter-of-fact outlook on the whole situation.
“That’s pretty much been my career,” Smith said. “I would love to play more and I’m always competing to play more, but it is what it is.”
If you just started watching the Seahawks late last season, you would have assumed Smith was a key starting defensive player all along. He made a ton of big plays down the stretch, including the sometimes forgotten interception on the famous “tip play” that clinched Seattle’s win over San Francisco in the NFC championship game. And a quick aside, Smith deserves more credit for his role in that play. Yes, Richard Sherman rightly is praised for his coverage on 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree and the athletic, leaping play he made to break up the pass, but if Smith isn’t hustling to the end zone, a play plenty of linebackers on plenty of other teams wouldn’t have made, that’s an incomplete pass and the 49ers are facing second-and-10 at Seattle’s 18-yard line.
But Smith was playing so much late in the season only because K.J. Wright was out with foot injury. Earlier in the season, he was a starter while Bruce Irvin served a four-game suspension. But when the Seahawks are at full strength, Smith is the odd man out, despite the numerous big plays he has made in his career. And that is why, three days before the Super Bowl, the man who had his own press conference as the Super Bowl MVP last year sits at a table full of other reserve linebackers, occasionally doing interviews between conversations with his teammates, while the “name” Seahawks conduct interviews at podiums.
“We have some good players, and a guy like Malcolm as good as he is, (him not playing) isn’t a knock on him, it’s just saying how good the guys in front of him are, and it’s hard to get him on the field,” linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. said. “But he’s a good player. He’s going to play in this league for a long time.”
In fact, Norton says Smith is better than he has ever been despite a limited role this season. Smith is good enough to start for a lot of teams, just not Seattle, and with his rookie deal set to expire after the season, Smith might decide to look for a better chance at starting by changing teams.
“Malcolm is a better man and better player now than he was last year and the year before that,” Norton said. “His growth and development has been awesome, and I’m really, really proud of him. If anybody gets hurt, he steps in and plays as good or better than a starter. He has made himself a core important player on special teams, he’s a leader on our team, guys refer to him for speaking up and advice and that type of thing. He’s going to be a really good player. His contract is coming up and he’ll be playing somewhere, and he’s going to be really good.”
Smith admits the idea of leaving Seattle for a chance to start has crossed his mind, but he also likes being a part of such a good team and good defense. Perhaps Atlanta, which reportedly will name Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn its head coach after the Super Bowl, would like to upgrade at linebacker to help a struggling defense?
“I’ll have to look at both sides when the time comes, but as a competitor you want to play as much as possible,” Smith said. “But I’m not worrying about that yet. … I’m just trying to enjoy being here and appreciate my teammates and being able to spend one more game with these guys.”
And just because Smith won’t play much Sunday barring injuries, don’t rule out the possibility of him making a big play on a big stage one more time. You might have missed it if you weren’t paying close attention, but while playing just two snaps on defense in the NFC championship game, Smith game up with a huge play as part of a goal-line-defense package, helping stuff a third-and-goal run at the 1-yard line, forcing Green Bay to settle for a field goal following a first-quarter Seahawks turnover. In case you forgot already, four points probably would have made a difference in that game.
“That was huge,” said linebacker Heath Farwell, who played that same goal-line role last year, but who spent the season on injured reserve. “That was a game changer.”
Herald Columnist John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com
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