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During Thursday night's Ravens preseason opener against the Panthers, the ESPN broadcast crew made a few comments about Ravens backup quarterback Marc Bulger which made some headlines.
According to ProFootballTalk.com, after a production meeting with Bulger, play-by-play man Mike Tirico called the veteran quarterback "a defeated guy", and analyst Ron Jaworski questioned Bulger's desire to continue playing in the NFL.
Apparently, those comments were misinterpreted.
While the ESPN crew did have a production meeting with Bulger, that meeting came last year, while Bulger was in the middle of his third straight rough season with the Rams.
Kevin Byrne, the Ravens' Senior Vice President, Public & Community Relations, spoke with Jaworski, who clarified that he was referring to a meeting that the ESPN broadcasters had with Bulger in St. Louis.
Bulger's Rams went 6-42 from 2007-2009, and after signing with the Ravens this summer, he admitted during a conference call with local reporters that the losing started to get to him.
Here was Jaworski's comment from Thursday night:
"We walked into that meeting, and it was like, 'I'm not sure I want to play; I'm not sure I'll be here next year,'" Jaworski said. "I just didn't see the passion, the enthusiasm you have to play at this level, to work at it week in, week out. Maybe he'll get it back."
Jaworski was apparently piggybacking on a comment from fellow analyst Jon Gruden, who said that Bulger had gotten hit around a lot in St. Louis. He did not specify that the production meeting with the quarterback occurred last year, which created the confusion.
For what it's worth, head coach John Harbaugh says he's been very pleased with what Bulger has brought to the table since joining the Ravens.
"I've seen nothing but an energetic, competitive guy who loves football out here," Harbaugh said. "This guy has come out here every single day, and he's gotten after it. He's competitive, he's into everything we do, [and] he competes every single day. He competed in the game, he was excited about the good throws in the game, [and] he was disappointed with the bad plays. He's done a great job."
