Ira Cronin WCNC Sports

In the wake of the incident at Panthers camp this year, I'm looking for Steve Smith to have one of his best seasons ever. I say this because I'm a student of history. Let me explain.

Whenever Steve has had problems, his track record is that he learns from his mistake and bounces back better than ever. In 2002 when Smith had his incident with Anthony Bright, he was humbled by the experience. He recognized his mistake. He sought help. And, he bounced back better than ever on the football field. In 2003 the Panthers made a trip to the Super Bowl and Smith began to carve out his reputation as one of the best players in the game. There is no question that he has taken a few steps back with this most recent incident. I look at Steve's progression as a man and as a player like a climb up a mountain. Whenever Smith has stumbled or taken a step backward, he always follows it up with several steps forward.

I wrote a blog the night after he hit Ken Lucas saying to hold out judgment on Steve. Wait until all the evidence was in. Turns out it was Smith's fault, and he accepted all the blame for it. He knows that the only way to earn back the respect of his teammates and the fans is to produce on the field, and become a better person in the locker room and in the community.

Let's not forget that perhaps the biggest factor in the Panthers ability to move past this incident has been the ability of Ken Lucas to forgive Smith and move past it.

I did a radio interview today with a station in Richmond, Va. I said to look for the Panthers to be a 10 or 11-win team this season, because they have encountered some serious adversity before they even get to the regular season. It appears that they have moved past the initial incident in the best way possible. If they can survive their first two games of the regular season, at San Diego and at home against Chicago, and win without Smith, they will only be better, once he comes back.

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