What Will Happen When Boomer & Carton Interview Tim Tebow? Our Expert Bloggers Weigh In
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Boomer & Carton. Tim Tebow. Thursday.
Cancel your breakfast plans; Thursday morning on WFAN will be must-listen radio with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton at Jets camp. And the star attraction will be backup quarterback Tim Tebow, set to sit down with two of his harshest critics.
Boomer, of course, made national headlines earlier this month when he said he'd cut Tebow. We asked a select group of bloggers to preview what might happen during the much-anticipated interview.
Their responses were thoughtful, funny and -- well, you'll see.
Peter Schwartz, Jets beat reporter for WFAN:
I think Tebow should point out to Boomer that he left Jets fans with much to be desired during his time with Gang Green. He was supposed to be one of the missing pieces, yet, many times, Boomer left fans with an empty feeling.
Maybe Tebow should remind him about his ill-fated pass that was picked off by Eric Allen in 1993. That pick-six led to a crushing loss to the Eagles. (Don't remember? Watch the evidence.)
As far as Craig Carton goes: Tebow should place some high-quality packing tape over his mouth and tell him that he needs to stop interrupting Peter Schwartz, especially when the reporter extraordinaire is trying to answer one of his questions.
Aside from that, I think the interview will go just fine!
Kristian Dyer, contributor to CBSNewYork.com:
Tebow will read Boomer & Carton better than he did the Giants secondary on Saturday night, when he was nearly picked off early in the fourth quarter.
Don't expect him to misspeak or make a misstep; here is an athlete who is smooth enough to run for Congress. He will mix in words like "blessed" and "excited" with his fallback catch phrases such as "excited about being here" and "excited about getting better" and "excited about being a Jet." He might drop a reference to his Jockey sponsorship (ka-ching) and he will defer to Boomer's wisdom on all things football.
Answering questions about his mechanics, he will make it clear that he wants "to improve every day." About his role on the team, he "will do whatever it takes to help." His role on special teams is "something fun to learn." And about if he's a genuine NFL caliber quarterback, he will answer that "first and foremost I'm a football player." Everything will be answered perfectly and with just a bit of a Southern drawl.
Then we'll all turn off our radios and our opinions will not have changed: We'll either love him or we'll hate him. There's no in-between when it comes to Tebow.
Bobby Dwyer, aka Boomer & Carton staffer Bobby the Blogmeister:
As far as Boomer and Craig's highly anticipated chat with Tim "Sexy Jesus" Tebow at Florham Park -- come on. You won't want to miss it. The Booms has stuck by his take on Tebow's value to the Jets (or lack thereof) and Craigie has never been one to shy away from conflict.
You combine all of that with everything we know about the devout Christian that is Tebow, and this will clearly be a spot that -- I predict -- will not disappoint.
More Boomer & Carton blogs from Bobby D
Jason Keidel, contributor to CBSNewYork.com:
The only thing Tebow and former jock/shock jock Esiason have in common is each throws a football with his left hand.
Tebow's commitment to his crusade shields him from all negativity, and his nimbus can consume a room. Whether you like him as a player or person, your eyes are invariably drawn to him. He knows this, and sees every public appearance as a window through which he can spray holy water on the world. Tebow can charm even the most cynical and secular observers.
This will be no different.
It says here that both hosts will be blinded by Tebow's aura in five minutes, and the former Jet (Boomer) and current Jets fan (Carton) may don Tebow's jersey before he leaves the studio.
Steve Silverman, contributor to CBSNewYork.com:
So, Tim Tebow is about to go into the lion's den to face Boomer Esiason. How brave. What courage our young, inaccurate and innocent passer is showing.
Like Daniel, Tebow is about to take on his attacker.
Tebow, of course will be unfailingly polite. He'll refer to Boomer as "Mr. Esiason," and before the conversation begins in earnest, Tebow will undoubtedly tell his interviewer how much he respects him for his football accomplishments and how wonderful he is as a broadcaster.
Boomer is entitled to his opinion? Check. His goal this season is to prove to Esiason that he is a good quarterback who can help his team win? Check.
Boomer is not going to back down. He'll appreciate that Tebow has shown up to talk and respect him for that. But the bottom line in the business of being a quarterback in the NFL is throwing the ball accurately. "Tim, until you can complete at least 55 percent of your passes -- at the minimum -- I'm going to stand by what I said," Boomer will say.
"I don't want to hurt you. You are a nice guy. But that's not what it's about. You can't bounce the ball to your wide receivers and that's what you've been doing."
Tebow won't get upset. "I understand," Tebow will say. "Things are going to change. All I'm asking for is for you to keep an open mind and give me a chance."
So there it is. Tebow will turn the other cheek and try to make lemonade out of lemons. Boomer will look him in the eye and shake his head at Tebow's maddening naiveté.
Jeff Capellini, aka CBSNewYork.com's Green Lantern:
I fully expect a professional give and take between the three of them.
It will be interesting to see if the same bravado that was displayed during the on-air criticism of Tebow will be present when the guy is actually sitting in a chair right next to Boomer and Carton. It would be silly for Boomer to continue his line of reasoning that Tebow is the distraction, because the Jets have about a half-dozen I can name without ever once bringing up the backup quarterback's already known shortcomings.
Perhaps the two of them can get some perspective from Tebow, maybe an "outsider's" view of the Jets as a whole, because, after all, the kid has only been here for a few months. I expect Boomer and Carton to push Tebow for actual answers to questions instead of allowing him to give the usual song and dance of deflection that he gives to seemingly everyone.
If not, I'll be pretty disappointed.
What do you expect to happen -- and what question are you looking forward to most -- in the Tebow interview? Be heard in the comments below!
