"In his first summer job while in high school, Torry Holt would bend down, snap tobacco leaves off stems, and pack them under his arms for hours under the hot North Carolina sun.

By the time his 7 a.m.-noon shift ended in the tobacco fields, Holt's hands and arms would be coated in sticky sap.

Wash all he wanted to, that tobacco stick-'em wasn't going anywhere for Holt, who in 10-plus seasons has been one of the NFL's most sure-handed receivers. Heading into today's game against the St. Louis Rams - the team that drafted him in 1999 - Holt's sticky fingers have allowed him to catch at least one pass in 158 consecutive games.

The streak ranks as the second longest (behind Pittsburgh's Hines Ward) among active NFL players and it's the ninth-longest in league history.

"To be able to maintain a streak like this, it says thanks to the Art Monks, the Steve Largents, the [Jerry] Rices, the Tim Browns," Holt said. "It says thanks to those guys for showing me how it's supposed to be done."

In 163 career games, Holt hasn't been held without a catch since his rookie season (Oct. 17, 1999 at Atlanta). He has been limited to only one reception in just five career contests. And in six of his 10-plus seasons, Holt posted multiple receptions in every game

Since 2000, he's the NFL's most-targeted receiver (ahead of Terrell Owens and Randy Moss). Quarterbacks have thrown his way 1,400 times, with Holt making 839 receptions. His 12,966 receiving yards equates to 7.38 miles.

"Nothing surprises me with Torry," said Rams running back Steven Jackson, a former teammate of Holt's at St. Louis. "When you look at Torry's numbers and you look at the things he's accomplished, he's accomplished those things because he's consistent week in and week out. Offensive coordinators, head coaches, the quarterbacks, they know when Torry lines up he's going to be a gamebreaker. He has the nickname "Big Game" for a reason."

There's also a simple explanation as to how Holt developed his skills, his reputation for dependability. Attribute that to back-breaking hard work.

Earning $5 an hour in the tobacco fields as a 15-year old, Holt said the summer job developed his acumen, strong hands and hand-eye coordination. Holt's father, Odell Schoffner, and mother, Ojetta Holt, worked three jobs between them (the couple stayed together 25 years and didn't marry until 1996. Holt's mother died Dec. 27 that same year, after a 10-year battle with cancer).

So early on, Holt's parents taught him that anything worth having took hard work to attain. Besides that, the long days in the tobacco fields - and later at Burger King, where he worked the front register, drive-thru window and grill - seared a stamp into Holt's young, impressionable mind: Cling to your dreams, kid. You won't have to do this forever.

Reflecting on the long road from his childhood in Gibsonville, N.C., to becoming one of the most productive careers in NFL history, Ho