ST. LOUIS — Torrey Smith blocked out the noise, ignored his critics quick to label him as a bust and silenced the doubters inside and outside the Baltimore Ravens’ locker room.
The Baltimore Ravens’ speedy rookie wide receiver delivered a convincing rebuttal after a quiet start to his NFL career where he had been shut out with no catches in his first two games and was being constantly razzed by older teammates.
All it took was a little faith and his two legs propelling Smith like booster rockets into the end zone during the Ravens’ 37-7 rout of the winless, downtrodden St. Louis Rams on Sunday before an announced crowd of 56, 289 at Edward Jones Dome.
Smith caught three touchdown passes in the first quarter for his first three NFL receptions, exploiting befuddled cornerback Justin King all three times. Finishing with five receptions for 152 yards with scores from 74, 41 and 18 yards in his first start, the former University of Maryland star became the 12th player in NFL history and the first rookie to score three touchdowns in one quarter.
"I never doubted myself for a minute, I’ve been playing football forever," said Smith, a second-round draft pick who had only been targeted once by quarterback Joe Flacco in the first two games. "I’ve been making plays forever. Having a good game, it shows other people that haven’t seen me play, that I can play.
"For me, I’ve always been confident, and my teammates know I’m confident. I haven’t been struggling or stressing. That’s what I can do. I can stretch the field. For me, to have a game like this, it definitely helps me knowing I can go deep."
By providing a deep threat in the absence of injured veteran wide receiver Lee Evans, Smith helped the Ravens (2-1) manufacture a franchise record with 553 yards of total offense. The Ravens raced out to a 27-0 lead by halftime by piling up 406 yards, the most ever for the franchise in a half.
Two plays into the Ravens’ first series, Smith dashed past King on the sideline on a fly route.
Smith never slowed down as his fingertips hauled in a perfect spiral from Flacco, who delivered the longest
completion of his career.
"He’s an explosive player," Flacco said. "We gave him a chance to make some plays and he came up big. That has a chance to be big for us down the road because it gets his confidence up. We really know that he can make those plays now. When he gets up and going, you can just lay the ball out there.
"I was taking a shot. I trust Torrey and I just felt like, ‘He could get by the guy.’ I laid it out there for him and it worked out. He ran by the guy. I let the ball go and he kept going."
Just a week ago, Flacco had one of the worst games of his career during a demoralizing loss to the Tennessee Titans where he was intercepted twice.
Against the Rams, the Ravens relied on Flacco’s strong right arm.
He completed 27 of 48 passes for a career-high 389 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 103.6 passer rating.
It was an aggressive approach by offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, and an offense that routinely relies upon the running game.
Only Vinny Testaverde has ever passed for more yards (429 during the Ravens’ inaugural season in 1996) in a single game for Baltimore than Flacco’s Sunday output.
"We came out and we attacked," Flacco said. "I was thinking to myself, ‘What are the top teams in this league? What are they?’ They are passing teams. Do they run the ball? Yeah, but they really throw the ball very well. They’re not just the top offenses, they’re the top teams.
"Is the goal getting to the playoffs for us? No, it’s not getting to the playoffs for us. We know we can do that. The goal is to win the Super Bowl."
Flacco proved that he trusted Smith, too, going back to the rookie after misfiring to him in the end zone.
Flacco went back to him for a 41-yard touchdown behind King and safety Darian Stewart as the rookie darted inside on a post route and managed to find a crease for the Ravens’ second touchdown.
"Who knows what he was thinking or how confident he was coming into this game?" Flacco said. "But I’m sure he’s very confident coming out of this game.
"I don’t really notice those things. I don’t blink. Whoever is out there at receiver, it’s my job to get them the ball. I really don’t think much about the chemistry and the trust thing. It has to be there. You just do it. That’s what trust is."
Smith had a shaky preseason and had been dropping balls in practice.
It was enough to alarm fans and make Smith the target of some good-natured ribbing from older teammates, especially linebacker Terrell Suggs.
"Torrey had no choice but to keep his confidence up," coach John Harbaugh said. "Our guys had been riding him for about a month straight, and they were led by Terrell Suggs. They are a band of brothers on the defensive side. They toughen you up like an armadillo.
"Torrey fought through it, and the last couple of weeks he has really been catching the ball well in practice. I think he and Joe are starting to tie this thing together."
Smith was the recipient of some counsel by the Ravens’ oldest, wisest player: All-Pro middle linebacker Ray Lewis.
"I told him at the beginning of the game: ‘Just go back to playing schoolyard football, If you were the fastest on the field, then make everyone catch you,’" Lewis said. "Everyone knew that this guy could flat out run, and the scariest thing to do is to give him confidence.
"That’s when Joe really believed in him, stepping in there and throwing him the ball on the first play of the game. That’s huge for us."
Smith acknowledged that the criticism was starting to annoy him.
He even reacted strongly to some comments directed at him from fans via his Twitter account.
"It’s tough, I’m big on social media, and talking to people that I wouldn’t get a chance to talk to on an everyday basis. After the Redskins game, I had two drops, and all of a sudden, I can’t catch a cold. I can’t do anything right. I know that comes with the game and that’s expected. I dropped two balls that I should have caught.
"Fans only understand one thing that they see. I was drafted in the second round, and a lot was expected. If you don’t see him catch the ball, well he’s not getting open. Then, he stinks. He drops two passes, and that’s what you’re expecting. It comes with the territory. I know I can play."
Before kickoff Sunday, Smith wrote on his Twitter account: "I have a good feeling about today."
It was a prescient note.
Flacco wasn’t done throwing to Smith after the first two scores.
Following a 28-yard run by Ricky Williams, Flacco lobbed a fade pass to the left corner of the end zone. And Smith outleapt King for a 21-0 lead with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter.
"I had a good feeling going into this week," Smith said. "I’ve been practicing well the past few weeks, and this week I definitely had my best practice as a Raven. They say you practice like you play, and it just worked well."
Indeed.
If not for a pair of missed field goals by kicker Billy Cundiff from 51 yards, the Ravens would have scored on all seven possessions in the first half.
Cundiff would come back to connect on kicks from 21, 31 and 38 yards.
The Ravens limited the Rams to 81 yards in the first half and just three net passing yards by halftime as Sam Bradford connected on only 4 of his first 15 throws for 17 yards while being sacked twice. The Rams converted only 1 of 8 third downs and had just six first downs in the first half.
Bradford finished 16 of 32 for 166 yards and an interception as Baltimore shut down the Rams’ no-huddle attack.
"We got back on track," Suggs said. "You got to win the games you’re supposed to win. We don’t discredit the Rams. They’re a good team. They’re a young team. They have a good young quarterback. I don’t think they need to fret. They just ran up against a veteran team."
The former top overall draft pick from Oklahoma was sacked five times with one forced fumble returned 28 yards by All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata for a 28-yard touchdown to finish the Ravens’ scoring.
The Ravens’ shutout bid was foiled when cornerback Cary Williams mistimed his jump on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Sam Gibson in the third quarter that only brought the Rams to within 30-7.
And the Ravens’ cause was boosted by running back Ray Rice, who rushed for 79 yards on eight carries with 53 yards coming on one run. He also caught five passes for 83 yards.
It was Smith, though, that led the way for the Ravens.
"I couldn’t be more proud of him," Rice said. "You are definitely proud to see him go out there and to see all his hard work paid off. The kid works hard. I tell him all the time, ‘You didn’t get drafted that high for no reason. Now, go out there and let your game speak for itself.’"
