In fairness, there are a number of people in both camps at ESPN. Merril Hoge and Mark Schlereth come immediately to mind
Schlereth is generally fair. No, he doesn't think Tebow will make it, but he hasn't staked his credibility on that position. Hoge would be suicidal if Tebow were to succeed.
Maybe we watched different vids ? Hoge is definitely out there, but Schlereth doesn't seem far behind.
ESPN, like Fox News and MSNBC, has a set of core "values" that are directly tied to corporate ad revenue. They include: supporting big market NBA teams, Tiger Woods, Tim Tebow, and college football powerhouses. This is evidenced by the amount of airtime that they devote and the one-sided manner in which they tend to analyze issues. Typically in any story about an athlete that ESPN favors they either end on a positive note or dismissively act as though the fates have yet to be determined and that their golden boy (whoever it may be that day) will prevail in the end. Sometimes, though, their reporting is just absurd. Examples: Did anybody read the story about Revis "claiming he was gonna hold out" (or whatever)? ESPN took one ambiguous quote that they forced out of Revis and repackaged it as a definitive statement. Also, did anybody read that "article" that came out within the last week about Dwight not going to the Lakers, and in the title, begging the question "where do the magic go from here?" The article was more than 75% devoted to answering the question "where do the lakers go from here?"
Personally I don't care but for all those who really hate the sound of Jaws' voice I figured it might be helpful. That and I was too lazy to PM you.
His most ardent supporters? Let us list who is pro or con Tebow on the network. This is not a definitive list but I thought it would be an interesting exercise Analyst who are positive about Tebow Skip Bayless John Gruden Ryan Stewart Analyst who are somewhat positive about Tebow Herm Edwards Mike Ditka Woody Paige Michael Wilbon Anaylyst who are negative about Tebow Stephen A. Smith Rob parker Hugh Douglas Bomani Jones Michael Smith Chris carter Kordell Stewart Doug Stewart Colin Cowherd Merril Hoge Jemele Hill Mike Schelereth Damien Woody Anaylyst who are somewhat negative about Tebow Eric Mangini Tom Collishaw
It's not necessarily about the net positive or negative coverage so much as it is keeping the wheels of the media circus turning: [YOUTUBE]YdTc20rkFuU[/YOUTUBE] Talking about who will be the best QB (Clausen, McCoy, or Tebow), this dialogue exchange happened: ESPN Girl: Isn't he [Tebow] your guy at this point? Schlereth: Oh yeah (@ about 2:14) [YOUTUBE]OGJzjHkkzEs[/YOUTUBE] I honestly wouldn't put it past ESPN to pay Schlereth to not be all up on Tebow's D given that he's a Broncos fan.
I listened to Schlereth on the local Denver station all last year. He's been pretty consistent in his criticism.
I'm not going to deny anything of that. That said, if you go back and look at the Tebow coverage last year, most of the "analysts" were pretty much in the "anti-Tebow" crowd. I mean, do you want to run through a list ? Schlerether, Hoge, what's his name who said that Tebow should go back and learn to throw right handed, yada, yada, yada. This wasn't just on First Take, but on the other shows as well. Even when highlighting Tebow's exploits and dissecting Bronco victories, it would turn to "can he do it again" and most the analysts kept saying NO.
Just listed to the first vid with Skip and one of Mark's statements really jumped out at me again. He started talking about whether Tebow could be an "elite QB". Ummm, that very question is part of the problem. At the time that vid was shot, I think Tebow had something like 9 starts to his name ? Given that it took Eli 4 years to "get it", and even now, with 2 SB's to his name, people question whether he is truly "elite", how in the hell does one say "Young QB can't be "elite" with only 9 starts to his name ? That's the same crap that Hoge did after Tebow kept exceeding his previous predictions/statements. Seriously, not even a full year as starter, no OTAs, TC or preseason as a starter and Mark Schlereth questions whether Tebow can become "elite" ?
1) It was evolutionary 2) The analysts were generally correct and acknowledged, given Tebow's abilities, past performances and the facts of football, that his winning streak was highly improbable
Didn't hear Schlereth mentioned there. The previous clip you posted was interesting. I'd never heard Schlereth that positive about Tebow.
He was one happy dude when Timmy was shipped out of town... Even after the Pitt game he was hating. I listened to him on the drive every day last season. Glad I never have to again.
