Step aside, Joe Namath: Smith guarantees win

The Steelers safety said the Patriots should be worried.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Defensive back Anthony Smith is so certain the Pittsburgh Steelers will end the New England Patriots’ unbeaten season, he is guaranteeing a win Sunday in Foxborough.

The Patriots (12-0) may have the perfect record, Smith said Wednesday, but it should be New England that is worried about the Steelers (9-3) rather than the other way around.

“People keep asking me if we’re ready for the Patriots,” Smith said. “They should be asking if they’re ready for us.”

Is Smith so confident that he is willing to copy one of former Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter’s familiar motivational ploys by guaranteeing the Steelers will win?

“We’re going to win,” Smith said. “Yeah, I can guarantee a win. As long as we come out and do what we got to do. Both sides of the ball are rolling, and if our special teams come through for us, we’ve got a good chance to win.”

Despite Smith’s abundant optimism, no other Steelers are designating Sunday as guaranteed win day. Linebacker James Farrior, cautioning that Smith hasn’t been in the NFL long and may not realize what he is saying, doesn’t think the Patriots will pay any attention.

Smith, a native of Hubbard who was the Steelers’ third-round pick from Syracuse in 2006, became the starter at free safety only after Ryan Clark needed spleen surgery in late October.

“He better keep his mouth shut,” Farrior said, though he was laughing and wasn’t angry at his teammate. “Oh well, I guess we’ve got to go deal with that.”

Defensive end Brett Keisel doubts Smith’s words will have any impact, even if the Steelers might have been better off not giving an exceptional team like New England any bulletin-board material.

“I think a lot of us in here feel like this is one of those games where we really don’t have that much to lose,” Keisel said. “If we win the game, well, we weren’t supposed to win, and if we lose the game, we were supposed to lose. They’re this big, great team that no one can touch.”

The Steelers stopped the Patriots’ record 21-game winning streak in 2004, but they have dropped five of six to New England since 1997 — with two losses in AFC championship games.

Still, Smith is convinced there are multiple reasons why the Steelers will be the team that makes certain New England doesn’t become the first NFL team to sweep a 16-game schedule.

Pittsburgh’s defense has allowed the fewest points and yards in the NFL and, Smith said, “We don’t expect that to change.”