Apparently, the words “I was wrong” aren’t in Stephen A. Smith’s vocabulary. Either that, or he’s more locked in with the New England Patriots than anyone realizes.
The ESPN talking head took some heat this week in the leadup to the AFC Championship Game when he spoke glowingly of the work done by Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams this season. Williams, of course, has been away from the team for almost the entire season while receiving cancer treatment. Linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has called the defense in his absence.
This might be news to Smith.
“There’s a defense that Jarrett Stidham has to go up against,” said on ESPN this week. ‘There is a brother coaching that defense, Terrell Williams. We ain’t mention him all year long. Reunited with Mike Vrabel … this man has done a helluva job with a defense that’s ranked top five in the National Football League, OK, so we going to give brothers credit on this show. And that brother’s doing his thing.”
Stephen A. Smith Defends Himself for Patriots Flub
The video went viral, and Smith felt compelled to address the situation. He responded on Jan. 24 with a message on X, quote-tweeting the video.
“Nice try!” he tweeted to his nearly 6 million followers. “First of all, we reported earlier in the year that he was out due to prostate cancer when it happened. Secondly, he still talks to coaches for game-planning purposes. Thirdly, forgetting to mention all of that is different than not knowing — plus it really doesn’t matter when I’ve got experts like Ryan Clark and Cam Newton backing me up.
“But keep pushing the story. Hope it gets the clicks folks want. Carry on!”
In (slight) fairness to Smith, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel revealed earlier in the season that Williams was around the team between treatments and even sat in on meetings. To give him credit for the Patriots’ defensive success — without mentioning Kuhr — seems like a slight stretch to say the the least, though.
And as pointed out by longtime Boston sports media personality Michael Hurley, leaning on Clark and Newton in this situation might not be his best play. They’ve made headlines recently for head-scratching declarations, as well.
Stephen A. Smith Sends Warning to Patriots Fans
That wasn’t Smith’s only Patriots take this week. As for the actual game itself, he’s already warning New England that they won’t hear the end of it if they lose to Jarrett Stidham and the Denver Broncos with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
“We ain’t seen Jarrett Stidham. You ain’t heard his name. There’s an APB out for that brother,” Smith said, per FanSided. ” … New England, I swear to you, you lose this game, oh trust you me, the offseason ain’t going to be pleasant to you brothers. You better win this damn football game. I’m telling you right now. I’m speaking on behalf of Bostonians and New Englanders everywhere.
“And I’m a New Yorker, but I know them. Ain’t no way in hell anybody wants to hear you’re gonna lose a game in the AFC Championship Game to Jarrett Stidham.”
The Patriots are holding steady as 4.5-point favorites despite having to go on the road in Denver on championship Sunday.
Stephen A. Smith Doubles Down On Brutal Patriots Gaffe