Monday, May 6, 2013

It's time for Tebow to be real

After a horrendous year, the New York Jets mercifully cut quarterback Tim Tebow from their roster. With Mark Sanchez, David Garrard, Matt Sims and Geno Smith on the roster, Tebow became expendable. Many thought the Jets would try to trade Tebow during the draft, but apparently no one came calling. Some would think that would be impossible with the way the NFL has been trending. The read option has become a staple of some dominant teams, and the option is perfect for Tebow. The question becomes, "Why would a team, desperate to contend, not take a flier on a young, mobile QB with a history of being an excellent runner?"As it turns out, there were a few teams to inquire about his services, it is just their truth and his reality have not seen eye to eye.

Reportedly, there were several teams who called the Jets and Tim Tebow to gauge interest in a trade. After no trade was done, people started to wonder if the Jets had asked for too much or were offered to little. As it turns out, compensation was not the biggest hurdle in a trade. Teams wondered if Tebow was willing to change positions, from quarterback to tight end. He declined a change in position, stating he wants to be a quarterback. The only problem with Tebow's logic, is that he may be the only who thinks he can still be a legitimate NFL quarterback. While he did lead his team to a playoff victory in his first year, something Peyton Manning couldn't do last year as his replacement, Tebow lacks a few basic fundamentals needed by a quarterback.

The first problem Tebow has, he has had since his days at Florida. The mechanics of his throwing motion simply do not translate into the NFL. In a game where every millisecond counts, Tebow has a windup that telegraphs his throws to defenses, which can be very dangerous and lead to turnovers. He has gone to camps, hired trainers, and worked indiviually with coaches. There have been some tweaks, but nothing major has changed, so the perceptions of NFL administartors has not. Add to that the fact the Tebow is setup to run a certain offense, can leave teams wondering if they dare put all their eggs into one basket. He will never be a classic drop back passer, nor will he be able to throw the ball with success 50 times in a game if needed. All these things, including the clock, are working against the man.

In the end, Tebow needs to decide what he wants out of his career. If he wants to hold a clip board and get in the game for a handful of snaps each week, he should stay on his current path. But if he wants to make the same kind of impact on the field the way he does off, he needs to embrace a position change. He is a natural with the ball in his hands; a powerful, elusive runner capable of being a game changing piece on an offense. However, he is simply not an NFL quarterback.

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