When Tim Tebow came out of Florida he was a phenom, he was big, strong, fast, and played in an amazing offensive system. Many who may be barking about how poor a QB he is now, were also singing his praise (no pun intended) when he was a Gator. He was very accurate hitting a career 66% completion rate. He threw for over 9200 yards, yes, threw 88 TD passes to only 16 picks. Tebow was a unique competitor who did things that changed college football. Oh, and by the way he ran for 57 TDs while playing there too. He led the Gators to the national championship 2 times, and he also won the coveted Heisman trophy as a sophomore, and was in the running, placing top 5 in 08-09 as well.
Now, he has certainly not had alot of great things said about him, with problems in his mechanics. Analysts want to jump on his looping style of throwing the ball, his slow release and his inaccurate passing. Granted his passing completion is an inexcusable 47%, and he has many eyes on him waiting for him to throw yet another horrific ball. But let’s take a different look at what he is doing well. But what he also does is not only clutch play, let’s be honest here, he is definitely always been a leader. But he brings excitement to Denver, the fans cheer him, he makes people tune in to watch their games.
They sell out games in Colorado now. When Tebow shows up in your town, guess what, sell out. He is fun to watch, and that makes exciting football for everyone. Another huge issue many have with the QB is his religion he brings into the game. Some love it, some hate it. Former Broncos QB Jake Plummer recently said he wished Tebow would “curb his references to Jesus and his faith.” Tebow feels tremendously strong about his faith and his relationship with his religion and he wants to celebrate it. Who cares, watch the game. When Denver drafted Tebow in the 25th spot of the 2010 draft, everyone condemned them of taking him in the 1st round. The Broncos obviously were in need of a QB, they were looking to start a new era, and grab their guy. Let’s take a look at some of the QBs they could have taken instead.
Jimmy Clausen? 53% 3 TDs 9 ints and no prospective future as a starter in the NFL right now. Colt McCoy was stolen in the 3rd, solid QB, who is playing affably on a lousy team. Or how about Mike Kafka? Do we need to go on? So, looking back, was he really drafted too early? I don’t think so. Clausen’s win/loss percentage; 10%. McCoy 32%, Tebow 67%. For a warped oddity QB, Tebow isn’t doing all that bad, is he? The Broncos obviously have modified their offense around him to make him comfortable. A bad idea? Did the Eagles change their offense system when they decided to start Vick? All teams change schemes for their QB, if they have different skill sets. Bottom line, Tebow produces TDs, whether by passing, or throwing, even with his “feeble pathetic” passing ability. He has a career 22 TDs under his belt, so combing passing and rushing, he is responsible for a TD 6% of the times he makes a play with the ball. Kind of impressed? No?
For contrast, Big Ben career wise is responsible for 5%. He wins games, I respect the fact that he’s a good guy, has integrity and he makes the game fun. The Broncos defense has been brilliant, which obviously needs a ton of credit as well, but is it enough? But can a team with this kind of QB play and a stout defense really make noise in the playoffs? It’s rare, but they can.
History shows us the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, all which had a QB at the time that were not spectacular, and a top ended defense that helped out their QBs. Denver has invested their 1st round pick in Tebow, they have to give him an opportunity and see what they got in the draft. No matter what is said, as long as they keep winning games, how can you argue against success? It’s just going to be time before we see if the Tebow experiment is a long term success.
Written by Frank Jordan for VegasTopDogs.com