Troy Aikman Rips Reporter Who Suggested He Unfairly Criticized Jared Goff This Season

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Earlier today, NFL.com’s Michael Silver suggested that Troy Aikman’s ongoing criticism of Jared Goff was the reflection of Ram’s coach Sean McVay’s comments about his (ex) quarterback in FOX production meetings.

“Routinely trashed this season on FOX telecasts, specifically those with Troy Aikman as the lead analyst, Goff could reasonably assume that McVay’s words about his quarterback’s play in network production meetings were far from glowing.”

After a very bad Week 16 interception by Goff against the Seahawks, Aikman said “it doesn’t get any uglier than that.” In Week 12 game against the Patriots, the Hall of Famer speculated that Bill Belichick wants the game in the hands of Goff.

Goff hadn’t done much this season to warrant Aikman’s comments absurd, but there’s a growing contingency on the web who’s picked up on Aikman’s harsh assessment of the two-time Pro Bowler.

Sports Illustrated Jimmy Traina reached out to Aikman for his comments on the allegations, and he spoke very plainly.

“Unlike Michael Silver, I strive to be fair and balanced and do not have an agenda when doing my job. The record will show that I have been a strong supporter of Jared Goff’s over the years. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Rams and Jared Goff, he did not perform at his best in the games that I broadcasted this season and I’m confident Jared would be the first to agree.”

In a recent interview with SI’s Media Podcast, Aikman laid out his philosophy in the booth, claiming his credibility is directly tied to his honest assessment of the game.

“I don’t have an agenda when I go into the booth. I try to call the game as I see it. And if there’s a play that’s poor, I try to point that out, but I never want to do it at the expense of anyone and I just try to be fair in my critique. I like to be fair when things aren’t going well so that when I say, “Hey, this is really a great play, this player is exceptional,” that people know I’m not just saying it to say it. I want the words that I say to mean something, and that’s only true if you’re really honest with how you feel.”

At the time of this writing, Michael Silver has yet to respond.

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Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.