by: Sole Mentality
2 BCS National Championships, 2 SEC Championships, 2x First-team All-American, 3x First-team All-SEC, 2x Maxwell Award, 2007 AP Player of the Year, 2007 Quarterback of the Year, 2008 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, 2008 Manning Award, and the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy. With a resume like this, one would think that any college football player would find instant success in the NFL. But this wasn’t the case for University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
Despite starting his college career as a second string to Chris Leaks, Tebow took every opportunity given to make significant contributions to his Florida Gator team. Game after game, Tebow rushed for more yards and even managed to finish against the LSU Tigers accounting for every Florida touchdown. Tebow’s outstanding performance helped secure the 2007 BCS National Title for the Florida Gators. Hard work definitely paid off for Tebow as he was named Florida’s starting quarterback for the 2007 season. In their season opener against Western Kentucky, he led his Gator team to a 49-3 victory over the Hilltoppers. Completing 13 of 17 passes, Tebow threw 300 yards and 3 touchdowns before the game was called to an end due to inclement weather. In their yearly matchup with long-standing rival Florida State, Tebow and the Gators defeated the Seminoles 45-12. That night he scored a total of five touchdowns, two of which were in the first quarter. Although the Gators finished the season with a 9-4 record, Tebow had the second highest passing efficiency in the country at 177.8 and of course, the Heisman. Tebow’s college career came to a close at the end of the 2009 season, where the Gators finished 13-1. He held 5 NCAA, 14 SEC, and 28 UF stat records. In 2010, Tim Tebow entered the 2010 NFL Draft.
Many critics remained skeptical of Tebow’s ability to perform in the league, but in April, the Denver Broncos drafted him in the first-round. There was undoubtedly something about Tebow that somehow crowned him “comeback king,” rescuing his team from deficits week after week. You might even think it earned him a bit of security with the Denver Broncos considering he helped them win their first AFC West title since 2005, but it didn’t. After all, can you really blame the Broncos for wanting Peyton Manning? They took a huge risk in signing him while recovering from a serious spinal surgery, and in retrospect, it was a risk worth taking for Denver. There isn’t much else to say about Tim Tebow’s NFL career after being cutfrom the Broncos. I think Tebow fans and his critics would agree that his career was short-lived and disappointing. But this shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone that knows football. Let’s face it, Tim Tebowisn’t an NFL quarterback, he’s an NCAA quarterback at best.
By definition, a quarterback serves as the leader of the offensive line and more importantly, distributor of the ball. He studies film, knows the game, controls the pocket, can read defensive plays, stays calm under pressure, and motivates his team. But the skillset required to succeed in the NCAA differs greatly from that of the NFL and is probably one of the biggest reasons Tebow never found the success most people expected him to. While Tebow has demonstrated that he can lead and motivate his team, he lacks the essential mechanics that truly make up an NFL quarterback: pocket presence and passing accuracy. These are arguably two of the most needed qualities to even consider a career as an NFL quarterback. From the moment the ball is snapped, the quarterback usually has less than 3 seconds til his pressure starts breaks down; he has to make a move. He needs impeccable timing paired with a keen sense of awareness to ensure passing accuracy and avoid being sacked. If you’ve ever seen Tebow in the pocket, you can see the confusion and frustration in his face. He has a hard time reading defenses and it explains why he is so easily sacked. What’s probably most frustrating for any coach is accepting his lack of quarterback skills despite his athletic ability. Compare Tebow against a QB like Peyton Manning and he is definitely more athletic. But what makes Peyton the quarterback we love and respect is his ability to get the ball to his receivers consistently and efficiently. By no means am I saying that Tebow shouldn’t be in the league. He has a build and athleticism that would make him highly competitive on the field, but not as a quarterback. When scouts show up at combines and pro-days, they look for collegiate players that show promise when analyzing their technique. The professional league is about refining your skill, not finding it. Coaches want players with skills and techniques that can be built upon through great coaching and training. Of course some people will argue, probably Gator fans, “but Tebow scores points!” and he has an extensive record of doing so. There are plenty of QB’s in the league that have abandoned the historically pocket dominating style of most QB’s in favor of rushing the ball. Mike Vick is a perfect example. When he started with the Atlanta Falcons, he was one of, if not the, most mobile QBbut he struggled to pass in the pocket. In time he developed the ability to watch the field while maintaining accurate releases. All these skills fit together like pieces of a puzzle and that’s what makes a great pro quarterback. If Tebow really wanted to play professional football, he would be open to playing in other positions. He could build a great career at HB or tight end. But Tebow’s dream is to bean NFL quarterback, and that’s really why he isn’t in the league.
While the future of Tim Tebow’s career as an NFL quarterback remains unclear, one thing is for certain, the media frenzy surrounding him does not help his case. Since college, his faith has been a hot topic for every media outlet. In fact, much of his professional shortcomings were overshadowed by the godly pedestal society placed him on. In 2009, reporter Clay Travis asked Tebow on national television about his virginity, a question that stirred up quite a controversy. Tebow’s faith ultimately became more important than the aspects of his life that actually mattered, like why his passing accuracy was so poor and what he was doing to strengthen his weaknesses. This week alone, Tebow’s attendance at a Philadelphia Eagles workout generated as much noise as Jameis Winston’s decision to skip out on the NFL Draft And for that reason, signing Tebow could create a major headache for any PR team. That may not be a risk an NFL team is willing to take considering what he brings to the table.
With all of the speculations surrounding Tebow’sslim chance of getting picked up by a team, there’s still no guarantee that he’ll be signed. Although yesterday’s workout session didn’t end in his favor, at least he’s getting something he hasn’t had – a chance. We’ll see exactly what he does with it in the weeks to come.
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