You’d think if anyone was gonna turn a deaf ear to Emmit Smith’s continued foibles on ESPN’s “NFL Countdown” it would be a writer from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Clearly, Gary West isn’t that journalist, bemoaning Smith’s transition from “great running back to celebrated ballroom dancer and, now, to failed Tinker Bell.”
Since joining ESPN in March, the former Cowboy has zoomed by the competition, passing Skip Bayless, Dan Marino and Stephen A. Smith. Soon, he could overtake Tony Siragusa as the media’s MPP, most painful person to watch/hear.
And as an ESPN football analyst, Smith is conspicuously inept. No, to call him inept insults inept people: He’s woefully incompetent. But here’s the important question: What does his presence say about the network that put him there?
As one of the analysts on NFL Countdown, Smith babbles, bumbles and stutters while generally insulting the language. He sometimes fumbles his facts and frequently seems unprepared. He can’t even get a cliché right.About Green Bay’s Donald Driver, Smith said: “Tonight he’s looking to get back to paydirt so he can right size the ship right now.”
About the Cowboys’ quarterback, Smith said: “Tony Romo has the mentality to have the sense to make the play.”
When asked to summarize his thoughts in two words, he once said, “Cowboys lose big-time.”
And about this season’s grand possibilities, Smith said, “If you want to stay perfect, you can not go undefeated with a blemish on your record.”
Pretty unfair stuff, if you ask me. What does Sean Salisbury have to do to crack West’s MPP Pantheon?