Micah Parsons starting a podcast has done one major thing. While it gives fans an inside look into one of the better young defensive players in the league, it also is a constant topic of conversation. Regardless of the way Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys play on the field, the podcast is always grabbing attention.
Unfortunately, not all of it is positive as Parsons found out firsthand. Going on “First Take,” NFL legend turned sports media pundit Shannon Sharpe eviscerated the All-Pro defender.
Shannon Sharpe Tears Down Micah Parsons
The MVP race has been a hot topic of debate this season. While no clear winner has emerged, it is more due to five or six names having excellent seasons worthy of the most prestigious award in the sport. Even though Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen seem to be the most obvious answers, names like Jared Goff, Saquon Barkley, Patrick Mahomes, and even Joe Burrow aren’t that far behind.
Burrow got a massive endorsement from Parsons on his podcast “The Edge with Micah Parsons.” Parsons expounded on the MVP race: “He without a doubt should be MVP. I think if you asked anybody in the league right now, this ain’t just me, we’ve talked about it in the locker room. We said, ‘Joe Burrow is the best quarterback we faced.’
“And we faced Lamar this year. You can ask anybody on the team. We said, ‘Joe Burrow was the best quarterback in the National Football League this year, without a doubt.'”
While the endorsement was as clear as it can get, Sharpe didn’t take too kindly to his words. For him, the effort on the field wasn’t good enough from the Cowboys for Parsons to be passing judgment. According to him, the defense had done a terrible job. Rather than build upon Parsons’ argument, the Hall of Famer tore him down and called him out for his play this season.
“Every quarterback that played against the Cowboys’ defense looked like Joe Burrow. Jared Goff looked like Joe Burrow. Derek Carr looked like Joe Burrow. Lamar Jackson looked like Lamar Jackson. Jalen Hurts. Name a quarterback, even though he lost, Jayden Daniels looked like Joe Burrow. So I’m trying to figure out, when you’re talking in the locker room, everybody quarterback that you guys play look like Joe Burrow because they put up similar-type numbers.”
It wasn’t just idle noise from Sharpe, either. The legendary tight end even pulled up stats to back up his argument. “The Saints put up 44 on you. How many did the Eagles put up the first time? Dan Campbell felt sorry for you and called the dogs off.”
Then he spoke directly to Parsons about what needed to change in the Cowboys’ locker room. “Micah, I know you was talking to the locker room. But what y’all should be talking about is how the hell y’all going to get better instead of discussing other teams’ players because y’all are terrible on that side of the football.”
The problem for Sharpe was that this season, in particular, podcaster Parsons was more of a talking point than the player Parsons. “Shouldn’t we be talking about Micah and what he did on the field as opposed to what he’s saying off of it? I mean, when was the last time you heard, ‘Micah is one of the best defensive players in football.’ We talk about T.J. Watt, we talk about Myles Garrett, we talk about a lot of other people now.”
Going on, Sharpe wanted Parsons to be a part of that discussion, instead of him hyping up his opponents. “Now, you keep mentioning Joe Burrow. I’m ready from some people on the podcast to start mentioning you as a top defensive player. But what you’re doing, ‘You’re doing a lot of yapping, bro. And you’re going home.'”
Later on, Sharpe added, “You’re going to have a lot of extra time and you’re going to have to ask yourself, ‘Why do I have this extra time?’ Because every quarterback that we play looks like Joe Burrow. From Derek Carr to Jared Goff to Jaylen Hurts to Jayden Daniels to even Joe Burrow look like Joe Burrow.
“So, bro, you got to stop this. I mean, Micah, c’mon bro, you doing too much talking and not enough playing on the field. You missed some time through no fault of your own but bro, you sounding ridiculous.”
It isn’t like Sharpe’s comments come without rhyme or reason. From a stats perspective, this might be the worst year of Parsons’ career. Though missing time contributed, he has career lows in both solo and assisted tackles while posting single-digit sacks for the first time in his career. Collectively, the Cowboys are giving up the second-most points per game (27.8), after ranking fifth just last season.