ESPN has been driving me literally insane lately. It’s gotten to the point where I can hardly watch Sportscenter because they’re being so ridiculous. Tim Tebow is on air as much as every other sport combined, and the amount of coverage they give to a below average quarterback because he’s “a good dude and works hard” is utterly sickening. Like Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and last but not least, Tom Brady, don’t fit that description? And news flash, those guys are actually good at football. Even worse than the Tebow coverage is the Top 10 on Sportscenter. How many dunks can you possibly have day after day? Keep in mind they’re not even sick dunks. I remember about a week ago the number one play on Sportscenter was a dunk by Chris Bosh and not only was it nothing special, he traveled during the play. So the top play was something that is not even legal in the sport, that makes total sense. (Bosh Traveling).
Recently, ESPN put together a panel of 20 Hall of Fame football players and Hall of Fame writer John Clayton, and created something called “#NFLAnyEra” (yes, there is a hash tag in the name). I had high hopes for this list, but it became evident to me that despite their players immaculate abilities on the field, they are clearly lacking when it comes to analyzing players for todays game. Calvin Johnson not only didn’t make the top 20, but he wasn’t even on the honorable mention list. How is the best receiver in the entire NFL, not good enough to play in any era? But Wes Welker (honorable mention), Anquan Boldin (honorable mention) and Hines Ward (#8?!?!?!) are? Seriously? Is it because Calvin Johnson is too good and would have simply dominated every single defense he went up against? How are Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald unable to play in any era? Or what about Drew Brees and Matt Stafford? Are they not allowed to play in any era because they threw for 5,000 yards and only two other players in the history of the NFL have done that? But it’s okay, Tim Tebow made the list at #19. The panel is right though, Tim Tebow could have played in any era…at fullback. And what we see here is that yet again Tim Tebow dominates ESPN and their coverage when he has no business doing so. How can you suggest that someone can play “at any era” when they are terrible in this one?
The bottom line is, they messed up these rankings horribly. How can only one offensive lineman have played in any era? Steve Hutchinson could only get honorable mention, so are Joe Thomas and Jake Long so soft that they couldn’t have handled all the strength and aggression in past years? They give toughness far too much weight in these rankings and leave out the entire idea of skill, when this generation’s players are far more skilled than any other era, and they are certainly not soft. It also begs the question, how do they decide what makes a player tough?
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