First off, I want to make it clear that before his time in Denver, aka his time leading the Florida offense to two National Championships and one Heisman in the middle, I was an incredibly anti-Tebow guy. The guy irritated me because he was so good and he played for the only SEC team I sincerely wished would lose all their games- maybe I should try wishing the Bengals lost all of their games. However, when he got his chance in Denver, one of my all time favorite teams, my reaction to this polarizing quarterback quickly changed.
The game was going completely Denver's way at half. Up 20-6 the Broncos were in control and Big Ben and the Steelers were on their heels. However, five second-half Denver drives ended with only three points to show for it (punt, punt, field goal, fumble, punt) and the defense was unable to hold off the Steelers who tied the game, 23 all, with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter.
The coin flipped, Denver started their overtime drive on the 20 and Tebow immediately regained control. One snap, one quick throw and 80 yards later Tebow and the Broncos are going to New England.
However, Tebow has done something that neither Jay Cutler nor Matt Schaub (both with only two playoff starts under their belts) were able to do by throwing zero interceptions and finishing with a post season Passer Rating over 87.5- he finished with an even 90.0 in 2011. And, most importantly, he owns a playoff victory, something that 13 current starters can't say (Bradford isn't starting anymore but he would be the starter for St. Louis had he not been injured).
Now, he's not the best quarterback to ever walk onto the gridiron. His throws aren't perfect. He hangs onto the ball too much or throws the ball too early. He's not a traditional quarterback and may bring media attention simply because he's a proud Christian who wins football games. Given time though, Tim Tebow has a God-given ability to adapt and can be used in many different offensive styles; wildcat, option, and spread to name a few, to help almost any franchise become a top tier team.
Pop quiz: Who's jersey was at the top of the NFL jersey sales list for much of 2010 and finished in the top 3 despite not making the playoffs or completing 50 passes on the season?
Tim Tebow, as a rookie. He was also the only rookie to be featured on the top 25 NFL jersey sales list at the end of the season.
No matter what you think of Tebow you cannot deny that he brings a spotlight, and therefor money, with him wherever he goes. Whether he likes it or not, his name is out there and was recognized faster than most any other athlete since 1994. As Dan Orlando says, "Tim Tebow is a brand." And that brand isn't going anywhere anytime soon. In fact the fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars have gotten together to petition the team to bring Tebow into the woeful organization and Tebow has reportedly heard from several "interested" teams to bring him back under center.
We know he can win games. We know he can bring in fans and revenue. We know he wants to play the game. The only thing we don't know, as Steve Matoren points out, is why NFL owners aren't going after Tebow with everything they have and why coaches aren't pushing the front office to give him another chance. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you other than a similar proposition to Steve's: these people- coaches and owners- are scared that Tebow will come in and become the face of the franchise instead of them. (Except, when we are talking about teams like Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay they don't have a steady franchise face yet, so why not Tebow?)
Are Steve and I right that the egos of coaches and owners have gotten so out of proportion that they're afraid to bring in Tebow simply because he might take over as face of the football side of things? (Which only makes a tiny bit of sense seeing as he is the football player and they are at most on the sidelines...)
And that brings me to the next segment here. If you're in the sports world, you either live off of hypotheticals or believe they are the devil's tool to take you down. Here at Right of Centerfield, I'm a huge proponent of hypotheticals and see absolutely no harm in looking into the crystal ball of football to see where Tebow might just land if he decides to get off ESPN's chair and put on pads again if any team can suck up their ego enough to win some games.
5. The NFC East
No, really. Tebow could end up, and fit in nicely, with three of the four teams in the geographically challenged eastern NFC division.
Eli Manning is a franchise quarterback, I get it, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good idea for the Giants to bring in a more mobile backup option for Eli than Ryan Nassib who totaled 138 yards on the ground at Syracuse. Not only would Tebow provide another style of play for the otherwise non-impressive Giants offense, he has proven himself as a competitive starting quarterback if Manning were to ever go down.
Dallas has Romo and won't be looking for a new starter anytime soon, as long as Tony stays healthy. The backup, Brandon Weeden, proved he could throw the ball better than Brady Quinn, Chad Henne and Mark Sanchez in 2012, just barely, but ran it worse than everyone except Chad Henne. So, really, Dallas is also in need of a backup.
Washington already knows that the mobile quarterbacking of RGIII is dangerous and can cause their main man to get seriously injured rather easily. So, once again, there's a call for a backup who can come in and command the field from the start and knows the pressure of winning with media hype surrounding them and neither Kirk Cousins nor Colt McCoy are serious contenders for that job.
Philly would be the outlier in the division as the team has a quality quarterback in Nick Foles and no one wants Sanchez and Tebow compete for playing time again, especially not Sanchez or Tebow.
4. Houston
The Texans looked much better in their season opener than they did at all last year. Whether that is because of Clowney and Watt unfairly manhandling the Redskins' offense until Clowney left the game or because of the play of new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick remains to be seen down the road but both new additions to the Texans staff showed promise (as long as they stay healthy). Over Fitzpatrick's nine years in the pros, he has a career 59.9 completion percentage and close to 17,000 yards through the air, respectable numbers for having been with the Rams, Bengals, Bills and Titans throughout his career. However, his backup, Tom Savage, from Pittsburgh and Rutgers, could barely run to save his life in college averaging -1.9 yards per carry over 167 attempts. With a defense that is back to postseason capability, an open division race for the foreseeable future and Arian Foster commanding the ground attack, Tebow's arm and maneuverability would be a welcome addition to this Texan depth chart.
3. St. Louis
When Sam Bradford went down for the season, the playoff hopes for the Rams dwindled near completely lost. The home opener of the season didn't do much to reassure the fans that Shaun Hill or Austin Davis are ready to take the helm in the Edward Jones Dome. Hill, who strained his quad and is questionable for this coming weekend, threw for 81 yards on eight completions. Davis threw for 192 but had no touchdowns and a pick to show for it. The Rams have the personnel that would allow a Tim Tebow-esque quarterback to thrive in the Arch City but the tough NFC West division makes every game a must-win and even Tebow's magic would be stretched pretty thin in that dome.
2. Tampa Bay
Unless the Bucs and their coaching staff pull some sort of miracle out of their hat, Tampa is going to be in for a long season behind a backup quarterback turned starter in Josh McCown. Bringing Tebow in wouldn't even be the greatest idea considering the personnel, or lack thereof, that he would be surrounded by. Vincent Jackson is the only experienced wideout on this team and Doug Martin isn't the ideal running back. Having said that, Tebow is one of those players you can literally build an entire side of the football around. He is versatile enough to salvage a few wins for the Bucs and would be an ideal franchise QB in Florida down the stretch.
Speaking of Florida...
1. Jacksonville
You may have heard that Tim Tebow played at The Swamp for four years and only earned two National Championship crystal balls and a Heisman. You may have also heard that the Jaguars' franchise just so happens to be in the same area, an hour and a half away from in fact, that same Swamp. Oh, and the high school that Tebow won a State Championship with is about half an hour from EverBank Field. If that's not enough of a reason for the Jaguars to pick Tebow up and at least have him sign a few autographs and bring people to the stadium for a few Sundays, maybe his 31-5 college and professional career record in Florida might be enough to sign him up. They even have T-shirts ready for him:
Realistically, do I see Tim Tebow putting on the pads and taking another snap under center? No. Unfortunately the buzz that surrounds Tebow is too much for the billionaire owners to stomach even if he straight up wins. And for those that say that he should go in as a tight-end or fullback, I just want to ask, why? Why should a quarterback, who has proven over multiple seasons that he can win, be removed from his position especially for teams that still need a quality quarterback?
Tebow is and will always be a quarterback at heart but now he'll be a few steps up from armchair quarterbacking as he gets national coverage every Saturday on SEC Nation in his suit and swivel chair.
No comments:
Post a Comment