Wow... During the course of their first 5 games, there was clamor among a certain segment of Denver Broncos' fans (and fans in general) to start 2nd year quarterback Tim Tebow over Kyle Orton. I'd say a majority of this very segment (50.1% or greater) want this because they like Tebow the person, not so much Tebow the quarterback. The quarterback has not shied away from his strong Christian faith. While I myself am not affiliated with any religion, I respect what Tebow does off the field, as he involves himself in many different missions and charities to help those in need. I don't care if the guy is Christian, Muslim, Hindu or a Scientologist, if he takes time away from the game to help those in need, I'm very respectful of that. On the flip side, there are many fans whom don't much care for Tebow's being vocal about his faith. Due to this, many fans either like or dislike the quarterback, regardless of his play on the field. Me? I could really care less about his faith. I just judge him based on his play on the field.
Given that, I'm so sick of hearing about the guy. In close to a year and a half in the league, he's now started four games for the Broncos and carries a 2-2 record in those four starts. Like I said, for the first five games of the season, every week, I heard talk about a quarterback controversy in Denver between Tebow and Orton. After the fifth game, a decision was made to start Tebow over Orton for the Broncos' following game against the Miami Dolphins. Since much was talked about with regard to Tebow before he became the Broncos' starter, one can only imagine how much chatter went on after he was named the starter. On ESPN Countdown yesterday, what was the main topic of discussion? Tim Tebow. All evening on ESPN, what was the main topic of discussion? Tim Tebow. I can understand the excitement surrounding the guy. He was a great college football player, a good person and carries with him a unique style of play, especially at the NFL level.
So, what was all the talk about after Tebow's start against the Miami Dolphins yesterday? Down 15-0 to the Miami Dolphins late in the 4th quarter, Tebow led the Broncos back to tie Miami and send the game to overtime, where Denver won via a field goal, 18-15. The talk then came to be about whether Tebow was the quarterback of the first 55 minutes of the game, where he struggled and appeared lost or the guy whom led the Broncos back to tie and eventually win the game in overtime. There's even an article on ESPN.com which asks if Tebow is myth or legendary. There are comparisons being made between he and Broncos' great, John Elway. Some are either hailing the performance as historic and the start of things to come for Tebow and the Broncos, while others refused to buy into that optimism and state with the utmost certainty Tebow will never be more than an average quarterback at this level until he improves in several facets of the game.
My first thought? Fricking ridiculous. This guy has started four games in his NFL career and only one this year. Like I said with Carolina Panthers' rookie quarterback Cam Newton, it's WAY too early to pass judgment on this guy. Allow him to play a full season or two first before we got on labeling him as either a savior or bust. I love the absolutism, yet fickleness with regard to NFL commentary. Player X is on his way to the Hall of Fame one week, before being labeled as a potential bust the next. In all likelihood, an NFL player will neither be the second-coming of Dan Marino nor will he be a JeMarcus Russell. Chances are he'll be somewhere in between.
While I'm not going to ultimately pass judgment on Tebow until he plays several games, I will say that even though the comeback yesterday was impressive given the short duration in which if happened, it was against the now 0-6 Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were up two scores with a little over two minutes left and basically gave the Broncos the first score, as they were sacrificing yards for time via the prevent defense. Where that failed was when Denver then recovered the ensuing onsides kick and were suddenly within striking distance of tying the game. So, please, let's not blow things out of proportion and saw after one comeback win over an 0-6 team, that Tebow is like John Elway. You can compare their first four starts all you want. Like I said with regard to the before-mentioned Cam Newton, it doesn't matter where a quarterback starts in this league. It matters where he finishes. John Elway and Peyton Manning struggled in the early-part of their careers, yet became two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. They've both won Super Bowls and will both be in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done. Tim Tebow has four starts to his credit. Elway and Manning have three Super Bowl rings between the two of them. Like I said, I'll wait a year or two before making a confident prediction on Tebow and how effective he will be as a starting NFL quarterback.
At this point in time, however, while I'm not going to claim Tebow to be a savior or bust, I will say that I honestly don't believe he will be a very effective NFL quarterback for the long-term. I still haven't come to even a theory on whether Cam Newton will be effective for the long-term, but have a feeling it's going to be rough sledding for Tebow long-term. I think he could be an effective back-up quarterback/utility player, where he can come in at different points of a game to give his team a different look offensively, bring them some energy and force the defense to quickly adjust. He has run for 329 yards and 7 touchdowns in 13 games, averaging 5.7 yards a carry. He's also thrown for 894 yards and 8 more scores, while turning the ball over just five times. So, like I said, I think Tebow could be a dangerous utility-type player largely due to his unique style and athleticism. However, at this point, I don't believe he will be a good starting quarterback for the long-term. My main reason is his passing mechanics. Good passing mechanics doesn't always equal success at the NFL level and the opposite is true. San Diego Chargers' quarterback, Phillip Rivers, does not have the greatest passing mechanics either, and has had himself a good NFL career to this point. However, there is a difference between the two quarterback and their flaws in mechanics. Rivers gets rid of the ball quickly and has had plenty of experience in complex, NFL-type offensive systems. Tebow played in a very simple offense at Florida, which wouldn't translate well to the NFL. That type of offense, under Tebow, may be successful at some points in a season, but defenses would adjust and shut down the simplistic offense more times than not after they've acquired some video of it. Also, unlike Phillips, Tebow takes a long time to get rid of the football. It could be argued that Tebow has a longer wind-up than a majority of Major League pitchers. This gives the defense extra time to raise their hands to bat down or deflect the football, which often times leads to either an incomplete pass or an interception. This also gives defenders a greater opportunity of swatting the ball away from Tebow's hand before he's able to throw it, resulting in more fumbles. Tebow isn't very accurate in throwing the football either. His sample size is quite small, but Tebow is completing under 50% of his passes to this point in his first 13 games and unlike Elway or Manning, hasn't illustrated throughout his career that he's very accurate with throwing the football. This could change, of course. He could improve by leaps and bounds in his accuracy, but it is often times very difficult to alter a quarterback's passing mechanics after he's been doing something a certain way for 20+ years. Again, it's possible, but quite difficult.
In the end, none of us know what kind of career Tim Tebow will have. He led a good comeback yesterday, but against an 0-6 team. While I honestly don't believe, due to his throwing mechanics and accuracy, Tebow will be a good long-term starting quarterback in the NFL, I do believe he could be a valuable asset in a utility role. But, again, like everyone else, I can't be certain. The sample size is way too small at this point and until the guy finishes a full season, I don't think any of us can't speak in absolutist terms regarding the guy's future. We will learn a lot more about him in the coming weeks, however, as Tebow and the 2-4 Broncos will square off against Detroit at home, Oakland and Kansas City on the road, the Jets at home, San Diego and Minnesota on the road, New England at home, Buffalo on the road and then close the season at Arrowhead against the Chiefs. At that point, perhaps we can all have a better, more informed discussion on the quarterback.
Given that, I'm so sick of hearing about the guy. In close to a year and a half in the league, he's now started four games for the Broncos and carries a 2-2 record in those four starts. Like I said, for the first five games of the season, every week, I heard talk about a quarterback controversy in Denver between Tebow and Orton. After the fifth game, a decision was made to start Tebow over Orton for the Broncos' following game against the Miami Dolphins. Since much was talked about with regard to Tebow before he became the Broncos' starter, one can only imagine how much chatter went on after he was named the starter. On ESPN Countdown yesterday, what was the main topic of discussion? Tim Tebow. All evening on ESPN, what was the main topic of discussion? Tim Tebow. I can understand the excitement surrounding the guy. He was a great college football player, a good person and carries with him a unique style of play, especially at the NFL level.
So, what was all the talk about after Tebow's start against the Miami Dolphins yesterday? Down 15-0 to the Miami Dolphins late in the 4th quarter, Tebow led the Broncos back to tie Miami and send the game to overtime, where Denver won via a field goal, 18-15. The talk then came to be about whether Tebow was the quarterback of the first 55 minutes of the game, where he struggled and appeared lost or the guy whom led the Broncos back to tie and eventually win the game in overtime. There's even an article on ESPN.com which asks if Tebow is myth or legendary. There are comparisons being made between he and Broncos' great, John Elway. Some are either hailing the performance as historic and the start of things to come for Tebow and the Broncos, while others refused to buy into that optimism and state with the utmost certainty Tebow will never be more than an average quarterback at this level until he improves in several facets of the game.
My first thought? Fricking ridiculous. This guy has started four games in his NFL career and only one this year. Like I said with Carolina Panthers' rookie quarterback Cam Newton, it's WAY too early to pass judgment on this guy. Allow him to play a full season or two first before we got on labeling him as either a savior or bust. I love the absolutism, yet fickleness with regard to NFL commentary. Player X is on his way to the Hall of Fame one week, before being labeled as a potential bust the next. In all likelihood, an NFL player will neither be the second-coming of Dan Marino nor will he be a JeMarcus Russell. Chances are he'll be somewhere in between.
While I'm not going to ultimately pass judgment on Tebow until he plays several games, I will say that even though the comeback yesterday was impressive given the short duration in which if happened, it was against the now 0-6 Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were up two scores with a little over two minutes left and basically gave the Broncos the first score, as they were sacrificing yards for time via the prevent defense. Where that failed was when Denver then recovered the ensuing onsides kick and were suddenly within striking distance of tying the game. So, please, let's not blow things out of proportion and saw after one comeback win over an 0-6 team, that Tebow is like John Elway. You can compare their first four starts all you want. Like I said with regard to the before-mentioned Cam Newton, it doesn't matter where a quarterback starts in this league. It matters where he finishes. John Elway and Peyton Manning struggled in the early-part of their careers, yet became two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. They've both won Super Bowls and will both be in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done. Tim Tebow has four starts to his credit. Elway and Manning have three Super Bowl rings between the two of them. Like I said, I'll wait a year or two before making a confident prediction on Tebow and how effective he will be as a starting NFL quarterback.
At this point in time, however, while I'm not going to claim Tebow to be a savior or bust, I will say that I honestly don't believe he will be a very effective NFL quarterback for the long-term. I still haven't come to even a theory on whether Cam Newton will be effective for the long-term, but have a feeling it's going to be rough sledding for Tebow long-term. I think he could be an effective back-up quarterback/utility player, where he can come in at different points of a game to give his team a different look offensively, bring them some energy and force the defense to quickly adjust. He has run for 329 yards and 7 touchdowns in 13 games, averaging 5.7 yards a carry. He's also thrown for 894 yards and 8 more scores, while turning the ball over just five times. So, like I said, I think Tebow could be a dangerous utility-type player largely due to his unique style and athleticism. However, at this point, I don't believe he will be a good starting quarterback for the long-term. My main reason is his passing mechanics. Good passing mechanics doesn't always equal success at the NFL level and the opposite is true. San Diego Chargers' quarterback, Phillip Rivers, does not have the greatest passing mechanics either, and has had himself a good NFL career to this point. However, there is a difference between the two quarterback and their flaws in mechanics. Rivers gets rid of the ball quickly and has had plenty of experience in complex, NFL-type offensive systems. Tebow played in a very simple offense at Florida, which wouldn't translate well to the NFL. That type of offense, under Tebow, may be successful at some points in a season, but defenses would adjust and shut down the simplistic offense more times than not after they've acquired some video of it. Also, unlike Phillips, Tebow takes a long time to get rid of the football. It could be argued that Tebow has a longer wind-up than a majority of Major League pitchers. This gives the defense extra time to raise their hands to bat down or deflect the football, which often times leads to either an incomplete pass or an interception. This also gives defenders a greater opportunity of swatting the ball away from Tebow's hand before he's able to throw it, resulting in more fumbles. Tebow isn't very accurate in throwing the football either. His sample size is quite small, but Tebow is completing under 50% of his passes to this point in his first 13 games and unlike Elway or Manning, hasn't illustrated throughout his career that he's very accurate with throwing the football. This could change, of course. He could improve by leaps and bounds in his accuracy, but it is often times very difficult to alter a quarterback's passing mechanics after he's been doing something a certain way for 20+ years. Again, it's possible, but quite difficult.
In the end, none of us know what kind of career Tim Tebow will have. He led a good comeback yesterday, but against an 0-6 team. While I honestly don't believe, due to his throwing mechanics and accuracy, Tebow will be a good long-term starting quarterback in the NFL, I do believe he could be a valuable asset in a utility role. But, again, like everyone else, I can't be certain. The sample size is way too small at this point and until the guy finishes a full season, I don't think any of us can't speak in absolutist terms regarding the guy's future. We will learn a lot more about him in the coming weeks, however, as Tebow and the 2-4 Broncos will square off against Detroit at home, Oakland and Kansas City on the road, the Jets at home, San Diego and Minnesota on the road, New England at home, Buffalo on the road and then close the season at Arrowhead against the Chiefs. At that point, perhaps we can all have a better, more informed discussion on the quarterback.
Comments
Post a Comment