Stephen A. Smith Makes Inaccurate Point While Poking Fun At Bill Belichick

Stephen A. Smith does not believe Bill Belichick should continue to serve as both general manager and head coach of the New England Patriots. Because while Smith still views Belichick as a great coach, it’s become clear his roster-building strategies no longer benefit the organization.

Smith, who previously said Belichick should have his GM duties taken away, doubled down on it Monday morning during ESPN’s “First Take.” And while his argument was both familiar and comical, one of the points he made also was inaccurate.

“The New England Patriots have a defense. What they have is a bad GM playing as coach. That’s what the damn problem is,” Smith said while appearing alongside Shannon Sharpe and Rex Ryan. “Which is why I say, Coach Rex (Ryan), if I’m Robert Kraft, I call Bill Belichick in the office and I’m going like this, ‘Your duties as GM have come to an end. You are no longer picking the roster. You can coach forever because I know you’re the best, but you can’t pick this roster any longer.’

“He’s had too much time — two Pro Bowl selections in a decade,” Smith continued. “One was a punter and the other was a kicker returner. That’s it! All these damn positions, y’all know it better than me — offense, defense, special teams — and the only Pro Bowl selections you’ve made is a punter and a kick returner. That’s just embarrassing. That’s just embarrassing.”

Smith’s sentiments regarding the lack of Pro Bowlers in the last decade is wrong, however.

The Patriots were represented at the 2022 Pro Bowl by Matthew Judon, J.C. Jackson, Matthew Slater and alternate quarterback Mac Jones. Punter Jake Bailey, Stephon Gilmore and Slater represented the group at the 2020 Pro Bowl. Over the last decade New England has had far more than just two Pro Bowlers.

With that said, there’s still no denying there’s been a drain of talent in recent years. And that’s played a key role in the Patriots now staring at a 1-5 record in what could end up being Belichick’s worst-ever season at the helm.