Stephen A Smith really needs to reconsider his ability to competently speak about football.
The ESPN personality has made headlines the last few months for the wrong reasons — embarrassing himself with his lack of football knowledge, with this December video taking the cake.
On Friday, he exposed himself for his pathetically wrong take on Dwayne Haskins. Smith said he sees the former Ohio State quarterback as “more of a runner than a thrower.”
In which Stephen A. Smith says that Dwayne Haskins is “more of a runner than a thrower.” pic.twitter.com/Gtowi8y0Pp
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) February 8, 2019
Smith made it clear once again that he does not watch football and that he in all likelihood never saw Haskins play. Haskins is a pocket passer, period. There is no debate. It feels like Smith was racially stereotyping Haskins as a runner because he’s black, not because of the type of football he plays. This would be like calling Jameis Winston a running quarterback; everyone knows he’s not.
And in case you need more, stats say Haskins only scrambled on five percent of his dropbacks last season. A guy who runs once out of 20 times is not a running quarterback.
According to @SportsInfo_SIS, Dwayne Haskins ended up scrambling on 4.97% of his dropbacks in 2018. That scramble rate ranked 59th out of 104 QBs with at least 250 dropbacks. Definitely not accurate to categorize him as more of a runner than a thrower.
— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) February 8, 2019
But you know the worst part? Rather than just admit he was wrong and take the L, Smith kept trying to defend himself even though he had been busted. Fans weren’t letting him off the hook.
Why? Because I believe what I believe? I know Haskins is a baller. That he threw for 50 TD’s last year. But I view his athleticism as more of a plus (I.e. scrambling outside the pocket, etc.) I don’t view him as an ideal pocket passer, nor the runner than Kyler is. Period! https://t.co/9u6GZxnuYg
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 8, 2019
Haskins is bigtime. I know this. And I’m not saying he CAN’T pass. But I view him the way I view him. Just an eye-test thing. Im not talking statistically. Make of it what you will. https://t.co/9u6GZxnuYg
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 8, 2019
Haaaaa! Now that’s a good comeback. But we shall see. Haskins wants to throw. I know this. Also know he’s nowhere near the athlete J.T.Barrett was. But I’ve got to see him be that pocket passer that everyone swears he is on the NFL. That’s just ME. We shall see. https://t.co/gtEcW0n0if
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 8, 2019
Smith has rapidly lost credibility and proved just how difficult it is to be knowledgeable about multiple sports. It’s impossible to watch everything, and when your job requires you to comment on things you haven’t seen, you’re going to get exposed like this at times.
