When wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. first had a chance to work with his new quarterback, Joe Flacco, earlier this offseason, he was immediately impressed with the way Flacco throws the ball.
"He throws a lot of good, easy balls that you can snag with one hand," Smith said in May. "It makes it look good, so I like those."
Turns out, Smith makes life easy on Flacco, too.
Flacco praised Smith after Tuesday's training camp practice, specifically pointing to the receiver's reliable hands as what stands out the most about him.
"Just his natural ability to catch the ball with his hands," Flacco said. "He catches everything with his hands, and he does a great job doing it."
Smith and Flacco have connected since the Ravens signed the veteran receiver in March. Both players participated in the entire offseason program, and Smith was a popular target throughout organized team activities and minicamp.
The fact that Smith has great hands is no surprise, as the 14-year veteran has been one of the NFL's best receivers throughout his career. He has 836 career catches for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns.
"He is strong to the ball, even though he's not very high in stature," Flacco said about the 5-foot-9 target. "He is just strong to the ball and his hands are really, really good."
Flacco and Smith will be back on the field together again on Thursday when the Ravens have their first full-team practice of training camp. Tuesday's practice was just for rookies, quarterbacks and players returning from injury, and then the rest of the roster will report for camp Wednesday.
Smith is scheduled to address the media Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
