Friday, March 19, 2010

Tebow's Team of QB Coaches Not Helping Much


Mike Mayock of the NFL Network seemed impressed that Tim Tebow has moved his delivery from below his hip up a bit to slightly higher than his hip, but to the trained eye, he hasn’t changed much of anything at all. Even in his press conference following his NFL Pro Day at the Swamp yesterday, Tebow acknowledged it’s not much different, but feels comfortable. It should, because all of his balance issues are still present. His biggest problem from day one is how he swings his left hip around way past square to his target. You can see in all his videos how his left leg still swings way up in the air and his knee comes in front of his right leg, which it should not do.
I’m not sure if his current team of QB coaches cringe every time they see him throw or if they know any better, but his arm release is also completely wrong. When you watch his release and follow-through, he wraps his left arm around his waist at the finish, with his throwing hand’s thumb facing up. It should be snapping out to his target and turning over so that the thumb is facing the ground as it hits his right hip, not high around his waist.
I AM CAPITALIZING THIS FOR EMPHASIS. WHAT THE HECK ARE THE COACHES DOING MAKING HIM RUN OVER A SERIES OF BAGS (DUMMIES--THE COACHES) AND TURN LEFT AND THROW. PLEASE TELL ME THE LAST TIME A QUARTERBACK JUMPED OVER FOUR OR FIVE LINEMEN LAYING ON THE FIELD, MADE A 90 DEGREE TURN AND THREW A FOOTBALL. THIS IS THE DUMBEST THING COACHES MAKE QB'S DO AT CAMPS AND PRACTICE. ANOTHER DRILL SHOWN ON THE VIDEO AT HIS PRO DAY, WAS HIM SHUFFLING HIS FEET BACK AND FORTH ABOUT 20 TIMES AND THEN THROWING THE FOOTBALL. PLEASE SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE OF A QB DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN A FOOTBALL GAME AND I WILL GIVE YOU A MILLION DOLLARS. HIS COACHES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HIGHLIGHTING HIS ABILITIES, BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND MAKING HIM DO THESE STUPID NON-FOOTBALL RELATED DRILLS.
Unless he learns the weight transfer of staying centered between his knees longer and throwing the ball first, he will never become an adequate passer at the next level.
NFL Network analyst and former Redskins GM Charley Casserly is right on this issue. As he said, even though more evaluators seem to be moving to Tebow’s side of improving enough on the field to improve his status on draft day, Tebow is still too big a question mark to move into the highest rounds based on the other big piece of playing quarterback, decision making.

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