ESPN NFL analyst Merril Hoge has been one of the most vocal Tim Tebow detractors since the former Heisman Trophy winner entered the NFL, and he laid into the Jets quarterback on Monday in response to the report that Tebow asked out of the Wildcat package.
During “SportsCenter” on Monday, Hoge was part of a roundtable discussion that included Adam Schefter and Ron Jaworski. After a year of not having much negative to say about Tebow, Hoge got his chance to rip the quarterback.
“I think he’s phony as a three dollar bill,” Hoge said of Tebow. “At the end of the day, what have I heard? That he would do anything at any time. ‘You ask me to do it, I’ll do it.’ All of a sudden now it’s ‘I want to play quarterback or I’m not going to play Wildcat’? There shouldn’t even be this story coming.
“He said ‘I’ll do anything for the team.’ That’s all I’ve ever heard about him. I think shows what he’s really about.”
Hoge also cautioned the Jacksonville Jaguars, who reportedly are expected to sign Tebow to compete for their starting quarterback job.
“He is not going to win for the Jacksonville Jaguars. All he will do is set the franchise back further if that is a possible feat,” Hoge said. “This organization is down as far as you can get. The last person they need is a guy like this now that we’re starting to see his true colors.”
That’s as harsh of an assessment of Tebow one can have. I think we learned this week that Tebow is a person who can get upset, frustrated, or disappointed over promises that go unfulfilled, just like anybody else. We saw that he isn’t the model teammate the way he has made us believe, and that was pretty shocking.
I would also like to point out that Hoge is a phony as well. Hoge was so critical of Tebow last year that even LeBron James jumped in to defend the quarterback. Hoge was one of those people who said Tebow would never work in the NFL because he couldn’t throw well enough. But as soon as Tebow came in and led Denver on a six-game winning streak, Hoge was done criticizing him. Hoge even admitted he had come around on Tebow at that time. So for Hoge to criticize Tebow, then change his opinion after he was successful, and then go back to ripping him, also makes him a fraud.
Don’t forget what a phony Hoge is too for flip-flopping on Tebow last season instead of sticking to his original opinion.
H/T USA Today
