Spell it out

Before I get round to finishing my AFC South preview, I just want to have a moan, because God knows I love me a moan. I want to moan about the fact that TV pundits have turned otherwise decent/quiet fans into half knowledgeable ass hats. I was reading an article about Tim "My Parents Couldn't Have Wished For A Better Poster Child On Their View Of Abortion" Tebow. In the comments section I noticed someone bashing Tebow. Now this is not a freak occurrence. Lot's of people bash Tebow. But this was not your normal Tebow bashing. Normally people will just say "he sucks" without any qualifier, which allows me to laugh at their simple brains and bask in my own shining wisdom (uhm, didn't you say at the end of your last post that "Cam Newton sucks" without a qualifier?) This one was different though. It was something about horrible accuracy and not being able to fit the ball into tight windows. This is patently nonsense, as we've seen in his brief NFL career that Tebow can both a) throw accurately and b) fit the ball into tight windows. What we're seeing then is the product of someone who has spent way too much time listening to Sirius Radio and not actually watching what's happening on the field. They're simply regurgitating an answer that was probably provided by their favourite pundit in response to the question "What do you think of Tim Tebow?" What's more worrying for me is it is another example of the English Language (both English UK and English US. Why you people couldn't just call it "American" is beyond me. But I'm digressing... in brackets no less), another example of the English Language being progressively stripped of it's meaning and relevance by overuse, buzzwords and management speak. Tight Windows. Dynamic Playmaker. These kind of terms seem to get thrown up every two minutes and attached to every player that moves. Apparently everyone can either throw into tight windows or they can't. Seemingly anyone capable of running 40 yards in less than 5 seconds is considered dynamic. And while I try to explain why I like certain players and what their particular skills are that attract my attention, all too often I get the feeling lately that TV pundits - and subsequently your average fan - have just got a list of adjectives and superlatives (technically almost the same thing) written on a card somewhere with a key guide to point out which ones to use for good players and which ones to use for bad. It's becoming increasingly hard to figure out just why some pundit or former executive likes this player or that. Instead we just get lists of generic-to-the-position attributes. Maybe it's for the same reason that NFL scouts are notorious for hedging their bets; because generic, catch all statements allow you to leave more doors open than a torture chamber for people with OCD. I'd just like to see people be more committal with their evaluations and stop feeding the public cookie cutter lines that make no sense and share little in common with the facts of the matter. P.S. Cam Netwon still sucks. P.P.S. I've just had a phone call to go out drinking. The AFC South will have to wait till tomorrow.