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Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Posted on: November 1, 2011 10:29 am
Edited on: November 2, 2011 6:50 am
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Esiason: "I don’t believe that Tim Tebow knows what he’s doing on the football field." (AP)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

There is no middle ground with Tim Tebow. Everybody agrees that he's a great person with an impressive college resume, but with each start, it's also evident that he's not an NFL quarterback. Not yet and maybe never. After a dreadful effort against the Lions on Sunday, the media scrutiny has intensified (turns out, it's possible). The latest to weigh in: Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, who works as an analyst for CBS' The NFL Today and also hosts a radio show on WFAN.

“(Starting Tebow) is a bad move for two reasons,” Esiason said Monday, via CBS New York (listen to the audio here). “One is, I don’t believe that Tim Tebow knows what he’s doing on the football field. … Number two, those hits that are coming his way are coming with authority. Meaning that players are out to get him.”

Esiason, who before the season was critical of Tebow's prospects as an NFL quarterback, said that Tebow Mania may have unwittingly made him a target.

Tebowing
“The mocking by the Detroit Lions and all the talk after the game and all that other stuff leads me to believe that people are after him,” he said.

“In all the years that I’ve covered and played in professional football, I have never seen a team like the Detroit Lions do what they did last week,” Esiason said. “It just means that there’s no respect for Tim Tebow as the quarterback. And they want to make sure that when they play him, they want to show that to the world that Tim Tebow can not play in this league at this position.”

Esiason's not wrong. After the game, an unnamed Lions player told Yahoo.com's Michael Silver that Tebow was a joke.

“Can you believe No. 15 [Tebow]? Come on – that’s embarrassing. I mean, it’s a joke. We knew all week that if we brought any kind of defensive pressure, he couldn’t do anything. In the second half it got boring out there. We were like, ‘Come on – that’s your quarterback? Seriously?’”

And ESPN analyst Merril Hoge, one of Tebow's biggest critics, echoed many of the sentiments Esiason brought up.

"And watching last week's tape, the thing that was most disturbing was his ability to not understand where the ball has to go. His [lack of] awareness is mind-boggling to me," Hoge said Monday.


Tebow gets Tebow'ned by Lions LB Stephen Tulloch.

Back in August, when John Fox named Kyle Orton the Broncos' starter and said that Tebow had a long way to go, Esiason told USA Today what many people were thinking.

"He can't play. He can't throw. … I'm not here to insult him. The reality is he was a great college football player, maybe the greatest college football player of his time. But he's not an NFL quarterback right now. Just because he's God-fearing, and a great person off the field, and was a winner with the team that had the best athletes in college football, doesn't mean his game is going to translate to the NFL."

Through two and a half games, Esiason's been proven right. Tebow is a great human being and a Heisman Trophy winner. But he's not a competent NFL quarterback. Maybe that changes, but for now, he looks lost. And things don't look to get any easier; the Broncos head to Oakland on Sunday and Fox said Tebow will be his starter. Beyond that? Who knows.


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Category: NFL
Tags: Boomer Esiason, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, John Fox, Kyle Orton, Merril Hoge, Ryan Wilson, Tim Tebow
 
Comments

Since: Feb 26, 2007
Posted on: November 18, 2011 1:03 am
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Well here we are the broncos are now 4-1 under the Tebow era. The great Lombardi was revered by his leadership qualities and the same bodes true in this case. Please allow me to be clear Tebows career still isn't defined at this point however it is perfectly clear at this point he is a leader and a competitor with a motor of a top tier defensive lineman. Its hard for people to objectively describe Tebow as there are plenty of detractors making compairsons to prototypical NFL QBs. One thing is for sure he's not prototypical but he is a leader and a winner those untangibles will help define him as a player

Since: Oct 10, 2006
Posted on: November 16, 2011 11:43 am
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Add boomer to the litney of pundits and media hacks like doyle and Freeman, who drool over themselves to say something ridiculous about TT.  It's pretty funny actually, that they and detractors like Hoge and Carter, feel the need to further denigrate their own credibilty, by harping on how Tebow "can't play QB much less win in the NFL" Of course, not that Doyle or Freeman had any credibilty to begin with. 

Since: Nov 7, 2011
Posted on: November 7, 2011 10:33 pm
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Boomer Esiason has always loved the sound of his own voice.

But his criticism of Tim Tebow is little more than a series of pot-shots at a convenient and seemingly easy target.

That's why yesterday's performance by Tebow and the Broncos was so delicious. It demonstrated that Tebow's game can succeed in the NFL, even if it's only a single game on the road against a division rival, Tebow had a chance to be Tim Tebow yesterday. And if you didn't like what you saw, then we have nothing more to say to each other.

Merril Hoge, another 'hasn't-been/never-was' has popped off ad-nauseum. Hoge is without doubt the least intelligent, most undeserving commentator ever in the history of broadcasting. He was never even an average back, and his vocabulary is weak. He's nothing but a bitter stooge who has somehow landed a job at ESPN, home of many stooges, who thinks he knows much more than he in reality does.

Tebow is a rare and extraordinary human being, and a gifted ahlete, who has the mysterious and delightful ability to conjure greatness from the seemingly ordinary. He is all heart, and he wins because he is destined for this. THAT is what really aggravates these very large-headed loud-mouthed non-champions.

Tebow has more class than a boatload of Hoges and Esiasons. End of story.

Since: Oct 25, 2011
Posted on: November 3, 2011 1:47 am
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

 I think Bronco fans were just bored and wanted a little exitement so they rilled up the Denver front office and now they have to deal with the consequences. I always thought Orten was better. John Elway said to Tom Jackson Sunday that he would want Tebow to marry his daughter, thats funny.

Since: Nov 3, 2011
Posted on: November 3, 2011 1:19 am
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

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Since: Jan 3, 2008
Posted on: November 2, 2011 9:51 pm
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

The Broncos are the only ones to blame in all this mess, they drafted Tebow way too high and are now paying for it, as there is pressure to put a first round pick out there when your starter is pedestrian at best. They could've had someone like Dalton easily but picked stupidly instead. If Tebow is a 4th rounder, there is no pressure to play him and certainly no pressure to keep him around with the $$ you paid him.

And to the people who hate Tebow because of his outspoken faith, give the guy a break. Imagine if he was a devout Muslim and said the same things, the hate would not be there like it is now because it would not be politically correct.

Personally, if he does not measure up as a QB, maybe switch him to tight end, he has the athletic ability and smarts to be there.

Let it go, people, this is getting ridiculous.

Since: Aug 31, 2006
Posted on: November 2, 2011 8:32 pm
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Could you cite your sources? When did Esiason say Vick would never make it?



Since: Aug 31, 2006
Posted on: November 2, 2011 7:33 pm
 

Tebow fans have it all wrong

Tebow fans have it all wrong. Tebow critics don't hate Tebow. If they hate anyone, they hate Tebow's fans. I understand you are looking for something to watch on Sunday afternoons besides Fox News, but the fact is these NFL people don't care if you are a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. They only care whether or not you can play. I can only speak for myself, but I feel bad for Tebow. The Fox News crowd has turned him into something he is not. Tebow was projected as a 3rd or 4th round at best and was given little chance to make it as a quarterback. He is one heck of an athlete. He may yet make it in the NFL at some other position.

Since: Sep 17, 2008
Posted on: November 2, 2011 4:12 pm
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

Define many.  You may hear about the shenanigans all the time but what do you think the actual percentage of "bad actor" players is?

Since: Aug 16, 2006
Posted on: November 2, 2011 3:45 pm
 

Esiason: there's 'no respect for Tebow as the QB'

The 5 QB's mentioned (Mannings, Favre, Rodgers, Young and Aikman), all came from non-spread offenses in college (pro-style).   Flacco doesn't have anyone to throw to other than Boldin.  Rivers is just a loud mouth that is trying to do too much.  Sanchez just sucks!  Quinn is another college wonderboy that can't play in the NFL.  Leinart is useless and should have never been drafted in the first place.  Clausen is the only one of those three that has the ability, but Cam Newton got in the way.  By the way, the Packers never wished they kept Favre around.  He's a drama queen and an ego maniac.  Rodgers is a better QB than Favre, but the city of GB felt they owed that hillbilly something.  In my eyes, they should have got rid of him after Rodgers had a couple of years under his belt.


1: If Flacco only has Bolding to throw to, then what does Tebow have?  The Broncos traded their only viable, bonafide WR right before Tebows first start.  Flacco also has Rice, a stellar defense, and Torrey Smith.  Flacco has also been in the league for some years now with a competent coaching staff. 

2:  Clausen, Leinart, and Quin were suppose to be sure fire, pro ready, QB's.  While I personally thought they wouldnt be good in the NFL, I also won't be quick to judge their careers until they get a proper chance to prove their mettle.

3:  Clausen was horrible last season, as a rookie, and he had a more talented team than Tebow.  He had a stellar run game and a so-so defense to go with Steve Smith (still a fantastic WR IMO)  Still, to early to judge him as well.

4:  Aaron Rodger: The Packers line was sarcasm, at it's finest.  Sorry that you couldn't see that and took it to heart.  Still, sitting behind Favre was the best thing that happened to him.

Notice, the only QB that is doing great on this list is also the only QB that sat for a couple of years to learn and get accustomed to the league.

Also, in regards to Mannings career stats.........Manning was 3-13 his first year as a starter and completed just over half of his passes with more INT's than TD's. 
Manning also came out more NFL ready than Tebow.  Meyer stunted Tebows NFL potential by not getting him ready for the Pro game.

I'm not an apologest, nor a critic.  I am however, a realist.  Young QB's need time to learn and grow before they are judged.
The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of CBS Sports or CBSSports.com