Tag: Stephen A. Smith

Former NFL MVP not sold on Steelers’ playoff aspirations

The Steelers face scrutiny over their playoff legitimacy as critics point to weak competition ahead of a pivotal Week 10 matchup.

Well, it appears not everyone is sold on the 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers’ recent success. As a matter of fact, former 2019 NFL MVP QB Cam Newton described it as “delusional” to rely on recent games and stats to portray the Steelers as playoff contenders.

Newton, appearing on ESPN’s First Take with Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith, and Shannon Sharpe, argued that the best evidence of the Steelers being pretenders rather than contenders lies in their most recent level of competition—the New York Giants and the New York Jets.

Stephen A. was quick to defend his favorite team, pointing out that the offense has consistently struggled for several years. While the level of competition may indeed be lacking, he emphasized that it is promising to see the offense perform well under Russell Wilson.

While it is easy to dismiss the opinion of a former player who has never won a Super Bowl, is Newton correct in his assessment?

Pittsburgh will aim to continue proving their doubters wrong as they begin the toughest second-half stretch in the NFL, starting with the Washington Commanders in Week 10 on November 10 at 1:00 PM EST.

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President Stephen A. Smith? ESPN broadcaster would consider it if he could win.

President Stephen A. Smith?

ESPN broadcaster Stephen A. Smith isn’t ruling out the idea of eventually running for president of the United States.

Oh yes. Smith was asked on The View on Thursday the question that lots of influential pop culture personalities might start getting with Donald Trump’s election to a second term in office this week.

Would he actually consider running for president? Apparently so.

“If you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it,” Smith said on the broadcast when asked about the possibility.

Smith’s recent appearances on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show and NewsNation hint he may have political aspirations in his future, or at the least feels very comfortable with airing his political opinions out in the open.

However, it’s not as certain he would actually find much success in a campaign since he said in the interview he would run as an independent due to his disdain for both sides of the aisle.

Like with everything in our political sphere, we’ll see what happens.

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Stephen A. Smith reacted after ‘lying’ Kevin Durant called him a clown

Their beef is already in midseason form!

The NBA season is still early, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant are already in the middle of a beef.

Last month during a segment on First Take, the sports commentator said that he doesn’t have much belief in a Suns organization led by Durant. This struck a nerve with Durant, who replied to a clip of the video posted on social media after it aired.

Durant was recently asked about the criticism from Smith, and he did not hold back with his thoughts. He called the ESPN talking head a “clown” and said that he never even sees Smith attending games or practices (via The Athletic):

“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” he told The Athletic. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s— about players. … He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”

Smith predictably took issue with these claims and explained why Durant was perhaps incorrect in this assessment.

Here is more from Smith:

“I got bad news for Kevin Durant. If you’re expecting me to reciprocate with that kind of pettiness and childishness, it’s not going to happen … Respectfully, Kevin Durant, could you stop lying please? I’ve been an NBA reporter and I was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer as well. Kevin Durant has seen me in the locker room when he was in Oklahoma City. He has seen me in the locker room when he was at Golden State. He has certainly seen me at games throughout his career. But unfortunately for him, I don’t have to be at shoot-around and I don’t have to be in the postgame locker room. I happen to have a hit show that’s been number one for twelve years. I have other things to do with my time. I go to games all the time. I’m not a beat reporter any more.”

Smith is absolutely correct in that his responsibilities at ESPN have grown far beyond anything that would require him to need locker room access.

But it makes sense that Durant would find it frustrating to hear Smith criticize his leadership abilities if he isn’t actually there to see what that even looks like.

Smith then wondered who is allowed to actually speak about Durant, as the NBA superstar has gotten upset when Charles Barkley and Shannon Sharpe (as well as current players like CJ McCollum) have called him out before as well.

He added that Durant is one of the greatest players to ever play the game but noted his “sensitivity” and “petulance” and “flagrant immaturity” as well.

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Stephen A. Smith’s face at Sean Hannity after Donald Trump rant became an instant meme

A new meme is born.

Wake up, there’s a new Stephen A. Smith meme to add to the large pile of them (just don’t pronounce it “mee-mee” like he once did).

This one came during an appearance with Sean Hannity on Fox News in which he eviscerated Donald Trump: “I know you’re not talking about someone being lucid, and cogent, and enunciating their thoughts with clarity and you’re bragging about Donald Trump. We can’t be watching the same stuff, if that’s what you’re doing!”

Then, as Hannity started to respond and talk about how lucid and cogent Trump was behind the scenes, Smith put his hand to his face, and a new meme was born:

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NFL analyst furious Titans’ Will Levis was rewarded for ‘mediocrity’

NFL analyst Stephen A. Smith blasts Tennessee Titans QB Will Levis over his poor performance on the field and his commercials off the field.

There is no doubt that the Tennessee Titans offense has struggled throughout the 2024 season. Between uneven offensive line play and quarterback Will Levis going backward in his development, the frustrations continue to build each week.

While the coaching staff and players all continue to stand in lockstep behind their young, embattled quarterback, the media has not been so kind. Outspoken analyst Stephen A. Smith is the latest to speak out and he has a valid point.

“How the hell did he get these commercials? See, that’s the problem with America,” Smith said, “we got to stop rewarding mediocrity… How you gonna get a mayonnaise commercial and you playing like that? I mean come on.”

Originally a second-round selection, Levis never seized control of his opportunity to lead the Titans. He leads the NFL in both interceptions and highlight-worthy bonehead plays, as well as mayonnaise commercials. Plus, he sits at the helm of an offense that has grown stale and stagnant in recent weeks.

The Titans cannot win with such a conservative approach if Levis is still making poor decisions and worse throws. At this point, there are no signs of improvement and Titans’ fans are losing faith.

For Levis, he can always fall back on acting if his quarterback career continues to falter; those commercials were his best performances of the season.

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Shannon Sharpe loves Commanders duo of Daniels & Kingsbury

Shannon Sharpe would take Daniels over the NFC East’s other quarterbacks.

Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe really likes what he sees in Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

This week on ESPN, Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith, and former Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi assessed Daniels’ place among NFC East quarterbacks.

Sharpe declared: “Guys, you all know I hate being a prisoner of the moment. But the way this young man is playing now, and the way Kliff Kingsbury is in his ear and dialing up the plays? You’re absolutely right I am taking him over anybody else in that division.”

“Oh, I get it. It is a college offense, and it’s very simplistic. Well, a lot more teams need to make their offense simplistic if it’s going to cause their quarterback to play like this young man is playing.”

“He’s more mature than you would think. He had 55 career starts in college. I think that has a lot to do with it, and he has Kliff Kingsbury. No matter what you think of Kliff as a head coach, Stephen A., Bruschi, you know, there’s no denying his offensive mind and his ability to coach quarterbacks.”

Sharpe then discussed how Kingsbury coached Johnny Manziel, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray.

“There’s no denying his ability to relate, and to get on their levels, and extract the best out of a quarterback. I absolutely, right now, would take Jayden Daniels over any other quarterback in that division.”

Here is a video of the segment of the panel statements

Stephen A. Smith would take Commanders’ QB over others in NFC East

Stephen A. Smith is high on Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.

A recent ESPN “First Take” segment featuring Stephen A. Smith, Tedy Bruschi, and Shannon Sharpe focused on Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels’s early performance in his first four NFL games.

Smith wasn’t shy about praising Daniels over the other NFC East quarterbacks.

“I am rolling with Jayden Daniels. First of all, I’m not rolling with a guy like Dak Prescott, who’s had eight years to win a Super Bowl and can’t even win more than two playoff games in eight years. As far as I’m concerned, he has shown me what he is. He’s elite in the regular season but far from it in the postseason.”

“This brother (Daniels) brings me hope. Let’s understand something, 82.1 % completion percentage. Over their three-game winning streak, this man has scored on 22 of 24 of their drives over the last three games. Ten touchdowns, ten field goals, excluding kneel downs.”

Smith then referred to Dan Quinn saying he blew a 25-point lead in the Super bowl, but that he also got his team to the Super Bowl and concluded “he kinda knows what he is doing.”

Smith admitted then he had been down on Kliff Kingsbury, not thinking he had deserved a shot at an NFL head coaching job. He then said Kingsbury did not deserve to by pass a lot of other NFL coordinators to get that head coaching job with the Cardinals.

“But we all knows as a coordinator, he can call up some plays. We all know as coordinator he’s cultivated relationships with quarterbacks…and that’s going a long way. Now he is doing it with Jayden Daniels, because Daniels has raved about the level of communication they have with one another.”

Smith then recalled how much talk pre-draft was the number of hits Daniels took at LSU and how would he survive in the NFL “That’s not what he is doing. He is being smart, he’s running with the football, making plays with his legs. He’s certainly making plays with his arm.”

“We are looking at Washington being formidable, they could potentially win this division…The way this kid is playing, and the pieces he has around him, I like what I see.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Smith did his version of the NFL power rankings, and the Commanders were ranked No. 5.

Here is a video of the entire segment.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith ‘can’t sleep on’ the Bills anymore (video)

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith ‘can’t sleep on’ the Bills anymore (video):

Love him or hate him, you’ll probably like him right now.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is known for his hot takes but his latest is a good one for the Buffalo Bills.

While the Bills (2-0) gear up for a “Monday Night Football” matchup in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1), Smith does not have to wait until then to see something he likes… mainly Josh Allen.

During a roundtable on ESPN’s morning program “First Take,” Smith was very positive about the team and Bills QB. Smith said that he “can’t sleep on” Buffalo anymore based on Allen’s output so far in 2024.

Check out the ESPN clip below for Smith’s breakdown on the Bills:

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Bucs poke fun at doubters on social media following win over Lions

Following Sunday’s 20-16 win in Detroit over the Lions, the Buccaneers social media team poked fun at the doubters.

The Detroit Lions have become somewhat of a media darling over the course of the last two seasons, something that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only seemed to have enjoyed during the three seasons Tom Brady captained the ship.

Ask anyone outside of Tampa to talk about Lavonte David’s career, if you needed further clarification of the lack of national attention the Buccaneers receive.

Following Sunday’s 20-16 win in Detroit over the Lions, the Buccaneers social media team poked fun at the doubters—basically everyone—who said the team would go to the Motor City 1-0 and leave 1-1, licking their wounds, especially with the laundry list of starters and key playmakers on the injury report.

To best explain what a “W Admin” comment on X means, you really need to look no further than the highlight reel of detractors that the Buccaneers social media team posted. Talking heads such as Stephen A. Smith went on record earlier last week after Baker Mayfield’s 4 TD effort against the Washington Commanders to say that  “he’s [Mayfield] very good, but I’m not going to go as far as saying he’s ‘top tier’,” on ESPN’s First Take.

The Bucs will look to continue their hot start to the season and get to 3-0 for the first time since 2005 when the 0-2 Denver Broncos come to town.

Stephen A. Smith just dropped the wildest Bengals take of the year

Stephen A. Smith absolutely slammed the Bengals for not paying Ja’Marr Chase.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been hit with plenty of criticisms over the contract standoff with wideout Ja’Marr Chase over the last few weeks.

But the most scorching of all appears to have just arrived.

Thank Stephen A. Smith, who just blasted the Bengals over not paying Chase via an extension, going as far as saying he hopes they “lose every single damn game they play” until it happens.

“You get a guy like Joe Burrow on your squad who flat out balls,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter who he goes up against. You pay him his money, but then gonna give a problem to the people he utilizes as his primary weapons?”

The impasse between the Bengals and Chase wasn’t so easily boiled down into a few sentences. A market that saw the players in front of him paid perhaps earlier than anticipated led to Chase and his reps seeking an extension with two years left on his rookie deal. He “held-in” during camp and both sides didn’t budge down the stretch.

For now, contract talks appear to be off until next summer, the originally estimated time for an extension. So, if Smith’s dramatic wishes come true, the Bengals wouldn’t win a game all year. Wild.

https://twitter.com/FirstTake/status/1834246693102960733

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