Ravens WR Steve Smith Sr. calls out Steelers DB Mike Mitchell
BALTIMORE — Ravens receiver Steve Smith Sr. and Steelers safety Mike Mitchell went from teammates to rivals when they both departed the Carolina Panthers for their respective teams, and it appears there hasn’t been any love lost from either side.
Smith had some harsh words for Mitchell following the Steelers’ 21-14 loss in Baltimore.
“Have you ever tried to build a house with a screwdriver?” Smith asked a reporter.
“That is almost impossible,” the reporter answered.
“Until the cabinets come,” Smith Sr. said.
Mitchell got into a skirmish with the Ravens bench in the closing minute of the fourth quarter after the Steelers’ botched onside kick attempt. Mitchell, known for his in-game trash talking, declined to address the cause of the incident after the game.
“I’m not quite sure,” Mitchell said. “I don’t remember any of that.”
Smith Sr., on the other hand, didn’t hold back.
“I am a foundation builder,” he said. “[Mitchell] is a cabinet. That is the PG version. Any time I mention his name, it just increases who he is. He is not much. He was a teammate of mine, but at the end of the day, I am a Baltimore Raven and I have done a lot of things in this league.”
Smith went on to negatively compare Mitchell to his four young children.
“I’m not going to … I’m not going to say I probably shouldn’t make it personal, but at the end of the day, I am a competitor. He ain’t on my level; he will never be. He is not even on the same level as my kids. So I am not even going to concern myself with him until the cabinets come.”
Smith finished with four catches for 47 yards, while Mitchell ended with just one tackle in perhaps his worst performance of the season. Mitchell did not mention Smith after the game. His missed tackle on Mike Wallace led to the 95-yard score in what turned out to be the Ravens’ only offensive touchdown of the game.
“That was awesome,” Smith Sr. said. “I think he stiff armed the same dude I stiff armed for a 30-yarder. That carpenter.”