As the New England Patriots find themselves in the middle of a Drake Maye breakout season and a 9-2 record buoyed by an eight-game winning streak, it didn't take long for a barrage of inflammatory take artists, led by former Pats quarterback Cam Newton, to try and discredit this run.
Newton downplayed Maye and the Patriots' success as "fool's gold" due to their relatively easy schedule. Newton apparently wasn't tuned in for wins against the Buccaneers and Bills, nor their dismantling of an elite Browns defense.
Maye chose to somewhat take the high road by claiming ignorance of the whole ordeal, though his claim that he doesn't even know what channel Newton is on nowadays. This clearly got under the worldwide leader's collective skin, as Stephen A. Smith got personal in his latest attack on Maye.
Smith claimed that Maye is a complete liar, saying that First Take's prominence as a morning show makes it ubiquitous in the world of athletics and any attempt to say Maye didn't see Newton's comments is untrue. This is getting truly sad for the First Take crew.
Stephen A. Smith calls out Patriots QB Drake Maye after Cam Newton comments
If you want to say the Patriots might not be as good as their record says they are by virtue of having played the easiest schedule in the league to this point, that's a point that can be argued outside of the ESPN hot take machine that must be constantly fed. Trying to discredit what Maye has done, however is so silly it shouldn't be dignified with a response.
Maye is somehow establishing himself as one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL while also ranking near the top of the league in completion percentage. He's doing this with one above-average wide receiver and an offensive line that is still a work in progress.
It must stink for Maye to see Newton, whom he grew up watching during No. 1's Carolina Panthers prime, turn on him without a very firm ground for argument here. Then again, with how dialed in Maye has been this year, he likely isn't paying attention to whatever First Take is on about.