Tyreek Hill slams Stephen A. Smith for undermining Tua Tagovailoa’s success with Dolphins - “Sick of people”
Tyreek Hill has been a revelation for the Miami Dolphins since he came to town in 2022. Hoewver, Stephen A. Smith undermined the quarterback's success, drawing criticism from Tyreek Hill.
Hill has formed a potent combination with Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle and brough the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Since then, they have continued to be dominant, going 5-1 and most notably destroying the hapless Denver Broncos 70-20.
However, on Tuesday, Smith attempted to downplay their success on First Take:
“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 him, and he’s the one taking it to the house.”
Obviously, Hill was hurt by the comments. On Thursday, the seven-time Pro Bowler took to his podcast It Needed to be Said and responded:
“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. He’s been doing a hell of a job this year, and people need to stop giving him crap. A lot of people don’t understand what my dawg went through just to get here, especially last year. To get to where he is now, being talked about as the MVP, that’s next level.
“If you really just watch the games and just watch how we play, like none of our routes are really like 2 yards. All of my receptions last week was over 30 yards.”
Tyreek Hill on being fined for celebrating his touchdowns: "I'll never be hesitant"
In the same episode, Tyreek Hill discussed the recent financial penalty he received from the NFL.
The league recently published its list of Week 5 fines. The Super Bowl-winning pass-catcher was docked $10,927 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Hill had done the peace sign to celebrate a 69-yard touchdown during the third quarter of a 31-16 win against the New York Giants. He said:
"I'll never be hesitant toward celebrating. If I stop doing what I'm doing, then I should just stop inspiring the youth. Scoring in the NFL is hard. It's always been my dream to play in the NFL, so when I score, it's like I'm back to being a kid again."
More recently, Hill celebrated a Week 6 touchdown against the Carolina Panthers by taking a cellphone from the stands that was later confirmed to belong to an associate of his who works in the NFL, then filming himself doing a backflip:
On Tuesday (via NBC PFT), he said:
“I know the NFL’s gonna fine me for it, but it’s worth it, though. To be able to create memories I can look back on when I’m done is something I think of every time I play this game. Every time I step on the field I’m gonna try to make it memorable.”
In six games this season, Tyreek Hill has 42 catches for a league-high 814 yards and six touchdowns. The Dolphins, meanwhile, are averaging 37.2 points per game, also a league-high.