FanPost

Tebow: A Real Gym Rat

The discussions in the NFL have reached a pinnacle in reference to Tim Tebow. Turn on ESPN, ESPN 2, Fox Sports, and even ESPN "the ocho" and the only topic you will hear broadcast is that of Tim Tebow. He is a "joke." "Give him time to develop." "He is a winner, and will always be a winner." "He has terrible mechanics and will never make it in this league." I am not old by any stretch of the imagination, but I can’t remember any NFL player in my time that has been analyzed and critiqued so habitually. On one side of the fence there are the fans that have a deep, strong, unfailing admiration for the person that Tebow is, the style in which he plays the game, and the faith that he has in God, and on the other side of the fence are the naysayers, the skeptics, the downright malicious fans that hope he fails. Whichever side you are on, you need to lighten up…

Tebow is an exceptional athlete with intangibles that some say will make him a successful quarterback at the NFL level, but are the intangibles Tebow possesses something that can truly make him into an elite QB? His leadership, passion, and extreme dedication to the game are the factors that off-set his Steve Young like throwing motion. At the college level, we can see that those intangibles truly paid off on the field. He is one of the most decorated college athletes of all-time. He helped the University of Florida win 2 national championships (which were painful to watch since I hate the gators), and took home a Heisman trophy. No one can argue his achievements at the college level, but the real question is, does it translate to the NFL?

First off, let’s dive into his career as a rushing quarterback. In college Tebow was able to use his physical prowess to destroy SEC defenders as if he were a dump truck driving through a wheat field, rushing for 2,947 yds and 57 tds with a 4.3 yards per carry average (692 attempts). In the NFL, Tebow has rushed for 386 yds, 7 tds, and a 5.6 yards per carry average (69 attempts). With limited attempts in the NFL compared to his collegiate career it is hard to evaluate the numbers, but if you do the math, Tebow is actually scoring more rushing TD’s on a per carry average as well as runs an extra 1.3 yards every rush in the NFL. This doesn’t necessarily translate though, as it could be argued that Tebow’s rush attempts are limited to scoring opportunities in the NFL, but none the less, he is still a very successful rushing quarterback. With that said, are the Denver Broncos utilizing his rushing ability to their advantage? At Florida, Tebow passed the ball only 59% of the time while rushing 41% of the time as opposed to the NFL where he is hucking the ball 70% and only rushing 30% (with many rush attempts coming from botched pass plays). In my opinion, I believe the Broncos could better utilize Tebow by running a ground and pound style of offense (similar to a wildcat formation but with a qb) that better utilizes Tebow’s running ability. Add Trent Richardson to the mix in the 2012 draft, and the Broncos would have a pretty stout rushing attack alongside Knowshon Moreno and Spencer Larson.

Enough with Tebow’s proven rushing ability, what about his passing efficiency? "Tebow’s wind-up is too long." "He can’t throw a tight spiral." "Tebow is inaccurate." "He’s not a pocket passer." Tebow has been the most criticized passer ever (and he’s only played 2 seasons), but do the critics really have a leg to stand on? Let’s stat check… Tebow had an incredible 66.4% completion percentage in college compared to a 48.1% completion percentage in the NFL. Tebow is only averaging 6.4 yards per throw in the NFL compared to his record breaking 9.3 yards per throw in college (against the mighty SEC defenses which poses the question of how good is the SEC compared to the NFL…that is for another day). Tebow threw for twice as many touchdowns per interceptions in college (5.5 td per 1 int ratio in college/2.25 td per 1 int ration in the nfl) and he passed for a touchdown 8.8% of his throws in college compared to 5.7% of throws in the NFL. All this leads to the question of, can Tebow progress to an NFL quarterback that can read defensive schemes, look off defenders, read three receiver patterns on the same play, and hit a receiver that is open by NFL standards? That is yet to be answered, but by the looks of it, NFL defenses are moving way too fast for Tebow to adjust. He locks in on receivers and passes the ball without looking at his underneath routes. He feels more comfortable throwing the ball as far as he can to let the receiver chase it rather than throw the ball to the receiver in stride on a crossing pattern. Can Tebow’s intangibles off set his inadequacies as a true pocket passer in the NFL? I believe not.

Tebow is a leader, a motivator, a hard worker, and a "gym rat," but can this lead to wins? As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, these intangibles translated into numerous wins at the collegiate level, but it is proving to not be as big of factor in the NFL. I believe this is because EVERY single person that has made it to the NFL has had to be a hard worker! Every college athlete has natural ability, but every pro player has a drive, a motivation, a dedication, and an all-out heart for the game of football. To say that Tebow works harder than any other NFL player is a direct jab at the hard work that has been put in by these other athletes. Tebow may work his butt off, but so does every other NFL player. That’s the only way they got to the NFL. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Tebow has the chance to be a winner at the professional level, but it’s not going to be because he worked harder than anyone else, it’s going to be because he personally worked harder at the right things (throwing mechanics, pocket presence, studying defensive schemes, looking off safeties, patience, confidence, etc.).

As a Denver fan, I hope he can excel in the NFL, if only to save a draft pick!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.