Tim Tebow is terrible, Detroit Lions terriii … (Oh, wait, I can’t say that anymore.) … umm, Cleveland Browns terrible. There we go. 
Tebow has commanded the national spotlight since he emerged as one of college football’s all-time greatest players. Now, after two years in the NFL and a Bieber-like cult following, he holds an abysmal 48 percent passes-completed percentage, thrown just nine touchdowns (New England Patriot’s Quarterback Tom Brady has thrown 18 in the first seven games of the 2011 NFL Season), and been sacked by opposing defenses 19 times. I could name about 20 more statistics that would prove my point that Tebow will never amount to anything as a player in the NFL.
A small bit of Tebow’s most recent performance against visiting Detroit on 10/30/11 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK36cEoC_g4
I can’t help but hysterically laugh at Tebow’s demise in the highlight above. My reaction to this reel was of a similar mockery of Josh McDaniels during the 2010 NFL Draft Weekend. McDaniels, the then young and cavalier head coach of a mediocre Denver Broncos, had just put a leading storyline of the draft to rest.
He drafted Tim Tebow. He drafted Tim Tebow to become a franchise quarterback. He drafted Tim Tebow to be a savior.
I pride myself on being the guy who leaned over the couch to tell my buddies that Tim Tebow was going to be an atrocious NFL quarterback – all this during the telecast of the 2007 Heisman Trophy presentation that Tebow won by a large consensus. College football had never seen a player like Tebow, much less his body type and “style of play” at the quarterback position. Tebow’s “fullback” size – a whopping 6 feet 3 inches, 235 pounds – is usually found playing in a power-driven running back or linebacker role. This aspect of Tebow’s game allowed him to shred opposing collegiate defenses when schemed plays broke, allowing him to tuck and run rather than fall victim to a collapsed passing pocket. Utilizing these attributes, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer used Tebow as the ultimate weapon, drawing up plays that the “Pre-Tebow” era would have never considered. It paid dividends and then some, seeing Florida win two national championships with Tebow at the helm.
So what happened? Better question, what didn’t happen? Tebow can’t and will never be able to change his game.
College football and the NFL are increasingly becoming two separate games. Sure, they may use almost identical rules, the same equipment, the same field parameters. But they have key differences, differences that Tebow will not ever be able to overcome. His play-calling and offense in college revolved around his decision-making whether or not to make a short pass (He hasn’t ever had notable arm strength.) or to simply bulldoze his way for positive gains through running the ball. It worked … against lesser competition. At Florida, Tebow lined up against linebackers (his primary defenders as a quarterback) who 90 percent of the time were smaller than his massive frame. As an NFL player, he’s lucky if the behemoths of opposing linebacking corps have less than 20 pounds on him. This is a recipe for disaster for a player who relies on running up field whenever he gets in a tight spot.
Then there’s the aspect of Tebow’s passing game, his horrendous, awful passing game. Even before he was drafted, analysts and coaches broke down Tebow’s passing mechanics and deduced that he simply was nowhere near the pro standard. The NFL is a pass-heavy league where quarterbacks must have some amount of vision to see passing targets on the field and deliver; Tebow has none of the tools to lead an NFL-style offense. Even still, many admirers skirted the obvious flaws.
“He finds ways to win,” “He’s a good guy with a crazy work ethic,” “He’s Jesus incarnate!” rave Denver fans.
You know something is very wrong, though, when you ask them, “Hey, so why do you think Tim Tebow is good?”
“Uh, because of what he did in college. He’s just good.”
“And that means anything in the NFL?”
“Yeah, he’s just, I don’t know, a good guy.”
(Yes, I actually had this conversation with a Denver fan.)
The hero-worship continues EVEN after Tebow led the Broncos to a 45-10 loss at home this past weekend where he lost a fumble, was sacked seven times, and threw an interception that was returned for a 100-yard “Pick-6.”
Detroit’s Chris Houston’s 100 yard “Pick-6” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn2BtskzlQA.
Behind the mass-saturation and almost daily updates of Tebow-mania, the down-to-earth, vocal Christian may have never have asked for this kind of publicity. Neither does he garner attention for his behavior off the field. But he definitely doesn’t do himself any favors. If being one of the worst statistical quarterbacks in the NFL wasn’t enough, Tebow’s face-time during games has featured him crying, kneeling, and the now infamous post-game celebration of dropping to one knee in a stoic pose of prayer. Coined “Tebowing” by the media, it’s become the new “Planking” where even non-sports followers are “Tebowing” in bathrooms, public places and even planes.
I do not have a problem with Tebow as a person. He seems genuine enough, but simply being a “good guy” and a “high-integrity” individual doesn’t equal touchdowns.
“[Tebow] can’t play. He can’t throw,” said former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason. “I’m not here to insult him. The reality is he was a great college football player, maybe the greatest college football player of his time. But he’s not an NFL quarterback right now. Just because he’s God-fearing, and a great person off the field, and was a winner with the team that had the best athletes in college football, doesn’t mean his game is going to translate to the NFL.”
Simply put, Tebow benefitted from a college system that took advantage of his size and never allowed defenses to press his deficiencies. Now in the NFL where that advantage is no longer present, we see the finished product, a heaping pile of Denver garbage.
Get over the Tebow-craze, people! He’ll be out of the NFL in two years. But I know you’ll still drink the Kool-Aid, Denver and Tebow fans! Heck, the all-time greatest Broncos quarterback, John Elway, can’t even get through to you. When asked about Tebow after the Bronco’s loss to Detroit last Sunday, Elway, now a team executive with Denver, simply paused and said, “No, he’s not getting any better.”
And he probably never will.