Photo: AP/Darron Cummings
Boomer Esiason finally addressed the viral commentary he provided on CBS during Chris Streveler’s NFL debut three years ago and took a dig at 3DownNation in the process.
“Maybe you take chances in the CFL because the athletes aren’t quite the athletes that are in the NFL, especially on that Rams’ defence and that was my point,” Esiason recently said on Boomer & Giohis New York-based radio show.
“It wasn’t just saying, ‘Hey, you just can’t throw the ball down the middle of the field against NFL athletes without expecting it to be intercepted.’ I’m saying that a CFL player threw the ball down the middle of the field in an NFL game and it’s going to get picked.”
“I’m sorry — and I do appreciate Chris Streveler continuing to play, I think that’s great, he loves the game — just not as an NFL quarterback, that’s all.”
Esiason’s comments came as he and his cohost, Gregg Giannotti, discussed a recent 3DownNation column at length on their show. The 62-year-old former NFL Most Valuable Player seemed irritated that his commentary from 2021 was being revisited and doubled down on it while calling the columnist — your correspondent — a “snowflake.”
Last week, Streveler spoke to the media in a virtual press conference following his official return to the CFL as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The 29-year-old quarterback talked at length about his tenure in the NFL and 3DownNation asked specifically for his reaction to Esiason’s commentary from his debut with the Arizona Cardinals, which went viral north of the border in January 2021.
“This isn’t the Grey Cup. This isn’t the CFL,” Esiason said on CBS after Streveler threw a pick-six against Los Angeles. “You can’t just take chances and throw the ball down the middle of the field and expect somebody not to come down with it. There’s just no reason to throw the ball there.”
Streveler didn’t take issue with Esiason’s criticism of his play but lamented that it seemed to stem from a preconceived notion that former CFL players aren’t capable of competing at the NFL level.
“I wouldn’t say it was unfair to me by any means — I made a mistake, I threw a pick-six, that’s a bad play. I thought it was unfair to the league,” Streveler said last week.
“I think that that’s a really unfair shot at the CFL. I have so much respect for the game and the players that are up here, I don’t think that’s fair to the league at all. There’s a lot of really talented quarterbacks and I don’t think [the three-down] game is based on just throwing the ball up by any means. It’s unfortunate that that’s maybe the impression of the CFL that’s given to people because of that comment.”
Giannotti read most of the column live on air but left out the quote from Streveler indicating that he believed the Rams had jumped offsides on the play, which was why he attempted the pass in the first place. The replay below clearly shows that Terrell Lewis, who provided the rush off the edge for Los Angeles, moved early on Streveler’s hard count, which lends credence to the quarterback’s claim.
Already seen ????@thrilll_32 with the pick-6! pic.twitter.com/1C3c75Z0an
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 3, 2021
If this was done intentionally, shame on Boomer & Gio. If this was done unintentionally, then perhaps they should strive to read at the same standard to which they hold NFL quarterbacks — or even CFL quarterbacks.
Esiason went on to downplay the talent level in Canada, using the same argument commonly touted by critics.
“If those guys could play in the NFL, they would be playing in the NFL. They’re not, they’re playing in the CFL,” said Esiason. “Streveler played in the NFL — he actually, legitimately played in the NFL — and if he was good enough to stay here, he would stay here, he wouldn’t be signing with the Canadian Football League.”
The argument isn’t wrong, but it’s certainly reductionist. There are approximately 2,500 players under contract with the NFL during the season and only a fool would argue that they’re the 2,500 best players in the world.
Those who have played in both leagues often say that, aside from the upper echelon of the NFL, the talent level between the two leagues is essentially the same. The average player might look a little more polished down south, though that’s largely due to longer practice hours, larger coaching staffs, a more substantial training camp, and organized team practice activities (OTAs), which take place during the off-season.
Chad Johnson went viral on social media for making this claim somewhat recently, though he was hardly the first person to say it publicly. Coincidentally, Esiason and Johnson were inducted into the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ring of Honor on the same night this past season.
Photo: AP/Darron Cummings
Esiason’s commentary and willingness to stand by it illustrates part of the reason why it’s hard for CFL players to get a fair shake south of the border. Once a player suits up in Canada, they’re viewed as a CFL player — even when playing in the NFL. This was certainly the case for Streveler when he got his first opportunity to play in the league, as evidenced by Esiason pointing to his northern roots immediately following his first mistake in Arizona.
Streveler finished the game completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 105 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Though it was a different era, Esiason’s debut with the Bengals in 1984 was significantly worse as he completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 159 yards and two interceptions against the Houston Oilers.
The difference is that Esiason was a relatively high draft pick who played at a major American college. He was always going to get ample opportunity to prove he could succeed in the NFL, which he eventually did — full credit to him. Streveler, meanwhile, was painted as a CFL quarterback completely out of his depth. He only got one other opportunity to play the majority of his team’s snaps in a game, outplaying teammate Zach Wilson with the New York Jets in 2022 in a 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wilson, who has an abysmal career passer rating of 73.2, remains on the roster in New York not because of what he’s done on the field but because of his draft position. If he’d started his career as a CFL quarterback instead of as the second overall pick in the NFL draft, there’s little doubt the Jets would have sent him packing years ago.
Giannotti read the portion of the article stating that 3DownNation requested an interview with Esiason in the days following his original commentary, which CBS declined. Esiason indicated that he didn’t remember receiving a request and a member of his crew speculated that he may not have been made aware of it at the time.
Some may question the relevance of reporting on three-year-old commentary but the passage of time can sometimes lead to more accurate reporting. It’s unlikely that Streveler would have provided candid, honest answers regarding Esiason’s words if he were still looking for opportunities in the NFL for fear of backlash. His comments also led to Esiason sharing his side of the story, which was 3DownNation’s goal in 2021 when he made such a strong impression on fans north of the border.
To Esiaon’s credit, it’s clear that he has a basic understanding of the three-down game and knows that players have achieved NFL stardom following stints in the CFL. He also said he was open to calling a CFL game in the future — until the 3DownNation article was read aloud to him, he was unaware that his employer owned the CFL’s American broadcasting rights — but a member of his crew informed him that CBS merely simulcasts the Canadian feed, rather than doing its own full-scale broadcast.
“I’ve caught some of their games. It’s not that I dislike the CFL and every now and again one of their athletes will come down here and become a really good player,” he said.
“It’s just a different brand of football: it’s a wider field, a longer field, there are more players on the field. It’s an entertaining game for sure. A lot of quarterbacks like Warren Moon and Doug Flutie have had just a ton of success up there, which is great, which is fine, but it’s not the NFL. I’m sorry.”
Esiason and his cohost spent nearly 10 minutes of airtime on their top-rated radio sports show reacting to an article written by a Canadian reporter for a publication they didn’t previously know existed. Though this correspondent doesn’t believe in name-calling, he would agree that at least one party involved in this story behaved like a snowflake.
2024-02-10 14:00:25
#NFL #Boomer #Esiason #namecalls #doubles #CFL #disrespect
