Now that Tim Tebow has been lured to Philadelphia by Chip Kelly, the media is back in a state of buzz. The important question is: why?
By Robby Sabo
Follow @EliteSportsNY
Alright, so the “sort of” legend known as Tim Tebow is officially back in the NFL. Or, maybe officially. Let’s not forget what happened the last time he was signed to an NFL contract. The New England Patriots wound up cutting him prior to the 2013 season.
Anyway, the point is, due to the news of Tebow signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, the media can find their warm and fuzzy place among “Tebow-mania” once again.
Never has a backup quarterback and guy with such little talent at the position been so famous. Never.
The question is, why do we care so much about this guy? Why do we hold onto every move he makes and every breathe he takes? What on Earth possesses us to write about a guy who cannot compete with the big signal-callers in this league?
Whether you like Tebow or not, it’s evident that he simply cannot throw the ball the way an NFL quarterback needs to. His arm strength and accuracy is poor on almost every level.
The one spot he showed promise, as a member of the Denver Broncos, was his deep ball accuracy. On some occasions, he’d place the ball exactly where it needed to go when he threw the deep ball down the sideline. Those instances were few are far between, however.
His short and intermediary passes were dreadful. No question, Tebow provided a serious shot in the arm for the Broncos. He sparked a late season run and shocked everybody as he knocked off Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers during Wild Card weekend.
Although, for how great that season ended up, it must be noted what was happening around the league at that time.
Denver’s head coach at the time, John Fox, had to completely implement a specific offense for Tebow. They implemented a run heavy offense that featured almost a single wing look on every play. Jet-motions and zone reads were abundant.
Then, we witnessed guys like Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick take the read-option to another level in 2012. Mike Shanahan and Jim Harbaugh put together offenses that allowed their quarterback’s skill-sets to shine.
Since that magical season, both Griffin and Kaepernick have struggled to fit into the NFL as a true pocket passer.
Griffin has especially been bad. In 2012 he went wild throwing for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions in 15 games. He also ran for 815 yards and seven touchdowns.
In 2013 he started 13 games, threw for 3,203 and 16 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He ran for 489 yards and zero touchdowns.
Last season he played nine games and ran for only 176 yards and a single touchdown.
Kaepernick only ran for one touchdown in 2014 after running for nine in total the two previous seasons.
Defenses have caught up to the “running-quarterback.”
Most decision makers around the league have realized this. Hence, the reason Tebow hasn’t sniffed the position since 2011. Hell, John Elway knew the gimmick of 2011 wouldn’t last past that season.
Name the last quarterback to win a Super Bowl who wasn’t a true, pocket-passer?
The reason you can’t name one, is because it’s never happened.
So, because Tebow has no chance of becoming a starting NFL quarterback, why is the media so obsessed? Perhaps it’s his dominant collegiate career? Or maybe his religion? Or, even the way he shockingly took the league by storm in 2011?
Even if you dislike the guy, you must admit, some of clutch performances he pulled off that season were unbelievable.
Still though, is 1,729 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 7-4 record in 11 games started really that phenomenal?
Most will argue he should at least be a backup quarterback in the league. While that theory seems okay on the surface, there’s one major problem with it.
Defenses have caught up to the “running-quarterback.”
If Tebow is your backup, you’d have to change your entire offense on the fly should he enter the game. His attributes are such that a pro-style offense cannot be operated with him under center.
That creates a huge problem.
In all honesty, that 2011 season has turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing for Tebow. Rather than working on his craft and slowly building NFL relationships, he crashed the party hard. So hard that he’ll never be able to live up to that magical season ever again.
For most teams, the hysteria that surrounds the guy is just not worth the trouble of inviting him to camp.
It truly doesn’t make sense based on his skill-set, but the media will be enthralled with the guy until he officially calls his football career quits.
Let’s calm down though. There is no guarantee he even makes it out of training camp with that mad-scientist known as Chip Kelly.
Until that day comes though, he’ll be discussed in full force. He’s just that type of person. Completely polarizing. Either you love him, or hate him. A guy to love to root for, or can’t wait to hate on.
CONNECT WITH ELITE SPORTS NY:
[cn-social-icon][/cn-social-icon]
