Boomer Esiason, the former, non-Super Bowl winning Quarterback who had an 80-93 record on teams he led, has blasted one of the league’s newest quarterbacks, Tim Tebow. In his official capacity as a football analyst for CBS Sports, Esiason shared his latest thoughts on Tebow during a CBS Press Event on Tuesday in New York:
“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.”
At least he didn’t say that Tebow throws the football like his mama. If Esiason wasn’t insulting Tebow, I can’t imagine what he would have said if he intended to insult him. However, no one should be surprised at the idiotic comments that Boomer Esiason makes, particularly when it comes to another left-handed gunslinger. I previously wrote about Esiason’s and Dan Marino’s mocking remarks (which they both thought were not being broadcast) after Tebow scored his first NFL touchdown. Tebow had the temerity to run the ball in for a score instead of passing for the six points. You would think that these two former quarterbacks — now “professional” analysts — would have something positive to say about this accomplishment. You would, of course, be wrong.
Both Esiason and Marino can be heard (although not seen) joking about Tebow having to run the ball because he couldn’t throw. I’m quite sure that neither of these elite quarterbacks — who between them have zero Super Bowl rings — would have had the same snide remarks about a Michael Vick running the ball in for a touchdown. Isn’t it amazing that a convicted felon who killed dogs for sport is held in higher regard by the NFL East Coast elites than someone like Tim Tebow?
No rational person — especially a former quarterback who didn’t exactly light it up on the football field in his first starts for the Cincinnati Bengals — could possibly say that Tebow can’t play or throw. Is Esiason insane or is he showing his hate for Tebow? And, like so many others, including Merril Hoge, who have jumped on the “trash TT bandwagon,” Esiason just looks petty and foolish with such inane statements. It’s one thing to say that Tebow, who has only three starts under his belt and who had a shortened pre-season, needs work. It’s quite something else to say that the two-time National Champion, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback “can’t play and can’t throw.”
Why would someone make such patently ridiculous statements? I can only conclude that Esiason not only has an irrational hatred of Tim Tebow, but he, like many others, has a disdain for Tebow’s Christian faith. How else to explain the words Esiason chose to use to trash former Broncos’ Head Coach Josh McDaniels, all the while taking a not-so-subtle jab at Tebow’s Christian faith:
“What (former Broncos coach) Josh McDaniel saw in him God only knows. Maybe God does know — because the rest of us don’t,” Esiason said.”
Maybe Josh McDaniels saw a fierce competitor with the heart of a champion. Maybe McDaniels saw in Tebow a two-time National Champion who won the Heisman Trophy as a Sophomore. Perhaps Coach McDaniels saw in TT one of college’s all-time best quarterbacks who broke every record for his position in arguably the best conference in college football — the Southeastern Conference. Maybe Josh McDaniels saw a young man whose character and work ethic would make the Denver Broncos and the city of Denver proud.
I’m not sure who Esiason has in mind when he says “the rest of us don’t (know).” Is he speaking for all former NFL quarterbacks? If so, the quarterback who beat Esiason and the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII — Joe Montana — didn’t get the memo. Montana, who led the San Francisco 49er’s to three Super Bowl victories in the 1980’s, said of Tebow:
“If you can throw it accurately and on time, I don’t care what your delivery
looks like. Don’t change his delivery. Get his feet right, because he’s never
taken a snap from under center. Let’s work on that part and see how the rest goes.”
I hate to break it to Boomer, but there are many reasons why Tim Tebow was drafted in the First Round and why he should at least be given a chance to succeed or fail on his own. Three starts (although good) does not a chance make. Boomer Esiason may not have a clue as to why Tim Tebow was drafted by the Broncos last year. But, I’m pretty sure God knows. When it comes to Tim Tebow, I think I’ll take God (and Joe Montana) over Boomer Esaison every day of the week and twice on Sunday!
I was Tim’s pastor for most of his life. I started following his football career in the 9th grade. If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t bet against him. This is just more of the same. One High School coach wanted to make him a defensive end. Evidently, didn’t think he could be a QB! He’s a winner. And, in the overall scheme of God’s plan for his life, what difference does it make? It’s just a game. Jerry Vines
Dr. Vines,
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and to share your experience as Tim’s pastor. As a life-long FSU Seminoles fan who married into a Gator family, Tim Tebow was what really got me to become a UF fan at heart. Up until TT was playing, I would root for the Gators unless they played the Seminoles. The year the Gators won the National Championship and needed to beat the Seminoles to stay in contention, I found myself pulling for the Gators and Tim for the first time ever against the Noles. Although I have never met him, Tim comes across as a dedicated man of God who I believe will do great things, whether that’s on the football field or off. God does have a plan for Tim and I look foward to seeing how he will be used to continue to magnify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks again for stopping by. I am honored that you took the time to comment. God bless,
Howell
Tim Tebow is a miracle worker. He made me a Gator fan for a while, until he graduated. He is not only a good football player but also a great man.
I cheer for him because of who he is, but I would love for him to succeed if only to put egg on Esiason’s, Merrill Hoge’s and others’ faces. I’m evil that way.
Dave,
I can totally relate with you about Tebow’s “miracle work.” Once Steve Spurrier left Florida, it made it easier to root for the Gators, even though I am a Seminole at heart. I married into a Gator family, so it was alwasys a bit tense during the annual Gators vs. Seminoles game. Up until Tebow was playing for Florida, I would root for the Gators except when they played the Noles. With Tebow, I finally rooted against the Seminoles the year that the Gators needed to beat them to stay on track to win the National Championship (which they did). I would love to see the non-Super Bowl winning quarterback Esiason and the “running back” Hoge eat their words, but they will never admit that they were wrong about Tebow. Have a great day and God bless,
Howell
Sorry, but Tim Tebow is NOT a good football player…He is the typical Christian hypocrite that has not read his Bible or simply does not care what it has to say. (Matt 6:5-6)…The ONLY reason he is thought to be a good football player is due to his Christian antics on the field. You won’t see him play again in the NFL unless others are injured & the coach has no choice.
Tebow has just as many Super Bowl Rings as Marino ans Esiason. Marino ruined Shula’s philosophy and winning percentage the more Marino chased his stats instead ow wins.
Let’s face it-some hate Tebow just because he is unapologetic about his faith. If Tebow is not the man in Denver I still say some team will get a steal and a trophy with Tebow.
Fletcher Law
Dr. Law,
I like the title of your website 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I completely agree with you that Tebow, if given even half a chance, will be every bit as successful in the NFL as he was in college and high school. I do believe that the irrational hatred that is coming from some quarters can only be because people hate Tim Tebow’s Christian faith and his stand for God. God bless,
Howell
Learned something at HScott’s influential blog today. Until today I did not know Jerry Vines was Tebow’s pastor. Until now I thought maybe his grandest product was Mary Anne Cole at West Rome Baptist; Mary Anne now leader of the Tea Party in Dekalb County Alabama where Bobby Welch was baptized.
On a side note, I implore Rev. Vines and David Miller as well to listen to NPR Fresh Air online yesterday, the report on Jerry Boykin, Gov. Perry’s run for President, and the Apostolic Dominionists who played pivotal role in Perry’s prayer ralley in Houston last week.
Miller loves links and I should have one for him and Rev Vines soon.
But I digress. Even so I wouldn’t be surprised if Tebow doesn’t get caught up in the discussion soon as his mother appears to fit the Eagle Forum profile so familiar to the Apostolic Dominionists NPR explored yesterday.
As for football; I have read the several SI pieces taking exception with Tebow. I think he has good career ahead of him though he may have lot to learn about sticking in the pocket and playing smart like Peyton Manning and now Greg McIlroy. New Yorker had great piece couple years ago about best college QBs being also rans in the NFL. So Tebow want be the first.
I like the guy. He was most exciting at Florida. I wish him well. He is better for the country than the thugs at Miami who had a bounty on him.
Still he and his Mother and Dr. Vines and David Miller could learn great deal from NPR Fresh Air yesterday’s program.
I hope my friend Howell Scott will explore that soon, and Vines and Miller will engage the discussion.
In meantime keep an eye on Sidney Rice of Gaffney, South Carolina. With Pete Carroll and the Seahawks set to have some spectacular seasons in Seattle
For future reference in you click on my name for this post, you will see the provocative transcript/conversation this woman raised Southern Baptist that goes to heart of Jerry Boykin’s affiliation with SBC, to Richard Land appearance at the Perry Prayer Ralley in Houston
Pastor Scott:
I have to disagree with you here. There are lots of evangelical Christians in the NFL, including at the QB position. As a matter of fact, Tim Tebow wasn’t even the only QB from First Baptist Church in Jacksonville to be taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. (Rusty Smith was the other.) So, suggesting that their criticism of Tebow is based on some liberal NFL media east coast elite bias against evangelical Christians is impossible to factually establish. You mentioned Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Drew Brees in “Tim Tebow: Ridiculed & Blessed!” … did you know that all three are evangelical Christians who are “strong Christian who has taken strong stands for his Christian values and morality”? The same, incidentally, applies to the late Rev. Reggie White, and Kurt Warner, both evangelical, vocal Christians that were embraced and promoted by this same media. Tony Dungy is another NFL evangelical Christian who is embraced and promoted by the media (who by the way evangelized Michael Vick while he was in prison, and Vick – whom you referred to less than charitably above, is now a professed evangelical Christian who shares his faith just as Tebow does … see his public testimony http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=32239). So, when you say “I can only conclude that Esiason not only has an irrational hatred of Tim Tebow, but he, like many others, has a disdain for Tebow’s Christian faith”, those are strong charges indeed that must be substantiated with evidence, not mere conjecture.
“It’s quite something else to say that the two-time National Champion, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback “can’t play and can’t throw.” Why would someone make such patently ridiculous statements?
Because they’ve been true of so many other star college quarterbacks whose games did not translate to the NFL. An example: Danny Wuerrfel, who was actually a better QB for Florida than the Gators … he accomplished more for a lesser team. Another example: Charlie Ward, who like Wuerrfel and Tebow won a Heisman and a national title. (Both Wuerrfel and Ward were vocal evangelical Christians.) Further, what is being said about Tebow is commonly said about running quarterbacks. Many media types don’t believe that running QBs can play in the NFL. Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason, both dropback passers, would be included in that category. Joe Montana stuck up for Tebow, but only because Montana was a scrambler in college. Dropback passers tend to root for other dropback passers, scramblers tend to root for other scramblers. But in general, a lot of folks in the media don’t want running QBs to succeed, because they prefer that the NFL remain a passing-oriented league. But the same things that are being said about Tebow have been said against running QBs for decades. Tebow is fortunate that he was drafted at all. When Charlie Ward and Warren Moon came out of college, the animus against running QBs was so strong that neither got drafted. When Philadelphia drafted Randall Cunningham, in order to keep the media and the fans for trashing them over drafting a running QB from a small school, they (falsely) claimed that they were going to use him as a punter. (Incidentally, Cunningham is now a pastor of an evangelical church in Nevada.)
The things that are now being said against Tebow have been said against running QBs for decades. Claiming that they are the result of irrational hatred and anti-Christian bias only when it is applied to Tim Tebow and Tebow alone – as if he is special or unique among running QBs – simply should not be done.
Job,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I don’t take you for a Florida Gators’ fan 🙂 I have never said that there weren’t other evangelical Christians playing in the National Football League. There are obviously many well-known Christians, some of whom you named, who have played or are currently playing. And yes, there has been some negativity towards so-called “running quarterbacks,” but the animus directed towards Tim Tebow seems to be at a far different level. If you know of instances where analysts openly mocked a quarterback for running instead of passing for his first-ever score in the NFL, I would like to know about it. I will readily admit that I am biased, both as a Gators’ fan and a Tebow fan. I don’t think that people only irrationally hate Tebow or that their hatred for all-things Christian is applied only to Tim Tebow. However, in the specific case of Boomer Esiason, he has already evidenced a mocking disdain for Tebow, before Tebow has even had a chance to prove himself. To inject the quote about God into his commentary about why McDaniels drafted Tebow is, IMO, an a strong indication of a bias against not only Tebow as a player, but Tebow as a man of faith. Perhaps like no other player in recent history, Tebow is a lightning rod for controversy. To say that Tebow — who broke every SEC passing record — cannot play or throw is a patently ridiculous statement. And, while Danny Wuerrfel may have been a great quarterback, he simply is not in the same league as Tebow. I have no doubt that there will continue to be mounting evidence in the days to come — from Esiason and others — of an anti-Tebow bias. Given that he has not been given a chance to succeed or fail, I can only conclude that there is something beyond football at play in their bias. We shall see. Thanks for stopping by. God bless,
Howell
On a side note I implore NPR fresh air and Steven Fox to listen to General Boykin, author of Never Surrender, Tim Tebow and Jerry Vines. Tim Tebow, a man of great integrity with Divinely gifted athletic abilities overshadows Fox, the lonely voice out of rural Alabama like Mount McKinley overshadows Lookout Mountain. Tebow’s testimony is stellar and totally authentic. May his tribe increase. As for Fox’s NPR, their poll numbers are slipping faster than Obama’s.
My Uncle Prentice ten years younger than my Father speaks with a forked tongue.
He finished Seminary with Randall Lolley and Bill Self and in their company speaks as a CBFfer. When in a comment stream with Jerry Vines, he cozies up to their mutual friend Mary Anne Cole, a leader of the Tea PArty in NE Alabama whose family has long history at West Rome Baptist Church where Vines was twice pastor.
When in Rome in later years, Prentice most frequented FBC Rome with Floyd Roebuck; not Vines church though our extended family has friends in both.
Prentice was long tome member of Snyder Memorial BC in Fayetteville, N.C a leading CBF congregation in the state.
I am convinced that neither Floyd Roebuck, Randall Lolley, Bill Self nor the staff of Snyder Memorial for the last 30 years feel comfortable with the religious political witness of Jerry Boykin as profiled in the NPR report above you can click on by hitting my name above.
Howell: Prentice has used several forums to carry on a family feud with me. After this note I’d monitor the situation closely and hit the delete button often but I did want to set the family record straight as the Boykin testimony and political exhibition has serious repercussions for the Southern Baptist Convention as you all will see when you explore the NPR site above.
Stephen,
Thanks for the heads-up. I have not had time to peruse the Boykin article on NPR as of yet, but I will try to get to it. Appreciate your thoughts on Tebow and his situation. As to the extended situation involving Vines, Boykin, et. al., I am not as familiar as you with what has happened in the distant and recent past. Will continue to monitor the situation in the coming days. Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Hope all is well with you in AL. God bless,
Howell
Great read 3 years later… Looks like Booner knows better than God!