Lions remember lost teammate

Thursday, March 5, 2009
Lions remember lost teammate
Remembrances of Smith hit on a common note: a player whose heart exceeded his considerable talent.
John Niyo / The Detroit News

ALLEN PARK -- Sadly, they're left with only memories now.

But as Corey Smith's former teammates and coaches dealt with the gravity of his tragic loss following a boating accident last weekend off the coast of Clearwater, Fla., they all struck a common theme: He was the type of player everyone wanted on their team.

And more than one reminisced about a play from two seasons ago that is quickly queued up in one of the film rooms at the Lions' practice facility in Allen Park. It's a video clip of a kickoff return from the final minute of a 37-27 victory over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on Sept.30, 2007.

On the play, Lions tight end Casey FitzSimmons scooped up an onside kick and returned it 41 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. The next morning, Rod Marinelli, then the Lions' head coach, showed it to his players as a highlight of what he wanted from his team: Toughness.

Smith, hobbling on an injured hamstring, made two huge blocks, sending Chicago's Mark Bradley flying along the visitors' sideline, then hammering Adrian Peterson into another Bears defender to spring FitzSimmons on the return. At the end of the clip, while the rest of his teammates race downfield to celebrate the touchdown, Smith can be seen limping badly as he heads directly to the sideline.

"That play pretty much epitomized what type of player Corey is," said Stan Kwan, the Lions' special-teams coach. "We knew he was hurt. So (assistant coach) Sam Gash and I were looking for his replacement. And Corey said, 'Coach, I can give you one more play. I might not be able to walk after that, but I can give you one more play.'

"Rod just showed that play over and over. And right then and there, his teammates knew he's a team guy first."

"It all came from in here," Kwan added, tapping his chest. "He's not the fastest guy, we all know that. And he wasn't the tallest or the biggest guy for a defensive end. But his heart was bigger than everybody else's."

Marinelli, now a defensive line coach with the Bears, issued a statement Wednesday after the Coast Guard called off the search for Smith and two others who have been missing since Saturday night. Marinelli, who first coached Smith as an undrafted rookie with Tampa Bay in 2002, brought him to Detroit after Smith was released by San Francisco in 2006. He fought to keep him on the roster, though at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, he was undersized as a defensive end.

Marinelli called Smith a "very special guy to me" and "a cornerstone of what this league is about: toughness, effort and team."

The loss hit home for teammates, especially veteran defensive tackle Chuck Darby, who played with Smith in Tampa and Detroit. Darby, who still spends his offseason in the Tampa area, had even been invited to join Saturday's fishing trip, a teammate said. Reached Monday by phone, Darby politely declined to comment other than to offer his hopeful prayers for some good news. He didn't respond to a message left for him Wednesday.

Lions president Tom Lewand spoke for the team, saying of Smith, "As good of a player as he was in terms of his toughness and his commitment, he was a better person."

Asked if the team had any plans for a memorial or tribute, Lewand added, "It's early, and obviously the search was just called off yesterday, but I can tell you that the only player that will wear No. 93 for the Detroit Lions this year is Corey Smith."

Smith's loss was a sobering reminder of how quickly life can change, guard Stephen Peterman said. One of Peterman's college teammates, former NFL player Marquise Hill, died in a Jet Ski accident in New Orleans two years ago. One of Peterman's ex-teammates in Dallas, Thomas Herrion, collapsed and died after an exhibition game in 2005 while with the 49ers.

"As much time as we spend together, working out and practicing and all the meetings, you become like a family," Peterman said. "I spend more time during the season with the players than I do with my own kids, you know? So when something like this happens, it's one of your own family that's out there in the water struggling. And you just pray to God that a miracle can happen."

Peterman grew up on the Gulf Coast -- his childhood home in Waveland, Miss., was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago -- and last week he spent four days fishing with ex-teammate Dan Campbell along the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana.

"We were doing the same thing, fishing for redfish," Peterman said. "And one day we were gonna go out into deep water to fish for tuna, but the weather was too bad. We were kind of debating it, 'Should we go?' The boats down there are about 36 feet. And we just decided, 'Nah, man, it's not worth it. It's just too dangerous.' So it's weird, because now you think, 'What if we had gone? That could've happened to us.'

"It's just tough, man."

Thursday, March 5, 2009
NFL
Private search goes on for former Lion, others
Ex-Cowboy Johnson and family members head the new expedition to find missing men.
Detroit News wire services

TAMPA, Fla. -- Family and friends refused to give up the search for two NFL players and a third man missing four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast.

The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley.

The friends have been missing since their boat overturned Saturday night during a storm in rough seas.

Authorities were done, but about a dozen charter boats motored out Wednesday, some with friends of the families aboard, to try to locate some signs of the men, according to dock workers at John's Pass near St. Petersburg. Three private planes also flew over the endless stretch of water, according to Cooper's father.

"Everyone around here, they've either known someone or heard of someone who's been lost out at sea," said David Scott, who works at a marina at John's Pass. "It's just one of those situations. Everyone really comes together in times like these."

A fourth man on the fishing trip, Bleakley's former South Florida teammate, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday after a Coast Guard cutter crew found him clinging to the hull 35 miles off Clearwater.

His doctor said it's a "miracle" Schuyler survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days.

Dr. Mark Rumbak said Schuyler, 24, was in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours, Rumbak said.

"I think he is extremely fortunate," Rumbak said. "I can't explain it. Some divine providence, I really think."

Authorities located Cooper's 21-foot boat, which had drifted 50 miles west of Sarasota, said Jim Manson, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

It took two private boats three tries to right the vessel and it appears to be in good shape, Manson said.

Inside were 5-gallon gas cans, a life jacket, water bottles and some bagged sandwiches. It was being towed back to the Tampa Bay area.

Free-agent defensive tackle Tank Johnson, a childhood friend and college teammate of Cooper at Washington, was taking a lead role in the renewed search.

Johnson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, said the family has not given up hope that the men are still alive.

"I truly believe he is out there somewhere being strong," Johnson said.

This whole story is just sad

I've spent a lot of time on the water, not the ocean, but the lake. My dad always told me she was a vengeful bitch.

When we lived in the Tampa Bay area, my dad loved fishing. He went on one of those Gulf of Mex fishing trips, and after he came back, he went out and bought an inboard motor fishing boat.

I think he went out twice... I refused to go. I have no problem fishing in the lakes, but forget the Gulf!

I fished all the time with him on the lakes, here in Ohio, but the Gulf is too dangerous!

I've never actually been in the Gulf, We went to Florida a few times when I was a kid but it was to Miami and we went to the beaches around there. My husband learned to surf in the Gulf, around Tampa/St. Pete. He loved it and wants to move back someday

I've never really been out in the water. I mean I've used those inner tube things on the back of a boat in a "lake" a couple times but that's about it.

Between jellyfish, stingrays, sharks, and other crazy dangerous things, I stick to within 5 feet of the Gulf shore.

Ocean is a dangerous place

That is why I stay on dry land

Friday, March 27, 2009
Anchor trouble caused deadly boat accident for Lions' Smith, friends
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- A deadly boating accident involving two NFL players and two of their friends was caused by not properly anchoring the vessel in the water, an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission concludes.

In a report released Friday, the agency says that after the men were unable to retrieve the stuck anchor, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper tried using the boat's motor to throttle forward in hopes of freeing the anchor and heading back to shore.

Instead, the 21-foot vessel capsized, throwing all four overboard.

Besides Cooper, also on board were free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler.

Schuyler was the lone survivor. The others' bodies have not yet been found.

I just found out the Lions are going to retire #93 in honor of Corey Smith next season.

I know this whole thing sucks and all, but retire his number? Come on!

If you retire every number of every player who dies you'll run out of numbers real quick.

I thought they were only going to retire it for 1 season? If that's the case, then that's alright. But forever? No.

SoulRat wrote:

I thought they were only going to retire it for 1 season? If that's the case, then that's alright. But forever? No.

Is that what they said? That's fine and I retract my complaint. Otherwise my complaint stands.

I may be wrong but I thought I heard that shortly after it happened. Maybe they changed their minds and decided to retire it for good. It was my understanding it was only for 1 year though.

SoulRat wrote:

I may be wrong but I thought I heard that shortly after it happened. Maybe they changed their minds and decided to retire it for good. It was my understanding it was only for 1 year though.

Just checked...you are right

This is a good gesture so long as there isn't some ceremony that's like a retirement ceremony. Don't hang his jersey in the rafters only to take it down. Just have some sort of memorial thing somewhere and give the players a patch to wear. I don't want a Corey Smith jersey next to a Barry Sanders jersey. Nothing against Smith, but he's no Barry Sanders.

I bet they do hang it up though.

The problem with that is how do you take it down? If they hang it they may never unretire it.

Do you have an unretirement ceremony? I'd sure hope not.


Also, while it is ridiculously unlikely, what if he is somehow found alive (after all, a dog in Australia fell off a boat, swam 5 miles, and lived on a remote island for four months before being found)? Then what?

If he is as lucky as that dog, probably the last thing they would be thinking about is how to take his jersey down

I'm not saying they should hang it up, I just bet they do.