Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe rip into First Take co-host during heated Sam Darnold debate
Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe ripped into First Take co-host Dan Orlovsky during a fiery Sam Darnold debate. The ESPN analysts wasted no time in dissecting the Minnesota Vikings‘ wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, in which the quarterback shouldered much of the blame. Darnold has taken much of the blame for Minnesota’s playoff exit Darnold was sacked nine times and had two turnovers in the 27-9 defeat on Monday night, which concluded his team’s once-promising campaign and raised question marks over his own offseason outlook. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards, a second-half touchdown, an interception and finished with a 77.6 rating. But the Rams pressured the QB all night, and he was dragged to the turf on 18 per cent of his 50 dropbacks, while also appearing flummoxed by the coverage he was throwing against. On Tuesday, Orlovsky appeared on First Take and initially suggested Darnold is not solely to blame for Minnesota’s loss. “This is where we just look at football very differently,” he told Smith. “And this is where I get really frustrated with you. You’re so smart and you watch so much. You gotta get past the, ‘He lost, quarterback stunk. He won, quarterback was great.’ “Last night, Stephen, I would put Sam Darnold at fourth or fifth when it comes to reasons why that game went the way it did.” Orlovsky then suggested that Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula replicating Aaron Glenn’s gameplan, the Vikings offensive line playing so horribly, and Kevin O’Connell getting out-coached, were also reasons for the loss. However, having been high on Darnold in recent weeks, he did also concede that the QB holding on to the ball and turning it over too much was a major issue – and that flip-flopping left Smith incredibly frustrated. “Oh, now you’ll concede. But when we’ve been saying it all year, you were getting on us,” he began. Smith lost his cool with his First Take co-host during a debate about DarnoldESPN/First Take Orlovsky took exception to being accused of lying by SmithESPN/First Take “Listen, when Sam Darnold was balling out, I sat up there weeks in advance, and I said we’re going to see when it counts. “Because you’ve got about six years of history to look at. You said, ‘You’re holding on to the past’. And now, you’re going to come up here – and I’ve got to get Shannon on you because you’ve tried to deny what you were saying.” Orlovsky fired back by telling Smith to stop accusing him of being a liar, which further enraged his co-host. “You’re calling me out? You say I’m making stuff up? We’ve got receipts of you talking about Sam Donald. Don’t get me started,” Smith continued. “I’ll parade them all over the world. I’ll play it all over the airwaves.” At that point, Sharpe jumped in with a brutal verdict on the debate. Sharpe was also involved in the debate, and suggested Orlovsky ‘misspoke the truth’ESPN/First Take View Tweet: https://t.co/KhTEbAhlOe “Stephen, that’s harsh. I mean, calling (Orlovsky) a liar is a little harsh on national television,” he said. “Let’s just say he misspoke the truth. We’ll leave it at that.” The Darnold debate will no doubt rage on in the coming days, and this probably won’t be the last we hear from Smith and Orlovsky on the topic, given how intense their first conversation was. Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league. Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across the very latest NFL news with exclusive access and our weekly ‘Rundown’ review show.
Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe ripped into First Take co-host Dan Orlovsky during a fiery Sam Darnold debate.
The ESPN analysts wasted no time in dissecting the Minnesota Vikings‘ wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, in which the quarterback shouldered much of the blame.
Darnold was sacked nine times and had two turnovers in the 27-9 defeat on Monday night, which concluded his team’s once-promising campaign and raised question marks over his own offseason outlook.
He completed 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards, a second-half touchdown, an interception and finished with a 77.6 rating.
But the Rams pressured the QB all night, and he was dragged to the turf on 18 per cent of his 50 dropbacks, while also appearing flummoxed by the coverage he was throwing against.
On Tuesday, Orlovsky appeared on First Take and initially suggested Darnold is not solely to blame for Minnesota’s loss.
“This is where we just look at football very differently,” he told Smith.
“And this is where I get really frustrated with you. You’re so smart and you watch so much. You gotta get past the, ‘He lost, quarterback stunk. He won, quarterback was great.’
“Last night, Stephen, I would put Sam Darnold at fourth or fifth when it comes to reasons why that game went the way it did.”
Orlovsky then suggested that Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula replicating Aaron Glenn’s gameplan, the Vikings offensive line playing so horribly, and Kevin O’Connell getting out-coached, were also reasons for the loss.
However, having been high on Darnold in recent weeks, he did also concede that the QB holding on to the ball and turning it over too much was a major issue – and that flip-flopping left Smith incredibly frustrated.
“Oh, now you’ll concede. But when we’ve been saying it all year, you were getting on us,” he began.
“Listen, when Sam Darnold was balling out, I sat up there weeks in advance, and I said we’re going to see when it counts.
“Because you’ve got about six years of history to look at. You said, ‘You’re holding on to the past’. And now, you’re going to come up here – and I’ve got to get Shannon on you because you’ve tried to deny what you were saying.”
Orlovsky fired back by telling Smith to stop accusing him of being a liar, which further enraged his co-host.
“You’re calling me out? You say I’m making stuff up? We’ve got receipts of you talking about Sam Donald. Don’t get me started,” Smith continued.
“I’ll parade them all over the world. I’ll play it all over the airwaves.”
At that point, Sharpe jumped in with a brutal verdict on the debate.
“Stephen, that’s harsh. I mean, calling (Orlovsky) a liar is a little harsh on national television,” he said.
“Let’s just say he misspoke the truth. We’ll leave it at that.”
The Darnold debate will no doubt rage on in the coming days, and this probably won’t be the last we hear from Smith and Orlovsky on the topic, given how intense their first conversation was.
Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook
Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league.
Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across the very latest NFL news with exclusive access and our weekly ‘Rundown’ review show.
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