For you pessimistic anti-Tebow folks I am not talking about OJs glove but Dan Marino isotoners style and not like what he messed up by not using and having an illigetimate kid. I digress. Tebow is back on a NFL roster and he found a great fit.
A few things I HAVE to say before I go on, Tebow is not at blame for the national circus. He does promote his love for Christ and it rubs some people the wrong way. I believe if a player can do crunches in his driveway and get tons of press, why not have a guy get press for doing the right things as a player; working hard, shutting his mouth and believing he can be a NFL QB. What is wrong with that? He can play quarterback at the NFL level. It is not how so many people are used to seeing a quarterback play and it makes them uneasy. He doesn't have the perfect footwork or mechanics. He isn't the most accurate quarterback. The simple fact is when given the chance he performs. You can't say that for about a dozen QBs that made starts last year, two of which he had to watch play for 16 games.
He no longer is under pressure and attention to push a less talented player in an Orton or Sanchez that is given the nod because they look and act like the status quo QB in practice. Well if I can channel my inner Allen Iverson, we talking about practice?! practice?! That is where Tebow will make a coach go "Is this guy serious?!" like Happy Gilmore trying to make a putt in his qualifying tourney. The simple fact is when you unleash Tebow (yes I just went Skip Bayless) and he is allowed to play his game he gives you the opportunity to win. The Broncos FANS, Tebow fans and franchise experienced this firsthand as did all the idiots that say he can't play quarterback. Did I miss something or wasn't that Tebow that lead a 2-4 Denver team to the playoffs? Is he the guy that threw for 316 yards in a playoff game? I missed it where he couldn't play QB but Sanchez, Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, Blaine Gabart, John Skelton and dozens of backups can and deserve a shot over him. He threw for over 300 yards the year before against Houston as well.
Tebow is now in a perfect situation. Tom Brady is the man. He is entrenched there. No real fan would clamor for Tebow over Brady. He can develop as a quarterback and also help the team win games in the case of Brady going down for a few games or in a game. Then why did he have to leave Denver you ask? Peyton Manning was not entrenched here with fans. There was questions about his neck. There was a tough beginning of the season schedule and what Tebow did was fresh in many Broncos fans minds including mine and management couldn't have a controversy. There is no controversy in New England.
Tebow is in a system where he can sit back, learn and contribute while still being a quarterback and not have to solely be a tight end or some other position a team wants him at that he will most likely only be averag. Even if Tebow isn't used, he at least is learning and developing. Tebow is the ideal back-up. He has played and won in NFL games before. He is confident. He is not afraid to throw the ball 60 yards down field. He can create something out of a play when there may not be anything.
I don't know if Tebow will ever start in the NFL as a QB again, but the guy deserves a shot over some guys who get years to prove themselves or because of where they were drafted or because of how they look physically. Romo, Gabbert, Cassell, Quinn, Fitzpatrick are the latest ones but there is a much longer list from the past that include the Mirer's, Russell's and Leaf's of the world. The biggest reason Tebow deserves his shot is he doesn't give up and believes his team has a chance with the ball in his hands. The success he has had late in games shows that as long as your coach doesn't overreact, if you are within a couple scores with 5 minutes to go in a game, you have a chance. I hope he is given a couple games due to a minor injury to Brady, succeeds and a team realizes that if you adapt your system to him, he is worth taking a shot on and building your team around him for a couple years. If Locker can start an entire NFL season looking like a much more timid player when a play is needed to be made than Tebow, why can't Tebow?
I am happy for Tebow. Another year means he earns a pension from the NFL for the rest of his life. He is given a chance to not be the focus of attention like he has been since he was drafted by the Broncos and since the Jets butt fumbled how to best utilize him last year, which would have been as the starter the last half of the season where it was time to take a #2 or get off the pot. In New England, it will be to use him as a TE/HB/QB where he is a great decoy or a great trick play guy. Tebow lines up at TE, takes two steps back and takes a lateral, everyone expects a run and he hits a streaking Amendola across the middle is one scenario that works in my mind. There are many more. As a fan of Tebow (both person and player), I hope he succeeds and sticks in the league for a while. There are plenty of guys that never played behind great QBs that were irrelevant (every Elway, Marino, Manning and Tom Brady back-up), but Tebow will never be irrelevant because he had success at the NFL and it fueled the fire for his fans and for his haters. I will never understand how Tebow won some of the games he did in the pros and how he racked up the stats he did at Florida (hey, better looking players have came through since and not had his success there), but the fact is if a player has that much belief in himself and a coach that does as well, anything can happen in the NFL. What better example than Tom Brady's road to the NFL fame?! Tebow can be the next Steve Young where he has to develop his great arm strength to match with his ability to run while sitting behind a HOF QB. Best of luck #15 Timmy Tebow!
No comments:
Post a Comment