‘Two things can be true’ -Shannon Sharpe sounds off on Shedeur Sanders-Arch Manning double standard

The fallout from Arch Manning’s poor Texas Longhorns debut continues.

This time, it’s NFL legend Shannon Sharpe weighing in, who joined in with fans calling out the difference in coverage of Manning’s debut compared to how Shedeur Sanders was treated back in college.

Manning and Sanders have had the spotlight cast on them from young ages as a result of their last names.

NFL rookie Sanders, who is wrapping up an intense preseason with the Cleveland Browns, is the son of Deion Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl-winning NFL cornerback and current head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team.

While Manning, who’s made millions in NIL money, is the grandson of Archie Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli, all three being legendary quarterbacks.

With his family tree in mind, it’s no surprise that Manning’s Texas debut against Ohio State on Saturday was a highly anticipated affair.

Unfortunately, though, it was a performance to forget from the young signal caller.

The 21-year-old did show flashes of promise during the game but was ultimately inconsistent and made several mistakes.

By the end of the game, he completed 17-of-30 passes for 170 yards and had one touchdown and one interception.

After the game, NFL experts weighed in on Manning’s debut, with ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky seemingly making an excuse for the young quarterback by claiming Ohio State were just too good.

“Arch Manning and Sark got Bill Belichick-ed,” Orlovsky explained.

“Arch will not see another defense that is as sophisticated, as complicated, [and] as much as they change pre-snap to post-snap. I’m not telling America that Arch didn’t have some misses.

“Of course he had some misses. Mechanically, he got worse as the game went on. [But] that game, in specific to Arch, went the way it did because of Matt Patricia for Ohio State, and that Ohio State secondary.”

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Shannon Sharpe calls out double standards

Some have claimed that the tone used to analyse Manning, which has generally given him the benefit of the doubt, has been markedly different to how Sanders was criticized when he was in college.

And that includes Sharpe and his podcast co-host, Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson.

“Dan Orlovsky made some good excuses for Arch,” Ochocinco began.

Sharpe replied, “He did,” while laughing.

Sharpe went on to explain how he was able to criticize and praise Sanders while he was in college, while others who slammed him now seem to be giving grace to Manning.

“Two things can be true, I can praise him and still critique him,” Sharpe added.

“I can say there are some things that are concerning for me and give credit where it’s due, that’s just how the job works.

Despite the media coverage of Manning, the quarterback himself was honest when talking to reporters about how he played.

“I hold myself to a high standard,” Manning said on Monday.

“I’ve got to play better, got to lead more, got to get our guys to play well around me, and ultimately I wasn’t good enough.”

All eyes will be on Texas and Manning again when they take on the San Jose State Spartans on Sept.6.

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