For the better part of the last decade, ESPN's Ed Werder has been the harbinger of locker room implosions, anonymous sources and general drama in the NFL.
Every time I see him on TV, I cringe and feel sorry for the poor saps he features in his ominous reporting. It got to the point that he could have been considered Terrell Owens' and Tony Romo's stalker.
There's no shortage of drama in the Big D, but with the expulsion of T.O. Werder needed a new host to leech off of. After the hiring of Hurricane Josh, Werder had the perfect place to perch his skeevy mustache.
Through the tumultuous blip that was McD's Broncos career, Werder was constantly at Dove Valley reporting on the disgrace that was Broncomania. It's no surprise, considering they were a league worst 6-20 following the flukey 6-0 start.
Then, that fateful night of the 2010 NFL Draft, Werder was seen in front of a Broncos banner, previewing another loathsome draft class.
The rational Broncos fans had to have collectively thought, "Oh, no. Bad things are coming."
As clockwork as John Madden's own titular curse, Ed Werder's bad karma yielded broken goods in Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow, the ever-controversial running back who occasionally throws.
I was beside myself and despondent.
Obviously, from the ridiculous chants at Sports Authority Field and the inane billboards around the Denver metro area, not everyone would agree this situation was a Curse. But logical, Football-God-fearing Broncos fans were disgusted by the ferly use of a first-round pick.
Fast forward to ESPN's Sunday morning pregame show. It being Tebow's first start, there was no place on Earth Werder would rather be than in Miami, talking about it.
As I watched, I could feel the bile rising. This would not be a good day.
And for much of it, it wasn't. Tebow overthrew wide open receivers, had his first career fumble and generally bumbled around in the almost non-existent pocket.
It wasn't pretty, and for 56 minutes, it wasn't effective. But even with all the odds/curses stacked against him, Tebow beat the Curse of Ed Werder.
Tebow still has a lot to do to gain my approval, but beating down bad karma, regardless of how bad the opponent was, is a step in the right direction.
Good job Tim. Suck it Ed!
