Just when you think Bob Costas would take a stand, he comes off with an extremely wishy-washy commentary on Tim Tebow’s future. Not my favorite commentary and certainly not as strong as his Al Davis comments two weeks ago.
We also have the Football Night in America talking about dirty hits and the AFC West.
Here are the transcripts.
BOB COSTAS’ HALFTIME ESSAY ON TIM TEBOW
Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison Discuss the AFC West and Ndamukong Suh at halftime
COSTAS ON TIM TEBOW
Back at halftime in New Orleans where the topic for the next 90 seconds or so is, surprise, Tim Tebow. In a culture that demands winners and losers, instant analysis, star or bust, little room for “wait and see,” Tebow seems to always be a topic of conversation. Today, especially so.Because after about 55 dreadful and unproductive minutes against a woeful Dolphin team, Tebow was clutch on a couple of last ditch drives, with an onside kick in the middle, that somehow brought the Broncos back from a 15-0 deficit to forge a 15-15 tie on a signature Tebow play — a quarterback draw for a two-point conversion with 17 seconds left, a play Tebow audibled into.
Now, as it happened, Tebow had little to do with the sequence of plays that won it for Denver in overtime, but to his devoted supporters, that matters little at the moment. You see there’s something about Tebow that, for many, trumps any objective assessment. He was a truly outstanding college player, but so too were Terry Baker, John Huarte, Gary Beban, Ty Detmer, Eric Crouch, Jason White, and the list goes on. Heisman winning quarterbacks all, none of whom did much in the NFL.
But truth be told, even that group includes few with Tebow’s appealing intangibles: his heart, his size, his athleticism, his playmaking knack, at least in certain circumstances. He is a distinctive and compelling player. Easy to root for.
But does that mean — today’s outcome not withstanding — he’s any closer to being a solid NFL quarterback than Christian Ponder, who started today for the Vikings in a loss to the Packers? Or Tebow’s opponent today in Miami, Matt Moore? Or the guy we’re watching get shellacked tonight, Curtis Painter?
The truthful answer is — not really. At least not yet. Which leaves us with that phrase that seems to have no place anymore — even though sometimes, it’s about the only one that makes sense.
And that is, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison at halftime
ON LIONS
Harrison on Lions DT Ndamukong Suh trash talking and taunting Matt Ryan while he was down: “I don’t think he’s a dirty player, but I’ve talked to guys around the league, and they say he is a dirty player. The bad thing about that is it takes away from how good of a player you are. You don’t want that reputation, he’s too good of a player, and plus it hurts your team.”ON THE AFC WEST
Patrick: “What do you make of the AFC West?”
Dungy: “Well, I’m not sure. San Diego, they were playing a game great and then just gave the game away in the fourth quarter. And Oakland has a chance to take first place in the division, they throw six interceptions, and get 14 penalties. I’m not sure who there is to like in this AFC West.”
Patrick: “Kansas City is playing well now.”
That’s it for tonight.
