PFT: Rodgers calls Kornheiser "stupid," "dumb" and "terrible"; Kornheiser reacts #42

[WoodysGirl]

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 8, 2010 10:52 AM ET

In 2008, when Tony Kornheiser was a Monday Night Football commentator for ESPN, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=3118) once sat down with him for a pre-game production meeting.

It would be an extreme understatement to say that Rodgers came away unimpressed.

In an interview with ESPN Radio in Milwaukee (http://www.stationcaster.com/stations/wauk/media/mpeg/Aaron_Rodgers_Packers_quarterback_6_7_10_Homer-1275953535.mp3), Rodgers went off on Kornheiser and said he was embarrassingly unprepared for his job.

"You know who was better than Tony Kornheiser? Dennis Miller was ten times better (http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2010/06/08/aaron-rodgers-ranks-tom-brady-best-by-far-and-thinks-tony-kornheiser-is-terrible/)," Rodgers said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "Dennis Miller was a great comedian, but one of the worst Monday Night Football guys ever. And he was ten times better than Tony Kornheiser. His stuff was actually funny. Tony wasn't funny at all. He did absolutely no research. We'd sit in those production meetings and he would add absolutely nothing to the conversation. I'd be like, 'What are we doing here? This is stupid.'"

Rodgers praised Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico as coming into production meetings thoroughly prepared. Kornheiser? Not so much.

"You get in there with Tony and he's asking you all these dumb questions that have no application to the game you are playing or anything you are doing," Rodgers said. "He's terrible. . . . I don't think he's funny. I don't think he's insightful. I don't think knows, really, anything about sports."

Most football fans regard Ron Jaworski as one of the top analysts in the business, but Rodgers isn't particularly thrilled with Jaworski, either.

"I like him, but, when I was coming out, he did the worst segment in the history of TV about me talking about my fundamentals," Rodgers said of Jaworski. "It was not even close to anywhere near my fundamentals. The first time I met him, someone introduced me to him and I said, 'Yeah I know him. He's the guy who ripped me before the draft.' The rest of the night he told me how great I was. I was like, 'I know your song and dance.' And now he loves me."

The whole interview, in which Rodgers criticized other ESPN employees and took a shot at the Detroit Lions, is well worth listening to. Rodgers comes across as an entertaining and engaging player who's not afraid to speak his mind. When he retires, he'd be perfect for the Monday Night Football booth. Or as co-host of Pardon the Interruption.

[SDCowboy85]

I agree with Jaws. He is HORRIBLE. He just kisses QBs *** every game and drools all over them during the game.

[Doomsday101]

I agree with Aaron Rodgers. I hate the dumb comments from Kornheiser which often has nothing to do with football or the game that he is suppose to be covering. Make it a 2 man crew (Jaws and Tirico) with a sideline reporter and get rid of the 3rd wheel in the booth.

[SDCowboy85]

I agree with Aaron Rodgers. I hate the dumb comments from Kornheiser which often has nothing to do with football or the game that he is suppose to be covering. Make it a 2 man crew (Jaws and Tirico) with a sideline reporter and get rid of the 3rd wheel in the booth.
I agree but can you imagine if Romo had made these comments? ESPN would be going hog wild.

[Doomsday101]

I agree but can you imagine if Romo had made these comments? ESPN would be going hog wild.

True. I'm glad Rodgers who is a favorite of ESPN as part of the Pack came out and said it. Hopefully they get the hint and get Kornheiser out of the booth. Seems they are trying to create what MNF was when Frank, Howard and Meredith were in the booth, those days are gone and you will not find a trio like that again. Stick with a commentator, a play by play guy and sideline reporter and let the game sell itself.

[ThreeSportStar80]

John Gruden is the BEST!!! I love his breakdown of the game. Mike Terico and Gruden would be enough for me, forget "Jaws" sorry you know what. Tony Kornball was always the weak link, nothing new there.....

[Doomsday101]

John Gruden is the BEST!!! I love his breakdown of the game. Mike Terico and Gruden would be enough for me, forget "Jaws" sorry you know what. Tony Kornball was always the weak link, nothing new there.....

I agree. I enjoyed listening to Gruden.

[Hypnotoad]

What did i step in a time machine or something? Kornhieser wasn't even in a booth last year.

[DallasGirl50]

Put me down as well as a Gruden fan. He's very entertaining and knows his stuff. Love listening to him.

[SDCowboy85]

John Gruden is the BEST!!! I love his breakdown of the game. Mike Terico and Gruden would be enough for me, forget "Jaws" sorry you know what. Tony Kornball was always the weak link, nothing new there.....
This! Please ditch Jaws already ESPN!! :)

[Chief]

Aaron Rodgers is a very perceptive guy.

[CowboyMike]

I agree with Aaron Rodgers. I hate the dumb comments from Kornheiser which often has nothing to do with football or the game that he is suppose to be covering. Make it a 2 man crew (Jaws and Tirico) with a sideline reporter and get rid of the 3rd wheel in the booth.

True. I'm glad Rodgers who is a favorite of ESPN as part of the Pack came out and said it. Hopefully they get the hint and get Kornheiser out of the booth. Seems they are trying to create what MNF was when Frank, Howard and Meredith were in the booth, those days are gone and you will not find a trio like that again. Stick with a commentator, a play by play guy and sideline reporter and let the game sell itself.

Um.. kornheiser isn't in the booth anymore. Jon Gruden replaced him. Last season.

My opinion of Aaron Rodgers just went up a notch.

[Double Trouble]

Aaron Rodgers is a very perceptive guy.Maybe so, but he said a lot of things he doesn't need to be saying publicly.

[bbgun]

This is why Rodgers is still sore.

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/09/13/hey-kornheiser-even-brett-favre-can-talk-about-aaron-rodgers/

[Everlastingxxx]

Very entertaining interview. Spoke about the top 5 QBs. He took offense with the hosts saying Romo was better than him. An open and honest Rodgers, hadn’t heard him like this before. But i like it.

[superpunk]

Wow. Rodgers dropped the hammer.

I wonder if we'll see a sharper analysis of his game now, however? He's lashed out at media members, but he's got no skins on the wall. Something tells me they will be ready to pick him to pieces if this story gets significant play.

[SDCowboy85]

Wow. Rodgers dropped the hammer.

I wonder if we'll see a sharper analysis of his game now, however? He's lashed out at media members, but he's got no skins on the wall. Something tells me they will be ready to pick him to pieces if this story gets significant play.
I doubt it. He plays for the Packers which makes him a media angle.

[AtlCB]

I guess this explains why the booth containing both Kornheiser and Theismann was so bad - an unprepared idiot and a buffoon.

[Hypnotoad]

Seriously people, the ESPN game was the first Monday Night game of 2008. Who gives a **** who Aaron Rodgers was back then. Prior to Aaron first meeting Kornieser, through 3 years he had played in 7 games, made 35 passes, and fumbled 3 times.

Kornhieser was still terrible, but Aaron Rodgers need to shut his mouth.

Not knowing the scrub backup to Favre, Kornhieser probably asked him some Favre related question and Aaron got his feelings hurt. Now 2 years later hes crying about it.

[Everlastingxxx]

Kornhieser was still terrible, but Aaron Rodgers need to shut his mouth.

Not knowing the scrub backup to Favre, Kornhieser probably asked him some Favre related question and Aaron got his feelings hurt. Now 2 years later hes crying about it.

No he doesn’t have to shut his mouth. He has every right to be pissed about how he was treated by those *******es. Rodgers was not a scrub. He was a first round draft pick that showed all the signs of being something special. He proved that last season that he is the real deal.

[Idgit]

Seriously people, the ESPN game was the first Monday Night game of 2008. Who gives a **** who Aaron Rodgers was back then. Prior to Aaron first meeting Kornieser, through 3 years he had played in 7 games, made 35 passes, and fumbled 3 times.

Kornhieser was still terrible, but Aaron Rodgers need to shut his mouth.

Not knowing the scrub backup to Favre, Kornhieser probably asked him some Favre related question and Aaron got his feelings hurt. Now 2 years later hes crying about it.

He's crying because his opinion is that Tony Kornholer is terrible at his job? They guy cited specifics, and called the guy out by name. More power to him. Far from needing to shut his mouth, he just needs to keep on doing what he's doing. He's a good player who's allowed to have opinions about the job the national media does covering him.

[Boyzmamacita]

Wow. Rodgers dropped the hammer.

I wonder if we'll see a sharper analysis of his game now, however? He's lashed out at media members, but he's got no skins on the wall. Something tells me they will be ready to pick him to pieces if this story gets significant play.
He doesn't need any skins on the wall because he's not a Dallas Cowboy. [\sarcasm]

[Four]

hey aaron you idiot, tony is the color guy, he isn't supposed to be prepared he is supposed to add some levity to the booth and whether he knows anything about you doesn't matter.

for the record, I really like kornhole. and I really like Dennis Miller too, but kornhole is much better than Miller ever was.

[Double Trouble]

It's bad form to air your grudges like this. If nothing else, it reveals very thin skin.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't ever recall Romo bashing anyone like this, and he's had way more reason and opportunity to do so than Rogers ever dreamed of.

[big dog cowboy]

"He's terrible. . . . I don't think he's funny. I don't think he's insightful. I don't think knows, really, anything about sports."

How Kornheiser keeps his gig on PTI is beyond me. I have not watch a single show of that in years.

[Chief]

It's bad form to air your grudges like this. If nothing else, it reveals very thin skin.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't ever recall Romo bashing anyone like this, and he's had way more reason and opportunity to do so than Rogers ever dreamed of.

You're right. Romo doesn't do this, and I'm glad he doesn't.

I realize I'm being somewhat hypocritical, but I enjoy seeing a QB from another team unload on Kornheiser and Jaworski. One is a clown and the other is a jerk.

[baj1dallas]

Maybe so, but he said a lot of things he doesn't need to be saying publicly.

Why not? He's entitled to an opinion and ESPN is a public company and their on air personalities should be subjected to the same criticism and scrutiny as athletes.

[mldardy]

Seriously people, the ESPN game was the first Monday Night game of 2008. Who gives a **** who Aaron Rodgers was back then. Prior to Aaron first meeting Kornieser, through 3 years he had played in 7 games, made 35 passes, and fumbled 3 times.

Kornhieser was still terrible, but Aaron Rodgers need to shut his mouth.

Not knowing the scrub backup to Favre, Kornhieser probably asked him some Favre related question and Aaron got his feelings hurt. Now 2 years later hes crying about it.
I kind of agree with this mainly because fighting with the media is a no win battle. Especially when you are the guy who replaced the beloved Favre and people already have a bias against you. Also as a previous poster said Rodgers has no skins on the wall and if he doesn't win then the media will be all over him for these comments.

[mldardy]

It's bad form to air your grudges like this. If nothing else, it reveals very thin skin.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't ever recall Romo bashing anyone like this, and he's had way more reason and opportunity to do so than Rogers ever dreamed of.
Exactly, no qb has been more scrutinized than Romo currently playing in the NFL and he has never come out and made these kind of comments.

[Idgit]

hey aaron you idiot, tony is the color guy, he isn't supposed to be prepared he is supposed to add some levity to the booth and whether he knows anything about you doesn't matter.

for the record, I really like kornhole. and I really like Dennis Miller too, but kornhole is much better than Miller ever was.

Blech. You're kidding, right? Because you're got a well-adapted sense of humor, Four. You think Kornholer's funny in the same way a toddler-fight or a bag of burning puppies is funny, right? By that I mean 'not at all funny.'

PTI is a stupid format for annoying tv for dumb people who are hard of hearing. Having the guy actually calling NFL games is a joke.

[Hostile]

I have never been more grateful for an color analyst than I am for Jon Gruden. Not only is he refreshingly excited about explaining the intricacies of the game, but more importantly, he is not Tony Kombover. I never liked him in the booth. I can tolerate almost anyone in the booth because ultimately I really care more about the game than what those guys say. But he was an exception.

Having said that, while Aaron Rodgers is a grown man and can speak his mind how he chooses, I don't think it was too bright to air a grudge this way. Troy Aikman has more reason to hate Skip Bayless than any man in America. Have you ever heard Aikman even acknowledge the guy? All Rodgers did was pass the soapbox to Kombover for more of his idiocy, and there exists the potential for payback by his ESPN cronies. I won't be shocked if Rodgers coverage this year by ESPN is the most sparse in the NFL unless he is simply too big not to cover.

[theebs]

Thats funny.

Anyone who has ever listened to kornheiser for more than 5 minutes knows he doesnt care or know much about sports.

He is like an entertainment reporter, he just talks about the stars on every team, thats all he knows. The quarterbacks, the pitchers and the star players on each nba team.

Other than that he is pretty useless as far as information goes.

But if you want to see a guy in a genie costume every afternoon screaming about whos terrible and who isnt, he is your guy.

[superpunk]

Thats funny.

Anyone who has ever listened to kornheiser for more than 5 minutes knows he doesnt care or know much about sports.

He is like an entertainment reporter, he just talks about the stars on every team, thats all he knows. The quarterbacks, the pitchers and the star players on each nba team.

Other than that he is pretty useless as far as information goes.

But if you want to see a guy in a genie costume every afternoon screaming about whos terrible and who isnt, he is your guy.
Yup.

I imagine if they ask him about this on PTI, his response will be "Aaron Rodgers is absolutely right. I am a buffoon. I don't belong in the booth and I never will." That's his thing, it's always been his thing, and that's what ESPN hired him to do.

I suspect Jaws will be far more butt-hurt about Rodgers criticism than Kornheiser will be.

[theebs]

Yup.

I imagine if they ask him about this on PTI, his response will be "Aaron Rodgers is absolutely right. I am a buffoon. I don't belong in the booth and I never will." That's his thing, it's always been his thing, and that's what ESPN hired him to do.

I suspect Jaws will be far more butt-hurt about Rodgers criticism than Kornheiser will be.


No doubt about it.

I am sure jaws will be on wip by the end of the week praising the crap out of rodgers. That is what he does, what rodgers said about him is exactly true. He likes to kick people when they are down and jump on the bandwagon of people when they are riding the wave.

Him and palantonio were having a real good time making romo out to be a horrible player on nfl matchup early in the year. That craphead palantonio didnt have much to say after dallas wiped the floor with his beloved eagles.

[jterrell]

I agree but can you imagine if Romo had made these comments? ESPN would be going hog wild.

Yup.

Is this overcocky or what? WOW!

Rodgers is a good player but this is just insane.
When he came out he was painfully raw as a player who was drafted on his overall athleticism more than his fundamentals. He fell to GB and they took him as the heir to the other athletic boy wonder.

[coblue]

I have always thought Rodgers was better than majority gave him credit for.

But after listening to this entire clip, he really exposed some serious character flaws.

That was a wow moment to listen too.

[Muhast]

Whether you like Tony Kornheiser or not, you gotta admit this is really unclassy.

I don't care for him myself, but why blast a media head? If he is dumb and unprepared, simply don't sit down and interview with him. Same with Jaws.

[SDCowboy85]

I'll give Rogers one thing, he has Tony listed as one of the top 5 QBs in that rant. :D

[Bob Sacamano]

How Kornheiser keeps his gig on PTI is beyond me. I have not watch a single show of that in years.

He's actually good on that show. It's supposed to be about 2 guys arguing over sports. He sucked on MNF football, however. He tried to bring his PTI schtick to NFL games, and that just doesn't work there.

[bbgun]

Tony's a basketball guy, not football. It was bad fit from the very start.

[BubbleScreen]

True. I'm glad Rodgers who is a favorite of ESPN as part of the Pack came out and said it. Hopefully they get the hint and get Kornheiser out of the booth. Seems they are trying to create what MNF was when Frank, Howard and Meredith were in the booth, those days are gone and you will not find a trio like that again. Stick with a commentator, a play by play guy and sideline reporter and let the game sell itself.

I dunno. I wouldn't mind seeing how Moose, Troy and Michael call a game. Let Moose do play by play. Troy can be the anti-Dallas guy, cause we know where Michael stands. :bow:

[WoodysGirl]

Kornheiser reacts: If Rodgers thinks I'm no good, he's not the first (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/09/kornheiser-reacts-if-rodgers-thinks-im-no-good-hes-not-the-first/)

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 9, 2010 7:25 AM ET
ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser has offered a lighthearted response to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=3118), who called Kornheiser stupid, dumb and terrible (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/08/aaron-rodgers-calls-tony-kornheiser-stupid-dumb-and-terrible/) in a radio interview, saying he doesn't know why Rodgers had such a harsh reaction to their meetings when Kornheiser called Rodgers' games on Monday Night Football.

"My guess is that his comments had to do with the fact that during his first season, I was publicly critical of the Packers, which had a 13-3 team, and got rid of [Brett] Favre for an untested player," Kornheiser told The Big Lead. "[Ron Jaworski] and I went back and forth on this 1,000 times on TV and with [Mike] Wilbon 1,000 times on TV. But if he thinks I'm no good, he wouldn't be the first (http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/06/08/tony-kornheiser-on-being-ripped-by-aaron-rodgers-i-tried-to-establish-a-rapport-i-guess-that-didnt-exist/). Or the last."

Kornheiser worked on Monday Night Football in 2008, when Rodgers was in his first year as the Packers' starter. He says he doesn't specifically recall what he and Rodgers talked about in production meetings, when Rodgers said Kornheiser was woefully unprepared, but he does say that he was simply trying to get an idea of how Rodgers was handling the rough task of filling Favre's shoes.

"I don't remember anything particular from the meetings, but I do remember that Jaws went in purely looking for football stuff, Mike [Tirico] was looking for stuff from the announcing angle, and I went looking more for feature-y things or stories," Kornhesier said. "In that case, the theme was taking over for Brett Favre (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=1744), which was the toughest thing to do in Green Bay. My guess is that I asked a lot of questions relative to that, and tried to establish some rapport with that. I guess that rapport didn't exist."

By looking for "more feature-y things," Kornheiser was just doing his job in the Monday Night Football booth. But Kornheiser's problem was that he not only couldn't establish a rapport with Rodgers, he also couldn't establish a rapport with viewers, who wanted to hear about football, not about "more feature-y things." Which is why ESPN was wise to replace Kornheiser with Jon Gruden.

[Idgit]

Kornheiser reacts: If Rodgers thinks I'm no good, he's not the first (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/09/kornheiser-reacts-if-rodgers-thinks-im-no-good-hes-not-the-first/)

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 9, 2010 7:25 AM ET
ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser has offered a lighthearted response to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=3118), who called Kornheiser stupid, dumb and terrible (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/08/aaron-rodgers-calls-tony-kornheiser-stupid-dumb-and-terrible/) in a radio interview, saying he doesn't know why Rodgers had such a harsh reaction to their meetings when Kornheiser called Rodgers' games on Monday Night Football.

"My guess is that his comments had to do with the fact that during his first season, I was publicly critical of the Packers, which had a 13-3 team, and got rid of [Brett] Favre for an untested player," Kornheiser told The Big Lead. "[Ron Jaworski] and I went back and forth on this 1,000 times on TV and with [Mike] Wilbon 1,000 times on TV. But if he thinks I'm no good, he wouldn't be the first (http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/06/08/tony-kornheiser-on-being-ripped-by-aaron-rodgers-i-tried-to-establish-a-rapport-i-guess-that-didnt-exist/). Or the last."

Kornheiser worked on Monday Night Football in 2008, when Rodgers was in his first year as the Packers' starter. He says he doesn't specifically recall what he and Rodgers talked about in production meetings, when Rodgers said Kornheiser was woefully unprepared, but he does say that he was simply trying to get an idea of how Rodgers was handling the rough task of filling Favre's shoes.

"I don't remember anything particular from the meetings, but I do remember that Jaws went in purely looking for football stuff, Mike [Tirico] was looking for stuff from the announcing angle, and I went looking more for feature-y things or stories," Kornhesier said. "In that case, the theme was taking over for Brett Favre (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=1744), which was the toughest thing to do in Green Bay. My guess is that I asked a lot of questions relative to that, and tried to establish some rapport with that. I guess that rapport didn't exist."

By looking for "more feature-y things," Kornheiser was just doing his job in the Monday Night Football booth. But Kornheiser's problem was that he not only couldn't establish a rapport with Rodgers, he also couldn't establish a rapport with viewers, who wanted to hear about football, not about "more feature-y things." Which is why ESPN was wise to replace Kornheiser with Jon Gruden.

Kornheiser should do a feature on why he's such a wet, flapping, ******bag. Rogers could give him some good material then. So could anyone who's ever had to listen to the guy for more than a minute.

[The Panch]

I couldnt stand Kornheiser on MNF(He's OK on PTI) and Im glad to see him aired out, but Rodgers came off kinda foolish in that interview.

[rysko]

rodgers tearing souls out at espn. great great great stuff. like the packers a little more now.

[jazzcat22]

I have never been more grateful for an color analyst than I am for Jon Gruden. Not only is he refreshingly excited about explaining the intricacies of the game, but more importantly, he is not Tony Kombover. I never liked him in the booth. I can tolerate almost anyone in the booth because ultimately I really care more about the game than what those guys say. But he was an exception.

Having said that, while Aaron Rodgers is a grown man and can speak his mind how he chooses, I don't think it was too bright to air a grudge this way. Troy Aikman has more reason to hate Skip Bayless than any man in America. Have you ever heard Aikman even acknowledge the guy? All Rodgers did was pass the soapbox to Kombover for more of his idiocy, and there exists the potential for payback by his ESPN cronies. I won't be shocked if Rodgers coverage this year by ESPN is the most sparse in the NFL unless he is simply too big not to cover.

This is what I like about Aikman. He will make a comment, then explain it. Or does sometimes, or use to. Same with Joe Morgan in baseball. He will explain it so a 5 year can understand it. Which is probably his goal. Teach them young.

[BAZ]

Listening to anybody talk for three hours brings out the worst in them. Kornholio's OK on PTI.

[DFWJC]

Tony Kornheiser was the worst on MNF....I have no major issues with him otherwise.
Rodgers was just speaking the truth.

[pancakeman]

Kornheiser should do a feature on why he's such a wet, flapping, ******bag. Rogers could give him some good material then. So could anyone who's ever had to listen to the guy for more than a minute.

:lmao:

[fanfromvirginia]

I agree. I enjoyed listening to Gruden.

Individually, I think Gruden and Jaworski are annoying but they're great together.

[jchap]

If you think he was bad on MNF you should hear his local "sports" talk show in the DC area.