TALKIN' TEBOW

Tebow-mania has taken over the National Football League and depending whoever you are, you are either on the bandwagon or completely nauseated.

After a 1-4 start, the Denver Broncos have won five of Tim Tebow’s six starts this season to get into the playoff hunt with a chance of winning the AFC West.

However, as the media gives Tebow a lot more credit than he actually deserves after each win, some people continue to pile on and actually hate everything about him. As a result, the median of both extremes is drowned out.

Until now.

Let me preface by saying that I like Tim Tebow and hope he makes it because of his attitude, his demeanor and how he carries himself, but let us be real for a minute.

Right now, he is a below average quarterback who has raw skills that need a lot of polishing and work.

Denver head coach John Fox said it best, “If we trying to run a regular offense, he’d be screwed.”

Tim Tebow's throwing mechanics are not much to smile about and they certainly
need work, but he continues to produce wins and not committing turnovers.
(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

You have to give Fox credit for sticking with him and tailoring a game made specifically for Tebow, but what happens if a team is able to jump out to a solid lead, forcing him to throw a lot like the Detroit Lions did in Week 8?

My friend and fellow aspiring journalist (you can catch her blog here) had a similar conversation with me on Twitter about Tebow not too long ago. She believed that he would be better suited for the Canadian Football League as this point in his career due to his mechanics.

I truly agree with her, because the CFL helped many quarterbacks such as Warren Moon, Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia flourish in a professional league to prepare before making the jump to successful NFL careers.

Unlike those three players, Tebow was drafted early. Denver selected the former Florida Gator No. 25 in the 2010 NFL Draft and gave up picks in the second, third and fourth rounds to the Baltimore Ravens. Given these circumstances, the Broncos had no other choice but to play him to see his worth when the time was right.

In ten games where Tebow has had considerable playing time, he only completed more than half of his throws once. In a time where completing passes at a high percentage is at more of a premium than ever, his 45.5 completion percentage this season will certainly not cut it.

Yet, despite the bad points, the main factor is that he wins games or gives you a chance to win.

According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, four of Tebow’s six career wins were fourth quarter comebacks ending with game-winning drives. Aside from the accuracy problems, he manages the game well, rarely commits turnovers and keeps plays alive with his scrambling ability.

He also is an inspiration to his teammates as Fox allowed him to give the pregame speech before Denver’s Week 12 matchup against San Diego.

“I’ve never seen a human who can will himself to win like that,” Bronco rookie linebacker Von Miller said to the Denver Post. “He gave us a great speech. We came out [for the game] fired up. And that was a wrap.”

Tim Tebow is a great role model thanks to his Christian beliefs,
but are some people going overboard in how they portray him?
(Photo by Lisa W. Buser/USA Today)

But all of the attention continues to go to Tebow from many media markets and overzealous fans. While it is not his fault, the resentment for him is based solely on those who go overboard or just do not want him to succeed.

Players like Miller, defensive end Elvis Dumervil and a running game led by Willis McGahee contributed to the turnaround and are often ignored because of the star quarterback.

In a time where one can order a custom made “Jesus No. 15” Broncos jersey or take in the new fad of “Tebowing”, let us just be careful and not go overboard in idolizing him.

Instead, let’s stay realistic of him as a player, while admiring the type guy he is off of the field.