This Tim Tebow story has got legs — like Tebow himself, who is very good at running with a football. The question is his left arm: Is it NFL-capable and should Tebow be taken seriously as a potential starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos?
If you’re not among Tebow’s legions of adoring fans, you risk being labeled a hater for even asking that. And not just of Tebow, but of all that is good in the world, and beyond.
But it is ridiculous to think that when Tebow gets ripped by credible NFL analysts it’s because he’s wholesome and religious. No, they just don’t like his passing technique.
Heck, there’s nothing wrong with a fundamentalist who lacks in passing fundamentals. That is, unless you’re trying to win NFL games. If you’re strong and athletic and a leader like Tebow, and you have a fleet of sprinters to play with, you can win championships … in college. The pros are a different matter.
Josh McDaniels, the since-fired Broncos coach, was instrumental in bringing Tebow to Denver as a first-round pick last year. He’s one of those coaches who reminds me of people who go after severely flawed romantic partners because they think they can “fix” them. Maybe Tebow’s mechanics can be repaired, or won’t be a career-killer. But I’ve heard and read enough from astute analysts to lean the other way. And my own eyes told me Tebow thrived in college partly because his receivers were always wide open.
IN EARLY DECEMBER, 2007, Tebow, a sophomore at Florida, was way ahead in a Heisman Trophy race he would win a few days later. In a final push for support for Colt Brennan, Hawaii coach June Jones said his quarterback had the better pro potential and draped the dreaded “system quarterback” label over Tebow’s broad shoulders.
Jones said Tebow lacked accuracy needed in the NFL, and that he wouldn’t thrive in a passing offense like Hawaii’s run-and-shoot. It was taken with equal parts laughter and outrage in Gainesville.
As things turn out, this might be another one to put on the JJ Had It Right All Along list.
High school ain’t college and college ain’t the pros. Nearly every athlete reaches a level where he or she is just not good enough to make a team, or, as in Tebow’s case, to be a starter. It often doesn’t matter how great you were at the previous level, and it rarely matters how good you are as a person.
VAUGHN MEATOGA played against Tebow at The Swamp in 2008. The UH defensive tackle said Tebow is a great football player, a leader who commands respect.
“Our goal was to contain him. But when we game-planned for him we saw that he threw at least one ball to the defense every game.”
Meatoga watches enough NFL to know it’s a whole different world at the highest level. “In college not everybody in the secondary runs 4.4. I’d like to see him succeed. The way he plays is like the way (UH linebacker) Corey Paredes plays. Every down 100 percent.”
It might seem strange to compare a superb college linebacker to an NFL quarterback. But in the case of Tim Tebow, it makes perfect sense.
