Stephen A. Smith returned from his vacation with guns blazing.
The star of First Take was back on his show Monday and had a pointed message for Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. Smith responded to Harbaugh, who delivered a nearly three-minute soliloquy Sunday when asked about the criticism directed toward his quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
“There’s a lot of great things said about Lamar, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s said that you just got to scratch your head about and kind of wonder, ‘What’s that person even thinking?'” Harbaugh said Sunday, according to ESPN. “But we take it personally.”
It appears like Smith also took Harbaugh’s comments personally.
“Well, first of all, I would appreciate if he didn’t make up narratives,” Smith began. “Because what he was saying was a lie. And No. 2, I’d like for him to look in the mirror. I respect the hell out of John Harbaugh. I think he’s a great coach. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He’s an elite coach in the National Football League. But he’s also somebody known for being incredibly honest. Respectfully, Coach Harbaugh, what the hell are you talking about? What is this critique and criticism of Lamar Jackson? Where is it coming from?”
Well, we can think of one place…
Stephen A. Smith takes issue with John Harbaugh’s comments regarding the criticism of Lamar Jackson.
“I would appreciate it if he doesn’t make up narratives. Because what he was saying was a lie… respectfully Coach Harbaugh, what the hell are you talking about?” pic.twitter.com/HQfQCEwemv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 22, 2024
“There’s only one (criticism),” Smith elaborated. “You haven’t been to a Super Bowl. You haven’t won a Super Bowl Championship. You’re a two-time league MVP. There are nine people that have won Super Bowl Championships that have been two-time MVPs, OK? Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Patrick Mahomes.
“Every single one of them has won a Super Bowl Championship, but Lamar Jackson. That is all we say. Nobody questions his ability. We used to question his ability to throw the football — that’s been thrown out the window. We know how electrifying and mercurial of an athlete and the talent and a runner at the quarterback position that he is.
“We know what type of a game-changer this brother is. Lamar Jackson is elite when he got his money — before he got his money. All of us were sitting here saying, ‘Wait a minute now, he deserves his bag. Now, be careful because you’re negotiating for yourself. You understand?’ And your family members were a part of it. We were worried about that because the NFL can be a very complicated apparatus.
“But at the end of the day, we looked at him and nobody questioned that he deserved his money. Nobody questioned his greatness as a quarterback. Nobody questioned anything other than the fact that you have not won a Super Bowl.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.