Most people on here know me as a NO-NONSENSE evaluator of players and talent -- I'm the guy who's been crying out loud for the team to upgrade the skill positions. For YEARS.
Half the people on this board hated me for my reviews of Bess. Which turned out right, btw. The same half of the board hates me for my evaluation of Hartline and Gibson.
Early on I was one who said that Henne was a below-average QB: Poor field awareness and slow release. Most people on this board, including resident experts, disagreed w. me. But now probably 99 percent agree, llol.
Well, I've watched Tebow -- college and pro games. And for those hating on him, there's a simple reason. Football reason, I mean [not counting the hatred of him as a person]. The simple FOOTBALL reason that people hate on Tebow is that HE IS NOT A TYPICAL QB and HE IS NOT A GREAT PASSER, very poor in some ways. Those two things go together, obviously. That's THE football reason why people hate on Tebow. The rest is just chatter. That said, Tebow brings a dimension to a team that typical QBs do not bring. And if a good coach is able to harness Tebow's positive aspects within a structure that understands the negatives, that coach will be able to hurt other teams by putting them in mismatch situations.
A couple of points: 1. Tebow's shown the ability to succeed and raise the level of play around him AND he's shown that he can succeed even when a front office throws him to the wolves, fire-selling talent and throwing him out there, not to succeed, but to fail [my read on the Denver situation -- they only "wanted" him to succeed after he improbably won enough games to put them in playoff talk -- and even this did not make Elway happy. Undeniable, imo.]. 2. Belicheat is a coach who was able to shut Tebow down in the playoffs -- stone cold shut him down. Belicheat knows Tebow's weaknesses as a QB better than anyone on this board. But he's not dumb. He also knows his strengths, and potentialities.
Anyway, as a Dolphin fan and a football guy, I can see Tebow hurting the Phins in the future. Heck, I still remember when he almost single-handedly beat the team three years ago... Improbable isn't the word for it. But he did it -- playing to his strengths and not giving up. FEW QBs in this league have won by putting teams on their backs: Most are game managers. But Tebow has won in this league by putting teams on his back... and this without even being a good passer! It's uncanny. And it makes football guys do one of two things: 1. Shake their head in admiration and dare to see the strengths, amidst the weaknesses. Or, 2. Hate him and vilify him because of the attention he gets, just being a "poor QB."
Personally, what I know of Belicheat and what I know of Tebow... I don't like it.
LD
