Another Boo-Boo by Emmit on ESPN 2 minutes ago

[zrinkill]

I wish they would put Rocket and Nate Newton on the show ..... I enjoy listening to them talk about the games more than anyone else.

 

[dmoore]

I'm not going to comment on Smith because I haven't watched him that much this year, but I think the trend to hire guys for commentary based on their previous ability as a football player is a bad one. Most of these guys have no prior experience and are getting thrown in to some of the most desired positions in the field. I think it's important to have guys who know the game working these positions, but they all don't have to be super stars. Hell, I'd even like it if more guys with a background in broadcasting, even if they haven't played professional football, might be a good thing. As long as they have some knowledge on the game as well.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I would love to see Emmitt Smith and Lawrence Taylor do a show together.

 

[SportsAnalyzer]

END OF ROAD FOR EMMITT?

In what hardly can be described as an earth-shattering scoop, there's a feeling in Bristol that ESPN will not include Emmitt Smith in its 2008 NFL coverage.

But, as one source with knowledge of the situation told us, the folks at ESPN/ABC/Disney will have to eat a lot of cash for the privilege of not having Emmitt on the air. That's because Smith apparently has a multi-year deal, under which he'll undoubtedly be entitled to ongoing payments for the term of the contract if he is fired without cause.

Though we haven't seen the contract, there's a chance that ESPN could try to sever ties on a for-cause basis, if a plausible argument can be made that Emmitt failed in some way to live up to his end of the bargain. If, for example, the arrangement requires Emmitt to engage in a certain amount of show preparation or to otherwise provide a competent and capable work product, the network could assert that Smith breached the contract.

And if they take that tack, there will be plenty of supporting evidence.

Most recently, Emmitt mangled the name of the guy who "blowed out" the knee of Adrian Peterson, which suggests that Emmitt did little or nothing to prepare for the part of the 17-hour Monday night pregame festivities during which he was called upon to comment on the Peterson injury. (Emmitt also offered up one of his patented tortured phrases when discussing the NFC West after the game -- the quote is near the bottom of our Live Blog of the game.)

But ESPN would also have to take into account the potential P.R. impact of baiting the NFL's all-time leading rusher into litigation. In the end, the smart move would likely be to park him on the sidelines, like ESPN did with Joey Sunshine, and eventually work out a buyout for less than the value of the remainder of the deal.

Looks like my criticism of Emmitt's statement about the NFC West was right on the money.

 

[rcaldw]

You would have to be the most blind Emmitt Smith lover in the world to think he does a good job on ESPN. I'm a lifelong Cowboys fan, and I can still admit that he is terrible. Not only did he butcher that point last night, he also said something along the lines of, some team (I can't remember which one he was discussing at the moment), had beaten another team "at least once this year." Well, you can only play a team twice in a regular season. If they are divisional opponent, and you are doing your pre-show research, you should know whether they have played once or twice already. If they are a non-divisional opponent, then you know they only play once this season if they were scheduled to face each other. I think it is painfully obvious that Emmitt flies by the seat of his pants, and he isn't good at flying that way. The guy was a great running back, and the best blitz pick up I've ever seen a the half back position, but he just isn't a football analyst. Sorry.

 

[zrinkill]

Looks like my criticism of Emmitt's statement about the NFC West was right on the money.

So was our reasoning behind your "statements"