Which Way Will Torrey Go?

Mostly everyone who knows football has heard of the, so called, "Sophomore Slump". For those of you who don't, here is a short description of what the term means.

Sometimes when you have a rookie that comes into the league and has immediate success in their first season, their second season is not quite what everyone expects it to be. Whether it is a case of the other teams in the league finding a weakness in that players game or just that the player himself becomes complacent and thinks that, because of his early success, he doesn't need to train as hard or put forth as much effort as he previously thought in his rookie season.

Either way it is a common story in the NFL in which players that look to have bright futures in the league during their rookie season fall flat in their second. The Baltimore Ravens have have a bright young star in wide receiver Torrey Smith who took the AFC North by surprise last season. Smith spent 2011 blowing by corner backs and making safeties look stupid on nine routes. After a shaky preseason where he dealt with untimely drops and fans labeling him a bust before he had played in his first NFL game, Smith went on to match the Ravens rookie touchdown record with seven and became the sorely needed deep threat this team has needed for years.

Now, in 2012, Smith will be counted on to be a key contributor in an offense that runs through a vertical passing game and someday take the reins as the Ravens number one target. Did Torrey Smith hit his ceiling as a rookie in 2011? Or, will he continue to grow in the Ravens improving passing attack?

Every team the Ravens face will try and find a way to keep him from getting behind the defense. He will now be just as much a part of opposing teams defensive game plans as fellow Raven Ray Rice. He will face double teams and press coverage more and more as he continues to grow as a play maker. All signs point to Smith continuing his climb up the latter of success in the NFL but you never can tell.