Patriots, Belichick Unsure How They Will Use Tebow

Players find different roles on their teams.  Sometimes a wide receiver becomes a kick-off return specialist and other players that don't find starting roles, find their niche on special teams, but rarely does a team sign or draft a player without knowing what they plan to do with him.  After being on the open market for a number of weeks without a suitor, Tim Tebow signed with the New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick said he doesn't know where Tebow will fit in.

The common thought is that the Patriots were one of the few places Tebow could go because of their ability to handle players that bring extra scrutiny, albeit the past players brought in had negative associations for their ability to get along.  Tebow gets along quite well it seems, but brings a storm of media no other player in the NFL does. 

With Tom Brady entrenched at QB, there is no story to write about Tebow moving in like everyday in New York.  The story is will offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels go out of his way to incorporate him into the offense in a way that will actually make Tebow the terror that he was in college?  Tony Sporano had no plan to integrate him into the offense and the weak effort to run a few spread option plays were pitiful. 

Remember back to the beginning of the "Wildcat" with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown of the Miami Dolphins.  It was successful first because no one had seen it and it caught teams by surprise.  Secondly, it was successful because defenses were forced to defend two points of attack with two good runners.  The New York Jets could have been a force on offense if they had used Tebow as the Ronnie Brown runner coming in fast-motion across the formation past Brady.  Brady can give it to Tebow on the move to his left in a run/pass option, where the corner is threatened by a 250 pound fullback.  Come up to tackle Tebow and leave the receiver uncovered and Tebow will dump the ball just like he did at the University of Florida.  Stay back and cover the receiver and he will hurt you big-time on the ground.  After Tebow does that a couple of time, Brady fakes it to Tebow and pulls it back out and finds his receivers more open than usual because they had to react to Tebow taking the ball outside.  This offense would actually look a lot like what Tebow was doing with the Gators when he either gave it to Chris Rainey or Jeff Demps (two of the fastest guys on the planet) and pulled it out and ran it or threw it to an open Aaron Hernandez (yes, the Pats TE).  Josh McDaniels made Tebow a first round pick and caused much of this problem, because if Tebow had been a fourth round pick (where his QB ability justified his draft status), there would not have been nearly the expectations that have been on this player that if used properly can actually have the value of his original draft status, just not at the quarterback position!

Tebow Goes Out Winner In Final Game

He didn't plan on playing in the Sugar Bowl to finish his storied career. No, when Tim Tebow began his senior season he planned on adding another BCS Title to his and the University of Florida's resume.
A major concussion early in the season almost derailed the Gators season, but a perfectly timed bye week allowed him to return without missing a game. Unbelievable. That has been Tebow's life-story thus far.
Saturday night in New Orleans his unbelievable career came to a close in a fitting way for one of the greatest players in college football history. His passing technique, which has been the topic of more sports conversations than Tiger Woods problems, set records and was extremely efficient after not being able to generate anything against Alabama in the SEC Championship.
Tim Tebow goes out the winner on the field that he has proven he is off it as well!

Gator's Coach Not Only One At Risk

I'm not a doctor, but I have played one in a commercial. Football coaches probably work more than any other profession and many probably work more than they need to, but the peer pressure to continue to look under every rock for that piece of the puzzle that will lead to a win is ever-present.
I don't know what Urban Meyer's diagnosis is for his heart ailment, but what every American, but especially what all coaches are in danger of is high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack, stroke and death. Sleep and rest in a laying position allows your blood pressure to normalize, but if you are upright for 18-20+ hours a day, everyday and the additional stresses of the job as well as home will not allow the blood pressure enough time to normalize, so it runs high on a regular basis.
This issue needs to be a concern for the Coaches Association's to keep their members healthy. There are other health related problems that are associated with not getting enough rest and while grown men should have the right to work as much as they want, there should be mandatory health screenings to catch any chronic and serious issues before there has to be emergency procedures and press conferences and retractions and interim coaches named.

Classy QB's in Win and Loss

Saturday was an emotional day for many in college football, probably not more than for Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators and the Nebraska Cornhuskers last second loss to Texas after thinking they had won the game moments earlier.
What I took from those two games was the classy reactions of both Tebow in their loss and Colt McCoy in their win. The two record setting QB's had different outcomes to their evenings and seasons, but they treated the answers to the media's questions with dignity and respect.
Tebow said what everybody else saw during the game. Alabama was the better team and congratulations to them. McCoy, on the other hand, had to explain his decision-making process as the clock was winding down to :00 and throwing it out of bounds as the clock was expiring on his national championship hopes and maybe even the Heisman Trophy as well. Although, Mark Ingram may have wrapped up that trophy with his performance in the SEC Championship game before the Big XII Championship ever kicked off.
McCoy explained that he had everything in control (I couldn't believe they rolled out with that little time on the clock), but if there is no instant replay, his team's title chances go up in confetti for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Regardless, he did get the ball out of bounds with time on the clock and the kick was good.
Both of these senior college players showed great leadership, one in victory and the other in defeat.

Senior QB's Finish On Top

Heisman Trophy candidates Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy finished up their storied regular season careers this weekend in grand fashion! McCoy lead his team to a 49-39 win with four TD's and 175 rushing to go with it. Tebow had a stadium full of well-wishers and eye-black wearers with biblical scriptures to show their tribute to his greatness.
He threw for three and ran for two more TD's as the Gators polished off an over-manned Florida State team that left the long-time rivalry somewhere in yesteryear.
Both Texas and Florida end the regular season undefeated and ready for conference championship games next weekend, whose outcomes and performances could very well decide the Heisman Trophy.

Hall-Of-Famer Kelly Likes Tebow For Bills

As a fan of Jim Kelly, I can understand his desire for his beloved Buffalo Bills to reclaim the glory of his tenure and four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl. But, I have to question his thoughts on Tim Tebow being the answer to the Bills quest for a top QB. I agree with his recent comments about leadership being an important quality, but a top QB must also be able to throw and Tim Tebow cannot throw at an NFL level.
His mechanics have not improved over time and in many instances I think they have gotten worse during his senior year. As I have stated many times before, I love Timmy Tebow as a football player, but his talents do not translate into an NFL passing pocket at this point and if not now, when will they improve?
A few years ago I went to the Biomechanics and Motion Analysis Lab on the University of Florida's campus and went through the throwing analysis testing. They do not conclude anything but measurements of angles of bodyparts, not if those angles are proper for throwing a football. They also measure release time by capturing the release after a noise tells the QB to throw the ball. It turned out that Tim Tebow, Chris Leak and I had similar release times. Unfortunately, this lab environment is not similar for Tebow's motion. He routinely drops the ball down to or below his waist as he winds up to make a throw in game situations. The picture aside this article is actually one of his better releases--his release point is very good, but his balance is off as seen by his left leg sliding behind his front and why his right arm is going so far away from his body because his balance is so far off.
The measurement that I took the directors of the lab to task on was "torso lean." The analysis report said the further over (horizontal to the ground) the QB bent, the more "elite" the motion. Well, anyone worth their salt can tell you that a QB does not want to bend at the waist to throw a football (that's for pitchers), so the measurement was not only useless, it was harmful for the QB's throwing motion.
Tim Tebow may be a good pro at a hybrid position (H-Back, TE), but unless he gets a full delivery make-over, he will not be a good NFL QB, because although more teams are experimenting with "Wildcat" formations and such, they will not subject or expose their most important and usually highest paid player to the injury potential of running the football like Tebow does for the Gators and that is his strongest attribute.

Heisman Race Boring or Exciting?

With no clear favorite for the biggest post-season collegiate award, is the race for the Heisman Trophy a good one or not worth watching? For me, I'm not too interested this year.
The Longhorns' Colt McCoy continues to lead an undefeated team in a major conference and is ready to break the all-time record for wins for a QB in NCAA history. But, his TD to interception ratio is almost 2:1, with 19 and 9 respectively. Kellen Moore leads an undefeated Boise State team that plays in a lesser conference, but if the pollsters and the BCS can justify a top 5 ranking, then he deserves his props for having similar stats to McCoy, except for his almost 11:1 TD to INT ratio, with 32 and 3.
Tim Tebow is doing his thing to keep the Gators atop the polls, but it has been a grind-it-out sort of year, even though he has been good, it hasn't been exciting.
The running backs boast Alabama's Mark Ingram, also from an undefeated team at the top of the rankings. His 1200+ yards have also gone over relatively quiet as the Tide continue to win each week.
If I remember correctly, the foundation only invited four to the award presentation. This year they may need to invite double or triple that, since there aren't really any standouts from the group. For my money, Tim Tebow is the best football player in the nation, but Colt McCoy has continued to lead his team to relatively easy victories and completes 70% of his passes along the way. Tebow may get another of the nation's biggest team trophy, but McCoy could walk away with the biggest individual award after missing it the last couple of years.

QB Sets A Rushing Record

The University of Florida's quarterback Tim Tebow broke the SEC rushing record of Herschel Walker Saturday night in Jacksonville. Georgia's running back Herschel Walker has held the rushing TD mark for more than 25 years and a QB broke his record.
Tebow rushed 18 times and threw the ball 15, a typical night for the hybrid player. Walker was right at the top of the all-time college players, even though he left after his junior season to try the USFL. The Gators offense has been developed around Tebow's unique talent set and by sticking around for his senior year, even after winning the national championship last season, it gave him a chance to break the long-standing record.
Tebow is at 51 and counting on the ground. Through the air, the records are far off.

Gators' Tebow Puts Game On His Back Like Usual

The Florida Gators had more than they could handle today from the upstart Arkansas Razorbacks, but when it came to crunch time in The Swamp, UF and Urban Meyer put it on the back of their star Tim Tebow. With his 77 yard TD pass, he passed Danny Wuerffel as the All-Time TD record holder with 123 (passing and rushing).
And, as is almost always the case, he did not disappoint. He hasn't been quite the same player since returning for his second game since his concussion at Kentucky, but his quick pass fakes were enough to find big enough holes to pick up chunks of yardage. He also had a key completion to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper, who has been "money" for the Gators all season.
This had "Old Miss" from last year written all over it, but the Razorbacks kicker missed two field goals on the day, with the final miss keeping them from taking the lead with just over 3 minutes to play.
Tim Tebow may lack throwing skills to make it at the next level, but his collegiate abilities are unmatched.

Heisman Winners Return Triumphantly

Sam Bradford has been out since the first game of the season. Tim Tebow didn't miss a game, but had the fortune of a bye to get his head straight after a devastating concussion two weeks beforehand.
Both of the former Heisman Trophy winners returned to the field of play on Saturday and their teams left the field winners! Oklahoma handed Baylor a 33-7 setback behind Bradford's 389 passing yards. Tebow's Florida Gators had the tough task of winning in Baton Rouge against the #4 rated LSU Tigers. It was a methodical game for the usually fast-paced Gators, but the top ranked team in the country will take the 10 point SEC road win and feel blessed to get out of there with a victory and a healthy Tim Tebow.
Both QB's were happy and humble in their triumphs.

Superman Scares Football World

As a fan of the Florida Gators and of Tim Tebow, I got scared (and I assume the rest of you did as well) when Tim "Superman" Tebow laid on the ground motionless after a big hit in the chest sent him back into his own lineman's leg that snapped his head forward and knocked him unconscious.
Just last night, Lakeland High School (six current Gators are from Lakeland) was playing De La Salle out in California and one its players went down, but didn't get up. It was great to see Tebow get to his feet a few moments later, although obviously not all there in his head. He was taken to the hospital for follow-up.
It definitely looked like he was knocked unconscious. How quickly can he or should he return to the Gators' lineup? In similar situations, if a player does not have post-concussion migraines, etc., they usually return the following week.
The Gators have an open week before meeting up with LSU. Let's hope that he is back to his old self quickly. God speed.

Top College QB's Doubling As Saints

Just finished a great article on Colt McCoy in ESPN The Magazine. Turns out Tim Tebow isn't the only saint leading a top college football power this season. When I speak to groups, I tell them not to put too much faith in people, because people will usually disappoint you (meaning keep your faith in God), but if these two "kids" can come anywhere close to living up to the hype on and off the field, then I say tell your own kids to go right ahead and make Timmy Tebow and Colt McCoy your heroes.
I can't wait to watch these two awesome players fight it out every week for the race to the Heisman Trophy, along with Sam Bradford (who seems to be quite a nice fella off the field as well) of course. With this many players on a "mission", it should be one whale of a year.

Tim Tebow getting NFL overhaul

When Scott Loeffler got the new QB coaching gig at the University of Florida, he was told not to screw up Tim Tebow. The screwing up was in reference to Tebow's screwed up passing techniques. Loeffler worked with notable quarterbacks while at the University of Michigan like Tom Brady (who I believe has the best mechanics in the league), but Brady had a private QB coach in California as well (check internet), so don't know where his "mechanics and fundamentals" credit is due.
Tim Tebow is a great college football player (probably the greatest) with his dual ability to run and throw, but his throwing motion is so far off balance that it makes some of us passing purists wince.
Now that Loeffler has gotten his feet wet in Gainseville, they are working on his techniques and even putting him under center to improve his future NFL status. Tebow says they are working on his footwork more than his motion and that is a good thing, because bad footwork causes the bad throwing motion. Improving the quickness of his release is key and getting a little bit higher release would help as well as he tends to put his right hand straight out to his intended target and extends the ball straight out behind him before making his throw. Where he needs to improve the most is in his overall balance while throwing. He completely over-rotates on most throws, where his push-off leg (left) finishes far past his lead leg and he is facing backward away from his target after throwing when his toes (of his lead leg) should end up pointed directly at the target.
What's interesting about this whole topic is that the current national champions are tweaking their offense to improve Tebow's stock at the next level. Head Coach Urban Meyer says that they will play from under center more because now they have a running back that can run from a standard set. Not buying that one.