January 31st, 2013 
BuzzyBuzzard By Jesse Reed
Tim Tebow can’t change who he is or how he plays the game of football.
He’s always going to be unconventional, and the only chance he has of making it in the NFL as a quarterback is if he can find a coach and owner who believe in him, just the way he is.
It’s got to be the right fit.
Tebow will never be a pocket quarterback who completes 65 percent of his passes.
He’ll never be a guy that throws 35-plus touchdowns a season.
He’s a spread-option quarterback who relies on misdirection and grit more than skill and technique.
He doesn’t win pretty, but he does win.
During his time as a starting quarterback for Florida—which plays in the SEC, the toughest conference in college football—Tebow compiled a record of 35-6 (2007-2009).
As a starter in the NFL, Tebow has compiled a record of 8-6 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.
Tebow’s stats looked better in college, but the defenses he went up against were not nearly as disciplined as what he’s faced in the pros. As a professional quarterback, he has completed just 48 percent of his passes—the key stat that has brought about the league’s rejection of Tebow.
In his 14 starts, however, Tebow has thrown 17 touchdowns compared to just nine interceptions—a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, which is better than what Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler did in 2012.
He’s a proven winner who deserves better than he got in 2012 with the New York Jets. What remains to be seen is if an NFL team will ever accept the package that comes with one of the most popular and polarizing players in recent memory.
Will Tebow ever get his chance?
Yes 84.8%
No 15.2%
Total votes: 422
Unless a team is willing to let Tebow be Tebow, winning games in the ugliest, yet most electrifying way possible, his career will never take off.
Tebow doesn’t fit the mold, but a team willing to give him a shot would not be disappointed.
Posted in
Tim Tebow’s Completion %, a fairly meaningless stat to begin with, is very misleading. To begin with, Broncos Receivers had a serious case of the dropsies last year. After the infamous DT comments, USA Today Sports did an article highlighting that, had Demaryus actually been healthy the whole time, he would have led the NFL in Receiving Yards, and Yards per Catch…AND would have been near the tops in the league in Dropped Passes. DT backpeddled on his remarks the day after the USAT article.
Beyond that, John Fox specifically told Tim to either throw the ball into the stands or into the ground (Beaching the Football, Foxy called it) unless he was absolutely certain there was zero chance of an interception. Fox reiterated having instructed Tim to do this midway through last season’s Win streak. But the Media chose not to pick up on that and, as Foxy was in fact instructing Tim on the fine art of Intentionally Grounding without getting called for it. John apparently decided that telling the Media to get off Tim’s back TWICE was enough.
Stunning info about DT. With that kind of info, you must be Brandi/RBLsports. In which case, I’d like to express admiration and appreciation for your commentaries, which I’ve recently begun following closely.
T2 also did not throw many check downs as he just ran it
That’s true. I’m not a big Fan of Completion % as an indicator of much as it is. 1st, to even be meaningful purely as a statistic, all Passes would have to be exactly the same…which, of course, they’re not. So even as simple math, it’s a pretty useless indicator or anything.
But beyond all that, it’s production that is a more appropriate indicator of performance…as much as a QBs performance can be gauged. Yards per Pass Attempt tells some of the story of production. So much, though, depends on a Coach’s Game Planning. John Fox went with pure Complementary Football. That made overall yardage less important than Field Position. hence Broncos statement that they considered any drive that ended in a kick to be successful…even if that kick was a punt. All Foxy really cared about was keeping the Games close and, as much as possible, played on the Opponent’s side of the Field.
I too believe Tim’s % cannot be judged fairly by his playing in Denver. I know many of those games the receivers dropped balls a lot and most were good passes by Tim. Also Tim was not allowed by Fox to pass the ball until most of the time 3rd and long, which I believe no quarterback could succeed under those circumstances. So for all the nay sayers to say Tim cannot throw the football is just not right. Tim needs to be given the same chances as other quarterbacks and then make your judgement.
So tired of hearing naysayers say Tim cannot throw!!!!
tim tebow can throw, tim tebow can run tim tebow can be a winner if he can get a chance to play the jets did him wrong and made him look like he could not play . given the chance if he can get on a team that has good coaches, not like the ones at the jets he will be a winner .
go tebow i will support you any where you go.
Shirley I agree with everything you have said, Tim is a winner and can throw and run with the ball, he has proven it over and over again. You are right he just needs a team that believes in him. I am praying that all will work out and Tim will finally find his home in the NFL.
Long comment quite possibly not containing anything new.
‘Media’ have been permitted/encouraged to hitch a bunch of junk on Tebow. In fact he played well in those last 3 games of 2010. Many mistakes, sure, but they moved the chains. The team and the fans were excited.
Every play since 2010 has also been in a pieced together offense. Got pretty good-won a division and a playoff game-but not good enough for Elway.
I read a lot of news/blogs/comments while Timmy was in Denver. They remained (mostly)negative with quite a few haters spewing. At the same time the crowd at Mile High was chanting for Tebow. When he came in at half time in the Chargers game Shad Khan said it was electric. After they lost the game the crowd was still chanting Tebow. I’ll bet few at that Bronco/Steelers playoff game realized they’d never see Tebow play for the Broncos again.
Same with the Jets-he makes a play and the crowd is jolted alive. I am glad they didn’t let him play. They were afraid the fans might watch the game? I was afraid of the lousy plays and that the team wouldn’t try with Timmy. The Jets blogs/message boards remain vile. I don’t know who is buying tickets in Denver or NY, but it doesn’t seem to be the ‘fans’ posting on the internet.
Same with the media. Timmy was fair game, Elway wanted him to disappear, the Jets brought him in to get attention and made him a joke. The writers/analysts scavenge for jobs. Fact check? They don’t even care if it makes sense. Clicks make it true.
The Broncos (once McD was fired) and the Jets permit/leak vile ‘stories’ about Timmy. They never viewed him as an asset.
It’s hard to believe NFL owners and managers listen to ESPN rather than watching tape or attendance,
I know it’s been a difficult task for Fans of Tim Tebow to do; but my advice is to not pay too much attention to the detractors. In this regard, lay some “blame” at the feet of a few Tebow Fans who see anything short of unfettered praise as an affront. Even I get annoyed when I have to deal with it and I LuvMe some Timmy Tebow.
The thing is, it’s the flip side of that coin you speak about. It’s a small % of Tebow Fans who make it that much more difficult for the rest.
But Sports Media and NFL Media in particular is not a place for news so much as Commentary. It’s definitely not a place for analysis and prognostication. It’s entertainment. And it’s entertainment with a short memory. These analysts will NEVER remember that less than a year ago they were calling these Option offenses a “gimmick” and deriding Tebow’s Game because the Broncos “had to change for him”. Less than a year later they’re the coming rage. Yet we knew that over a year ago. I’ve written about it for a couple years and for well over a year have said…Watch Out…They’re here.” And that wasn’t some Super-Secret Inside Knowledge. MANY inside the NFL have been looking for a replacement for the West Coast Offense for years and have begun in earnest the last few years. These Urban Meyer/Chip Kelly offenses weren’t a fluke of timing. Jack Elway put the seed of this in the heads of NFL Football Execs & Player Personnel for several years before he died and he died in ’92.
This has been coming and the only question was when.
But the NFL Commentators won’t come out and say “You know what? We joked about this all last year and we were dead wrong.” It’s NOT an Anti-Tebow thing. It’s just the nature of NFL Media and has been for 50 years.
I’m probably a typical Gator-Tebow fan. I love to watch him play football. While not sharing his religious beliefs I think they are integral to making him a great person.
He needs to improve as an NFL QB. I think he can and is eager to do so. His (already) many coaches/systems are not helpful. Disappearing into the Patriots for a couple of years and letting McD finish what he started seems like a good option to me.
Thanks for educating me about the NFL/press. I did expect to read/hear news. The internet comments are scarey to me. However, if you read any article, sports or other, the comments are pretty crazy there too as I’m sure you know. It is annoying that the gimmick offense of last year’s Broncos is now the next best thing. Glad you know from experience that it’s not an anti-Tebow thing. I’m trying to believe that.
As you have written in your blog, it’s insane no NFL owner checks the bottom line and says-hey-I bet I can pack this stadium with TT as QB even while he’s learning. Even while I am accumulating a team of winners. All I need is a coach that thinks like I do. QUICK-before the small market teams start going bankrupt.
If becoming a Patriot and being finished by McD is what happens, then so be it. It’s not the worst possible result.
But Tim’s game has been built on his strength and athleticism. It would be a pity if he never really got to direct football games until in his 30s, when those unique attributes are in decline. By then, moreover, the style of play may not even be unique. His opportunity for a Hall of Fame career may nearly have been squandered.
All of the dullards then will say how neat it is that Tim got to shine for, say, a season or two, in his old age. He’ll be another Satchel Paige.
Maybe what I’m saying is the people who say Tim and his fans just need to chill are overlooking things. Hence it is them who should correct themselves, not us. There’s nothing wrong with Tim’s game relative to other young players, and there’s nothing that can’t be cured right now with good coaching and investment in Tebow’s game.
Sage I agree with you, Tim will be very old when Tom Brady retires and then he may not even get a chance. You are right there are many quarterbacks in the league now that I really don’t think are very good, so I too think Tim deserves a shot now. A good coaching staff who believes in Tim would really make Tim excel.
If Timmy progresses under McD I would expect the Pats to trade him if Brady was still playing well. I agree he can learn as he plays, even prefer it, IF he can find a team willing to use his skills while he develops his passing and reading of pro set NFL defenses.
The Patriots don’t run the style of offense that fits Tebow. I think it would be a waste of time for him to go there. I really have a feelng that Tim can play, and throw, a lot better than anyone knows right now.A couple of years with the Patriots and he will be 28. I think there is some urgency to get him to a team now when the option is coming on and there seems to be a need for QBS. He needs a coach to commit to him and build a team around him. Jimmy Sexton needs to find that coach.
Great Point Brandi.