Bayless's ignorant crusade against Sam Darnold reveals his desperation. Discover how a controversial cockroach of a pundit contorts reality for attention.
I've had the intense displeasure of knowing Skip Bayless on a personal level for more than 30 years, so, Seattle Seahawks fans, trust me when I say ...
He doesn't know whether a football is blown up or stuffed.
The media world - and viewers and sponsors - finally realized that about a year ago, when FS1 fired him from his national TV gig ... right about the same time he involved himself in a sex scandal, with allegations from. Fox employee that he offered her $1 million to have sex with him.
And if you knew Skip? You'd know all the reasons she turned him down.
What you need to know here? Bayless' career is based on contrarian trolling - yelling something outrageously against the grain in the hope that somebody, anybody, would listen.
And now, even though nobody is listening - he's now got a YouTube channel and it seems about the only guest he can book is his wife - he's yelling about Sam Darnold's playoff performance after Seattle's 41-6 win over San Francisco on Saturday.
Bayless's take after the Seahawks crushed the 49ers at Lumen Field: "Sam Darnold tonight: 12-17, 124 yards, 1 TD, no turnovers. Is it possible 'Same' Darnold will be carried to a Super Bowl championship by Seattle's defense and running game and special teams explosions?"
"Same'' Darnold reflects Skip's infamous habit of relying on third-grade-level word play to "strengthen'' his nonsensical point.
Darnold has of course had his ups and downs over the course of seven years with four different franchises before landing in Seattle this season.
And what has he accomplished? He's a centerpiece of a team that went an NFC-best 14-3 in the regular season and that is now one win from a Super Bowl.
In the win over the Niners? Darnold's mediocre numbers were a result of game script and Darnold's valiance, as he is playing with an injury to his oblique.
Will Darnold be "carried'' by his defense in the NFC title game this Sunday against the Rams? Maybe. Or, will the quarterback make the game-winning play to push his team to the Super Bowl? Maybe.
But Bayless isn't about the "maybes.'' He is about being incendiary as he clings to the worn threads of what used to be a career.
I'm often asked - because I know what I know about Bayless' worthlessness - why I bother writing about him at all.
"Why give him the attention he seeks?'' you ask.
"Because sometimes the only way to get the cockroach out of the kitchen is to shine a light on it,'' I answer.