Esiason on D&C: 'Get ready for Tebow Time'

CBS Sports NFL analyst Boomer Esiason made his weekly appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to discuss the Patriots and their upcoming Sunday afternoon matchup against Tim Tebow's Broncos.

Both New England and Denver had exciting plays late Sunday to capture their respective wins. The Patriots won a messy 34-27 game against the Redskins in which they struggled defensively and offensively, but Jerod Mayo came up with a game-clinching interception of Rex Grossman at the New England 7-yard line with 20 seconds remaining.

Meanwhile, the Broncos executed another fourth-quarter comeback in which the opposing team made a huge mistake (Marion Barber stepped out of bounds with less than two minutes remaining while the Bears were in possession of the ball and the lead). Tebow suddenly completed the majority of his passes, and the Broncos capped a 13-10 win with an overtime field goal.

"Get ready for Tebow Time," Esiason said. "It's apparent to everybody -- you don't have to be an expert -- the defense for the New England Patriots is hanging on. This game yesterday against the Redskins, it was typical New England Patriots. You get a decent offensive performance … and then of course, the Patriots come up with a huge play at the end of the game. This is the Patriots of the 2000 era. This is the way that it always has been for Bill Belichick."

Added Esiason: "This week is a fascinating matchup because you have a guy in Tim Tebow that is, it's an enigma. I can't explain it. It's almost like divine intervention. A lot of these games in which other teams just absolutely make the bonehead mistake at the wrong time in the fourth quarter. And Tim Tebow is somehow able to find the will to win. It's been quite fascinating to watch."

Esiason also addressed a confrontation between Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien on the Patriots sideline. The two clashed after Brady threw an interception in the end zone with 6:37 remaining and New England clinging to a seven-point lead. Teammates had to separate the two while Brady and O'Brien continued to yell at each other. After the game, Brady said he deserved to be yelled at because he made a bad play. Esiason agreed, adding that these arguments happen on NFL sidelines and New England fans should not worry about it.

"A lot of pressure on Tom, and I'm sure that was a little bit of the breaking point yesterday when he and O'Brien got into it, which I have no problem with," Esiason said. "[Former Bengals coach] Sam Wyche and I at times wanted to kill each other on the sidelines. It's a very intense game and it's played by emotional guys and competitive guys."

Following are highlights of the conversation.

On how the Patriots defense will hold up against a strong offense: "That's the million-dollar question is what is the Patriots defense going to be like when they get into the playoffs and they play the upper-echelon teams. And if Tom Brady has an off day against a quality quarterback on the other side, can they withstand that and can they win those games? Only time will tell us that."

On buying into Tim Tebow as a quarterback: "I bought into him winning. I don't want people to misinterpret. I still think, even though he did complete I think 18 passes in the fourth quarter yesterday against one of the better defenses in football, I don't think and I'm probably much like [Broncos vice president] John Elway and [Broncos coach] John Fox, I can't believe my eyes sometimes. But he's not a great thrower of the football and he'll never be a good thrower of the football in my estimation because you're never going to get him to change.

"And why would you ask him to change, especially with the way that he's been playing in the last few weeks in the fourth quarter alone. I bought into the fact that he is a winner. I know that. I still don't think, and I will go to my grave thinking that he's not the long-term solution at quarterback for the Broncos."

On how Tebow transforms as a quarterback in the fourth quarter: "Tim Tebow has something go on in his brain in the fourth quarter where he's not overwhelmed by any of that stuff. And if these defenses are going to let him sit back there and not blitz him and not get after him and beat them by his throwing the football, then he's going to have opportunities like he had yesterday. 
I have to blitz him in that situation and I have to make him make the throw to beat me because I don't think he can do that."

On the Broncos not scoring well until late in games: "This has been their game plan for the last seven weeks. It's almost like a carbon copy. A couple of the games, they actually put up a lot of points. They beat the Raiders on the road and put up points. They beat the Minnesota Vikings on the road and they put up a lot of points. So, they can win games in which they didn't score points, but this is going to be fascinating next week to see how Bill Belichick plays this. If there were a guy in the league that may be able to devise something on a short week that he hasn't seen and do something unconventional to kind of screw him up somewhere along the line, it would be Bill Belichick. But I don't know if he has the horses to do it anyways."

On what happened on the sidelines between Brady and O'Brien: "That's great. That's the sidelines. And you'd be surprised. Maybe "Hard Knocks" has shown a little bit of the internal side of the NFL. You expect that. You've got emotional guys. I'm sure that maybe O'Brien might have said something to him in the headset prior to throwing the ball where he threw it, maybe a 'Listen, we've got this play. This guy is going to be open. Look for him.' And Tom didn't look for him. He was trying to get the ball to somebody else. Actually, the intended receiver was open. The ball is a little bit out in front and a little bit high. And if only he has a chance to make the play on it, maybe it's a touchdown.

"I don't know what he would say to his intended receiver. I saw exactly what he was saying to O'Brien. 'He was open! I know it!' And then there were a few F-bombs in there. But that's the sideline of an NFL game. That's the beauty of it. I could have written what Tom was going to say postgame. He said exactly the thing that he should have said, that when you make bonehead play or you make a bad play, no matter who you are, no matter what your name is, you have to be held accountable. Tom knows that better than anybody, and he handled it perfectly after the game."

To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots.