'Arthur Smith is a Liar!' Bradshaw Bizarre FOX Rant Against Falcons Coach

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There are any number of reasons for Atlanta Falcons watchers to come to the conclusion - even after the team's win on Sunday over the Colts, 29-10. And we have detailed many of those, we hope, fairly.
And then there is what Terry Bradshaw did on the NFL on FOX pregame show in advance of the Christmas Eve win, calling the beleaguered coach a "liar" and saying Smith "needs to get his butt whooped!"
Bradshaw, himself of course a former superstar quarterback, launched his rant in large part in defense of young QB Desmond Ridder, noting that earlier in the year, Smith vowed to stick with Ridder.
And to Bradshaw, Smith reneging on that vow constitutes a "lie."
“I have no respect for Arthur Smith,” Bradshaw said on the show.
And why not?
terry bradshaw cooked arthur smith.
— pboyydouglas (@milfhunterjones) December 24, 2023
notice the number of losses in front of the number of seasons…
we can never escape it… pic.twitter.com/fIByORpBmE
Because of how Smith has treated young quarterback Desmond Ridder - or, better stated, because of how Bradshaw views said treatment.
Give Smith, Heinicke Their Presents After Falcons Win vs. Colts
"He messed with that young quarterback Desmond Ridder like that, and you set him back," Bradshaw ranted. "Play the young man. Leave him alone. Don’t lie to him. And (Smith) lied to him.
"And he needs to get his butt whooped! Nothing upsets me more than when someone lies to me.”
There is much to unpack here. ...
Will Arthur Smith Get Fired if Falcons Miss Playoffs?
*This the NFL, and it's weird that Bradshaw, of all people given his experience, would think that a Week 8 promise to leave a guy in the lineup is somehow etched in stone and binding.
*Smith did not "lie to (Bradshaw)." Why is Terry - complete with raised voices and waving arms - taking this personally?
*Arthur Smith "needs to get his butt whooped"?! How? Why? By whom? By Bradshaw? Terry is 75, almost twice Smith's age. And he wants to meet him out back in the alley for a brawl? What are we doing here?
*Terry suggests that Smith may have changed his mind because the coach's job depends on winning. Ya think? That's exactly how this should work. And by the way, Ridder's job should depend on winning, too.
*Smith engineered the switch to Taylor Heinicke, and in the "by the way" that matters most right now ... The Falcons got the win.

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.
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