Smith, Keyshawn making strides

I talked to Steve Smith on Tuesday in a big room at Bank of America Stadium. We sat at a long table, like real businessmen.

I asked about his hamstring, of course. He says he has answered almost as many questions about his hamstring as he has about his relationship with Keyshawn Johnson, the receiver the Panthers signed in March.

In the locker room last week, Johnson said, "Watch this, this will make him mad," and with a group of reporters between him and Smith said, "Hey, T.O. Hey, Terrell."

I told Smith I thought it was funny.

"He’s not a bad guy," Smith says of Johnson. "He gives his opinion but he also gives his advice. We talk about some of the things me and (former Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad) did, off the record, personal.

"You go, OK, you kind of let your guard down unintentionally because you feel comfortable in that situation. I won’t, and he won’t, tell our life story. We talk about hey, what about what happened here, what was it like in New York?

"He’ll say, ‘I loved this, I didn’t like that.’ He went through living in New York and being the first overall pick, things I’ll never experience."