Source: http://16thandhighland.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/teblow2.jpg
Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow struggled to find a good rhythm last week at the Senior Bowl practices and in the Senior Bowl itself. He struggled with the pro-style offense, taking snaps under center, and his elongated delivery hurt him once again. ESPN Scout's Inc.'s very own Todd McShay has ripped Tim Tebow in recent memory and rightfully so. However, his argument against Tebow has some flaws.
Tebow was a winner in college, yet it seems like the lasting memory of him was this past season when he was seen crying on the sideline with his teammates as they failed to recapture the SEC Championship versus the eventual National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide. People forget that when he was a true freshman, even though he didn't start, he and senior quarterback Chris Leak led the Gators in 2006 with a balanced passing and rushing attack, with Tebow carrying the load running the ball. "The Tebow Option", became headaches for defensive coordinators that year and even though they knew what was coming, they couldn't stop the bull-rushing freshman. They crushed Ohio State in the title game that year, and Tebow was a huge factor.
His next three years defined his career at Florida. 2007 was his Heisman trophy-winning season where he had 67% completion percentage, 3286 yards passing, 32 passing TD's, 895 rushing yards, 23 rushing TD's while averaging 4.3 yards a carry. These numbers may never be seen again, and this was only his first year as a full-time starter. 2008 and 2009 saw declines in his numbers. However, 2008 was when he delivered that memorable speech after the Gators' lone loss to Ole Miss where he said, "You will never see a team play harder the rest of the season." He was right in that bold statement as his leadership and level of play greatly soared after ,making this statement. Many remember the image of him after he ran in that one touchdown against Florida State where he had the warpaint all over himself. He had the fire and desire of an NFL quarterback in that image, and he wanted to prove that his team was truly the hardest working team in the country. THey defeated Oklahoma in the title game that year and shut down the Heisman trophy winner of 2008 Sam Bradford, who is a huge NFL prospect in the upcoming draft. 2009 may have been a disappointing year for Tebow. His worst numbers as a starter, they didn't win the SEC or get back to the National Title, however they did go out on top for both Tim and his coach Urban Meyer, who is taking a medical leave for health issues, against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl 51-24.
Todd McShay says the one thing that Tim Tebow has going for him is he has NFL intangibles. He has those instincts that were God-given and that only he has in the NFL draft. He throws a really good ball in terms of out routes and slants. Tebow seems to be a good underneath thrower, his problem is when he starts getting to the intermediate and deep routes. He used to play baseball in high school, so he has the tendencies of a typical baseball player. He winds up more when he's throwing the ball longer down the field. He picks his back leg of the ground instead of fully setting his feet. He doesn't always square himself to whoever his target is, kind of like an outfielder in baseball when they are tracking a ball looking to throw it to a particular target. On the underneath routes, he generally keeps the ball tighter to his head. Even though he has the arm strength to get the ball down the field, it takes him awhile to do so and that is what NFL defensive ends feast on.
Another criticism of him is that he played in a college offense, the spread. Yes, he needs to learn how to take snaps from under center and it's going to take some time to learn because when you're in the shotgun you're high school and college career, going under center is like teaching a toddler how to ride a bike. He will struggle with this at the next level, but here's an interesting thought. There are alot of rumors going around that he should switch his position to h-back because his physical style of play won't work as a quarterback in the NFL. Did critics say the same thing when Miami brought out the Wildcat offense, went 11-5 and won the division? When Vince Young emerged as the starter in Tennessee this season, he and All-Everything RB Chris Johnson, developed a triple option scheme that "isn't supposed to work in the NFL." The 2007 New England Patriots were one of the greatest teams of all time going 18-1 coming up one win short of a perfect season. How did they do it? They put Tom Brady in the Shotgun all year, have him drop back and fire to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, along with the many other weapons on the Patriots that year. Brady had a record 50 passing touchdowns that year in an offense that was similar to a spread offense, like the one Tebow ran in college.
The bottom line is that all that Tim Tebow needs is for one GM to like his style of play and then he'll be a professional quarterback. Many people had their opinions of him before the Senior Bowl went down, and they probably wouldn't have changed anyway regardless of how he played. From the looks of it, the earliest Tebow could go is the second round, but expect him as a day 2 guy either in the 3rd or 4th round. A team like the Buffalo Bills in the second or third round may look at Tebow and think, we can build our offense around this guy. If we beef up our offensive line early, then we can work on getting in Tebow and allow the offense to satisfy both the typical style of offense in the NFL, along with a little bit of Tebow's style. Tebow is a winner, and since Buffalo hasn't made the playoffs since 1999, a winner's attitude is something they need.
