Honolulu – Rod Smith sat dejected in the locker room.
Smith, 35, sat with a bruised right eye and a cut that was going to be stitched a few minutes later. He was bloody. Yet, Smith wasn’t feeling sorry for himself. The emotion was anger – directed at Rod Smith.
“That’s typical Rod,” Broncos safety John Lynch said.
Smith, who gave his Broncos coaches a major scare, had to be helped off the field in the final seconds of the NFC’s 23-17 Pro Bowl victory Sunday night. After missing a catch that would have put the AFC in the red zone with about 20 seconds remaining, Smith was hit in the head by the leg of Dallas’ Roy Williams. Smith’s helmet was abruptly turned around, and Smith suffered the cut. He was on the ground for several moments and was taken out of the game.
Yet, afterward – Smith and coach Mike Shanahan said he is fine – Smith couldn’t believe he didn’t hold onto the ball.
“I was hurt, but I’m not worried about that,” Smith said. “I wanted to win. … I let my teammates down. I should have made that play.”
After the first-down play from the NFC’s 49-yard line, quarterback Steve McNair threw two incompletions and was sacked on fourth down.
“We could have won,” Smith said. “We had too many missed opportunities, including mine.”
Lelie not going anywhere
Internet rumors have floated that the Broncos are shopping receiver Ashley Lelie, who is in the final season of his contract. Those rumors are false, Shanahan said.
“Of course they are not true, of course,” Shanahan said. “This is the time of year all kinds of crazy things are said.”
In Saturday’s Sacramento Bee, a San Francisco official denied Internet reports that the 49ers were considering trading a first-day draft pick for Lelie. One of Lelie’s agents, Doug Hendrickson, said he saw the rumors and was baffled by them.
“They are not true,” Hendrickson said. “We have not heard anything from the Broncos, and I think we would.”
Cameo Champ
Shanahan said Saturday that Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey would likely get a “play to two” on offense Sunday. Shanahan came through, playing his star defender two plays at receiver on the final series. Bailey was a decoy on the first play, and he went deep toward the end zone on the final play, in which McNair was sacked.
“I got a little something out there; they teased me a bit,” Bailey said. “I wish I would have gotten in earlier, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Bailey didn’t play receiver in 2005 because he was injured much of the season. He did play about 20 snaps of offense in 2004. Shanahan said Saturday that Bailey likely will play some on offense next season.
Alexander bows out
Unlike most injured Pro Bowl players, league MVP Shaun Alexander waited until game day to officially say he wouldn’t play.
The Seattle running back, who will be the most attractive free agent on the open market next month, didn’t play because of a foot injury. He didn’t practice during the week but declined to say whether he would play until Sunday, leaving the NFC with two tailbacks: New York’s Tiki Barber and Atlanta’s Warrick Dunn.
Footnotes
Al Wilson was one of five captains for the AFC. … When Pittsburgh’s players were introduced before the game, former Colorado State star Joey Porter waved a Terrible Towel as the Super Bowl champions were feted.
