The New England Patriots look like a dominant team heading into Week 12. Patriots QB Drake Maye is playing at an MVP level and has the team on a path to the playoffs. Maye got dragged back into controversy during a recent episode of First Take.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith called the second-year quarterback a “liar” over recent comments he made about Cam Newton.
“[Drake Maye] is a liar…First Take is the number one morning show..don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that,” Smith said on Thursday via First Take. “Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You lying.”
Smith is referring to Maye's response to comments Newton made about the Patriots being a potential one-and-done team in the playoffs.
“Oh no, I don’t even know what show he’s on,” Maye said. “I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. So, I just worry about what people in our organization think, and worry about what my teammates think. People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.”
Newton's point was that New England's regular season schedule is quite soft. So even though they have an impressive record, they could be easily beaten by an elite team in the postseason.
“The thing that I have a problem with,” Newton said. “Is if you keep playing sorry scrubs, then you’re going to have this falsetto of a mentality going into the playoffs, and it has one-and-done written all over it.”
Should the Patriots be worried about Cam Newton's comments?
Newton may be onto something here.
When looking back at the preseason strength of schedule for each NFL team, New England has one of the easiest in the league.
While Newton may have a point, Maye and the Patriots have been playing incredibly well during their winning streak. And they can only play who is in front of them.
New England has another matchup that looks quite easy coming up this weekend too.
Next up for the Patriots is a Week 12 matchup against the Bengals.
