After catching flack for comments seeming to downplay Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s impact on the Miami offense, Stephen A. Smith on First Take on Monday took Dan Orlovsky to task for the barrage of hate he received from Dolphins fans.
Last week when discussing the Dolphins win over the Giants with Jeff Saturday and Shannon Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith implied that the bulk of wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s success so far this year can’t be attributed to Tua’s throwing abilities.
“All of these passes ain’t for 19, 20, 30, 40 yards,” Smith said. “You just got Tua dipping it two yards to (Hill) and he’s the one taking it to the house. He’s the one going 20, 30, 40, 50 yards.”
On Thursday when discussing Sunday night’s Dolphins/Eagles game, Stephen A. went on the defensive at first, wondering where all the critics were that were “victimizing” Tua. Orlovsky in their interaction said Smith is overlooking the fact that Tua throws it downfield quite a bit.
“If you watch this offense, Tua’s throwing the ball downfield more than anybody in football,” he said. “You gotta stop intimating that.”
Fast forward to Monday’s First Take with Orlovsky back at the desk, and Stephen A. Smith in his reaction to the Dolphins loss to the Eagles blamed the NFL analyst for the whole story being blown out of proportion.
“It’s your fault that damn nonsense went viral,” Smith said pointing to Orlovsky. “It was your fault.”
“Because I sat up there and it was taken out of context but it’s alright. You know good and damn well if I’m watching games I know all Tua ain’t doing is throwing two or three-yard passes. I know better than that.”
Orlovsky wondered how it was his fault, but Smith ultimately said he was just joking and that he really “doesn’t really give a damn” aboutwhat outsiders have to say.
