WASHINGTON — ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith blew a gasket on co-host Skip Bayless for negatively comparing Aaron Rodgers to Robert Griffin III, and we are to believe this was genuine and not forged drama for television.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.

What?

“When are we going to come to grips with the fact that Aaron Rodgers is no longer Aaron Rodgers?” Bayless said to Smith on First Take. “You are the No. 1 excuse-maker for Aaron Rodgers and too many of the gullible souls out there, too many Packer fans, are still on your bandwagon saying, ‘Yeah, you’re right. He just doesn’t have Jordy [Nelson].'”

“I don’t even recognize this guy anymore,” he said. “You want to talk about loss of confidence? Starting with his 77-yard performance at Denver. Remember that, mid-year? He threw for 77 yards. Since then, he has suffered a loss of confidence that is an RGIII-level of loss of confidence.”

Smith: OH MY GOODNESS. Bayless: Given who he is. Given who he is. It’s that kind of loss of confidence. From where RGIII was as a rookie to where he is now, you don’t even recognize the guy. I can’t recognize this guy. […] Smith: First of all, the words, the disrespect coming out of your mouth, it is disrespectful. Bayless: It’s honesty! It’s honesty! It’s unvarnished honesty! Smith: IT IS DISRESPECTFUL! IT IS DISRESPECTFUL! UNBELIEVABLE! Let me tellll you something, Skip Bayless, because you done crossed the line. You done crossed the line, okay? You’re calling me out! You’re calling me out! Let me call you out! No. 1, you said RGIII. RGIII, if I remember correctly, was a rookie. RGIII was no Super Bowl champion. Oh, by the way, when RGIII lost his confidence, it was at a time when he had DeSean Jackson, and Pierre Garcon, and Jordan Reed, and Niles Paul, and Alfred Morris coming out of the backfield averaging better than four yards a carry. Not the Alfred Morris we saw this year.

Anyway, it went on this way for like 17 minutes. Just in time for the Redskins and Packers to meet in the playoffs. Watch the video here.

Related: ‘First Take’ Hosts Change Tune on Redskins

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