Smith reportedly couldn’t even walk the Monday after Wild Card weekend, and Wannstedt took some heat for obviously overusing his workhorse.
2001 would come around and supply another feather in Smith's cap, as he would start all 16 games for the lone time in his career. Therefore, he also set a new career high in rush attempts for one season (313).
Smith's 1202 all-purpose yards were instrumental in clinching Miami's second to last playoff berth to date.
His 158 rushing yards in week 17, against the Bills, guaranteed the Dolphins their second straight home Wild Card game.
Unfortunately, this year's team would lose to Baltimore, as Rex Ryan's front seven stuffed the box and forced Fiedler to test his gifted secondary, led by Pro Bowler Rod Woodson.
Smith was pretty much forced from an effective position here, and limited to blocking duties.
2001 was a contract year for Smith but, despite the reliable numbers, Miami decided not to pay the 31-year-old an excessive salary. Instead, as earlier stated, they traded with New Orleans for Ricky Williams. It was the second time his presence forced Smith out of the limelight (and a job).
Carolina, on the other hand, was in need of any kind of attainable feature back after they lost hope in journeyman Richard Huntley, and so they signed Smith before the 2002 season.
He again proved his worth was more than what people gave him credit for. Smith increased his rushing touchdown total from '01, even though he started five less games.
Despite respectable stats from their leading rusher, the Panthers were going through a disappointing stretch under a young John Fox, and wanted to focus on their youth movement (which, of course, resulted in a Super Bowl appearance against New England the following year).
Smith yielded time down the stretch in '02 to Nick Goings before Carolina picked up free agent Stephen Davis that offseason, while also going on to draft coveted DeShaun Foster out of UCLA. Smith's contract was again left on yet another table.
But one last testament to his abilities and commitment were evident in the 2002-’03 offseason when two teams showed enough interest in the aging back to sign him.
Green Bay was first, and then finally New Orleans gave him a spot on their 53-man roster.
However, approaching the age of 33, Smith could not hold on to his job and was subsequently released in 2004, denoting the end of a dramatic and sometimes traumatic career of extreme highs and lows unlike, even, your average film script.
Either way you edit it, that overtime score against the Colts was a climax for the ages, and I still remember O.J. McDuffie jumping up in the end zone after the referee signaled "touchdown!" The crowd roar was deafening even through my TV.
I only have one more thing to ponder about Lamar Smith in closing thoughts…
After reviewing his story, what can you attribute to supplying Smith his simply awesome will power to stay on the field?
We know he was a competitive spirit, with the know it all to pursue an NCAA Division I scholarship after two years of unpublicized junior college ball in northern Oklahoma.
But what about the car accident in 1994, that left a teammate paralyzed?
Can you attribute Smith's perseverance to a natural incentive for activity and avoidance of any down time when one might reflect on such cataclysm?
Was there a sense of honor to be attained for the fallen comrade?
No matter the personal answer, which nobody else other than the accident victim really has the right to know, Smith left his mark with Miami Dolphin fans so acutely that he, and any subsequent story lines, will not soon be forgotten.
That is in its own right the sports equivalent of any tribute publication of any kind.
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Smith's energetic persona and "low-gliding" 230-lb icon have effectively bookmarked those winning years in many memories; mine, in particular.
Lamar Smith was very much part of a dying breed of workhorse running backs. You will never see Ronnie Brown carry the ball 40-times in one game. Of course, you can’t hold this choice of strategy against Brown, but you certainly have to bow down and recognize the classic durability of Smith.
As of recently, in 2007, Smith took part in a coaching internship program through the now defunct NFL Europe.
He, at least, temporarily had relocated to Tampa for a training clinic attended by former NFL players interested in coaching or officiating as a future career.
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