Derrick Henry has had an uncharacteristic start to the season, losing fumbles in each of the first three games including two critical fourth quarter turnovers in both of the Ravens’ losses to start the season. And it led Chris Canty and Stephen A. Smith to a fiery debate on Tuesday’s edition of First Take.
It all started when Smith bemoaned the lack of rushing attempts for Henry throughout Baltimore’s Monday Night Football defeat to the Detroit Lions where he only carried the ball 12 times for 50 yards. That led Canty to saying that the Ravens couldn’t trust Derrick Henry.
That started part one of the argument.
“Fumbles happen, he’ll fix it. He’s DERRICK HENRY,” Smith pleaded.
After engaging in dialogue with Kimberley A. Martin, Canty went back at Smith questioning the Ravens’ 1-2 start to the season. While Stephen A. was going at the Ravens’ defense, saying it was a bigger problem than Henry’s fumbles, Canty noted that his former team was held to under 100 yards rushing in consecutive games for the first time with Henry and Lamar Jackson.
And from there, the debate then went to nuclear levels with the volume going up to decibel levels that are rarely reached on morning television.
It even led Martin at the end of the segment to say, “Let’s turn the volume down.”
First Take is going through some major changes at the moment after the shock resignation of longtime host Molly Qerim. The program is currently auditioning hosts over the next several weeks. While Amina Smith got the nod on Monday’s show, it was Shae Peppler Cornette sitting in the anchor chair on Tuesday. Perhaps it was the luck of the draw that she got to sit in on the day when Canty and Smith were scheduled to be in studio together, but that may be worth some bonus points on her end.
In truth, no moderator was going to stop this one from going volcanic. Of all the people currently working at ESPN, Chris Canty may be the one who can go toe-to-toe with Stephen A. Smith in embracing debate. And we know he’s not afraid to give strong opinions. It’s not the first time that we have seen these two battle each other, and given the propensity for fireworks between the pair, it’s certainly not going to be the last time either.
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