Stephen A. Smith drew criticism this week for some comments he made about the Miami Dolphins, and Tyreek Hill has heard enough.
One of the topics that was discussed on ESPN’s “First Take” Tuesday is whether Tua Tagovailoa should be viewed as the clear-cut NFL MVP through six weeks. When that question was posed, Smith took the opportunity to praise Hill for the wide receiver’s explosive playmaking ability. Smith noted how “you just got Tua dipping it two yards” to Hill and Hill does the rest of the work.
"I don't know if y'all watching Miami enough. All of these passes ain't for 19, 20, 30, 40 yards. You just got Tua dipping it two yards to [Tyreek Hill]." – Stephen A. Smith.
We counted five long passes by Tua in the accompanying highlights package, while all of Tua's short… pic.twitter.com/btq7YALLTj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 17, 2023
As Smith was providing his analysis, ESPN aired several clips of Tagovailoa throwing perfectly accurate deep balls to Hill. More on that later.
During the latest episode of his “It Needed to Be Said” podcast, Hill addressed Smith’s comments. Hill said Smith obviously hasn’t been watching the Dolphins closely enough.
“If he really just watched the games and watch how we play, none of our routes are really like 2 yards, you feel me? Quarterback is like the hardest position in the league,” Hill said. “For a guy to even be considered (an MVP candidate), that’s next level. For Stephen A. Smith to go out of his way and say Tua isn’t worthy of being an MVP is crazy to me.
“If you look at, besides Lamar Jackson, all of the past MVPs, they had guys. They had receivers to throw the ball to. Just because a guy has talent around him and he’s succeeding doesn’t mean he’s not worthy of being a candidate for MVP.”
Hill also said he is “sick and tired of people bashing my quarterback for no reason,” so he was not talking only about Smith.
Tyreek Hill responds to Stephen A. Smith and all the critics hating on Tua on his podcast (@cheetah_podcast) and it’s 🔥
“For Stephen A. Smith to go out of his way and say that Tua isn’t worthy of being the MVP it’s crazy to me. I’m sick of people bashing my QB for no reason.… pic.twitter.com/h9yIO40o5i
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) October 19, 2023
On Thursday’s edition of “First Take,” Smith said his remarks about Hill were taken out of context. Fellow ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky called Smith out for intimating that Tagovailoa just gets the ball into Hill’s hands and Hill does the work. Smith insisted all he was trying to do was compare Hill to some of the game’s other great wide receivers.
Stephen A. would like to know who the critics victimizing Tua are…"Who are these people?" pic.twitter.com/u9MYjtZzcq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 19, 2023
Even if Smith’s intention was to praise Hill, he did so while the ticker on ESPN read “Is Tua the clear-cut NFL MVP right now?” The timing of his analysis made it seem like Smith was taking away from Tagovailoa’s accomplishments.
Tagovailoa has a great receiver tandem to throw to in Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins also have explosive playmakers at running back with Raheem Mostern and rookie De’Von Achane. That should not make Tagovailoa’s 1,876 yards and 14 touchdown passes any less impressive.
Some would also argue that Tagovailoa is a product of Mike McDaniel’s excellent offensive system. The head coach made it clear this week how he feels about that narrative.
