CBS Dumps Marino and Sharpe for Gonzalez

Published on 18-Feb-2014 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NFL    NFL Daily Review

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CBS Dumps Marino and Sharpe for Gonzalez

In a move that may surprise many, the NFL Today on CBS dumped Dan Marino and Sterling Sharpe from their broadcast in favor of former Atlanta Falcons tightend Tony Gonzalez. 

I normally don't watch NFL pregame shows because, quite frankly, most are annoying. A bunch of games over-analyzed by so-called experts.

Most of the time, I caught Dan Marino and Sterling Sharpe during halftimes on CBS. I thought Sharpe was funny, entertaining, and insightful most of the time.

There were a few occasions, like this past season, when Sharpe commented that the best quarterbacks were the ones who won Super Bowls. He probably should have paused for a moment and remembered who was at the desk with him. It would've avoided an awkward moment between him and Dan Marino, but even that made for great entertainment.

Sharpe brought something to the table, which kept the show interesting. Marino, on the other hand, was dull as dishwater. He just didn't seem that comfortable on the air and didn't have a lot of interesting things to say.

As for Tony Gonzalez, the jury will be out on him. The times I've seen him do interviews, he sounded very intelligent. Not sure if he will be entertaining like Sharpe -- that doesn't seem to fit him -- but who knows? He may be better than I think he is.

Here's a clip of his on-camera style from his days as a Kansas City Chief. He's quick to respond, which is an important trait when you're on camera:

Rumor has it the reason why Sharpe and Marino were let go is because they were both at the end of their contracts and the ratings were down. Fox's NFL ratings are up 39% over CBS, so somebody had to go.

Unfortunately for Marino and Sharpe, it was them. Or maybe it was fortunately for them. Now they can find better gigs. They hope.

Click on a photo to enlarge.