It seems as though Steve Smith Sr. has stopped beating the drum for Baker Mayfield and has moved on to beating a dead horse (or donkey).
During his call-in segment for The Clubhouse with Kyle Bailey on Monday, the Carolina Panthers legend had some not-so-complimentary words for the current Carolina Panthers quarterback. When going over Mayfield’s performance from the Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, one in which the offense mustered up all of three points, Smith Sr. put on his cape . . . but not to save the struggling passer.
“Well, I don’t wanna be Captain Petty, but there were times—where I had the All-22 and I looked back—and he’s looking at one side of the field,” Smith Sr. said. “And there is Shi Smith running an under route, a zone route, a flare—and whether Z, Y, X, drive—and he’s looking to the right and never looks at the next progression. So there were a few times where he did not throw the football.”
When he did throw the football, Mayfield connected on 21 of his 33 attempts for 196 and two interceptions. As a whole, Carolina amassed just 205 total yards of offense and converted on just three of their 12 third-down tries.
Smith Sr. went on:
“Listen, this three-legged donkey that’s playing quarterback, it’s tough. Let me tell you, it’s tough to watch. Especially when the other team got a four-legged barrel bred.”
Oh, and there’s more:
“It is no possible way any team that’s looking for a foundational quarterback should sign Baker Mayfield,” he added of the soon-to-be free agent.
Well, unless the Panthers put him back in the stable, we’ll see if Mayfield gets a chance to kick back on these criticisms before the year is over.