Tim Tebow -- More than just a last option
Tim Tebow is a more effective quarterback than at least 8 NFL quarterbacks currently starting. There I said it. Put on your GM hat for a moment and let's think about this objectively. I'll rattle off some names to emphasize my point: Christian Ponder, Sam Bradford, Jake Locker, Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Would you prefer any of them -- or Tim Tebow? How about the rotating trio of QB's that Arizona is currently using (Ryan Lindley, Kevin Kolb, John Skelton)? For me it's not even close.
The last option -- more accurately not an option -- is exactly what Tebow has been for the New York Jets. It appears as though the Jets would rather tryout the stadium peanut vendors than start Tebow. Tebow walked into the Jets locker-room as the undisputed heavyweight champion of undeserved media hype. He will leave with a whimper. This week, Rex Ryan announced that Greg McElroy will get the start against the Chargers this coming weekend, skipping over their "2nd string QB" without explanation. This move, like many the Jets make, raised more than a few eyebrows.
While nobody is sure exactly what the Jets were trying to prove with this move, the only thing the Jets have proved, is that the they're the only professional football organization dysfunctional enough to both, suck the life out of Tebow-mania, while simultaneously competing to become the most anemic offense in football.
Mark Sanchez leads the league with 24 turnovers this season. He threw away the Jets microscopic playoff hopes with his 4th interception of the game against the Titans last Monday night. His benching is 100% warranted. His status as starter for next season is certainly in jeopardy, regardless of the fact he signed an 8 digit contract extension prior to this season.
So why did the Jets bring in Tebow? Why did they bring in Tony Sporano to coordinate the offense? Sporano, the coach widely credited with integrating the wildcat offense into the NFL, seemed, at least on paper, a perfect coaching fit for Tebow's unique skill set. So why has Tebow's role been relegated to little more than protector on punt formations? These are questions the media has been asking the Jets since September -- and after 14 games -- there are still more questions than answers. I guess we'll never know.
What Tebow is not
Now just to clarify, I am far from a Tim Tebow fan. He has obvious -- distressing -- glaring weaknesses. His long, odd-looking wind-up and bizarre throwing motion makes Philip Rivers markedly strange mechanics look like they were designed by Pratt and Whitney. Residents of Los Angeles can drive from the valley to LAX in the amount of time it takes Tebow to wind-up and release the ball. If your team already has an elite quarterback than consider yourself lucky. This Tebow-talk doesn't apply to you. But many teams aren't fortunate enough to have that player and are either going to be looking to make a quarterbacking change in the near future or considering one.
I'm a fan of your prototypical pocket-passer quarterbacks as is everyone else. Guys who can make 3 or 4 reads down field and deliver the football. But let's not waste any of our time comparing Tim Tebow, to any of those traditional pocket quarterbacks whom we consider elite. Tim Tebow will never be Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, so erase that from your head. He's never going to stand back in the pocket and surgically dismantle a defense with 50 throws a game the way Tom Brady does. But Tebow probably won't ever be Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbert, or Ryan Lindley either -- and that's a good thing.
Tebow is most likely not going to be your long-term answer at quarterback either. That's fine. The question teams need to ask themselves this next off-season is: Can he be effective in the short term? I believe the answer is yes.
The 2013 draft class isn't a particularly strong one for quarterbacks. This year's Heisman winner was a freshman. USC's Matt Barkley has seen his draft-stock drop like it's 1929. There is no Andrew Luck or RG3 coming out this year, or even a top consensus pick.
The free-agent pool is more of a mirage than a pool. If there were any worth-while free-agent quarterbacks they wouldn't be free-agents. NFL teams typically have around 30 guys that professionally evaluate personnel. Do you think they mistakenly overlooked someone from that group, someone that used to start and somehow mysteriously slipped out of the league? It's possible -- but not likely. Let's pluck a couple names from the top of that free-agent pool anyway. Let's use David Garrard and Vince Young. Both guys have started games and experienced varying degrees of success. Do they realistically give you a better chance to win than Tebow? 32 teams didn't think so this year.
Then, leaving no stone unturned, you have to look to current veteran back-ups, hoping of course, you could perhaps wheel-and-deal enough to lure one away a from their respective team. Names like, Tarvaris Jackson, David Carr, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Kevin Kolb, Jason Campbell, Charlie Whitehurst, Matt Leinart and Matt Cassel all come to mind and might be available. A potential trade could even possibly be made involving some "starters" like Carson Palmer, Mike Vick or Alex Smith. Is a trade giving up draft picks worth it? Maybe. Maybe you favor a younger backup, someone like Matt Flynn or Chad Henne. Didn't think so.
So now what?
Let's stay with the general manager theme and now it's the off-season and now you're re-building an NFL roster. Let's take the Jaguars. Obviously Tim Tebow is not the first quarterback name that you immediately come up with when thinking of starting over at quarterback. But after all of your due-diligence, the cycling and evaluating of all those name we just listed -- you still don't have an answer at quarterback.
Now you're Shahid Khan, a new NFL owner who recently dropped $760 million to buy the Jacksonville Jaguars -- a team struggling offensively to say the least. Can you as an owner and successful business man, endowed with the gift of common-sense and business-savvy, look at that roster and honestly say that you would rather have Blaine Gabbert and the lame-duck offense of the past two seasons back for another go? Or would you bring in Tim Tebow, a fan favorite from Jacksonville, who generates buzz and excitement and is a proven winner?
What Tebow is
The best part for Shahid Khan is Tim Tebow can be had nearly for free. There wouldn't be a huge signing bonus or a boat-load of guaranteed money involved. The Jets gave up a fifth round pick to acquire him and that was during the peak of his popularity and Tebow-time. What do you think it would cost to get Tebow now -- after a silent season of rotting away on the bench? The Jets might pay you to alleviate one of their many distractions. That sounds like a bargain to me.
There's almost NO downside to bringing him in, if you play your cards right and keep in mind you're still searching for the quarterback of the future. Teams forget that part, mostly because there are always a lot of jobs at stake. We all know It's a win now league -- and that's exactly what Tebow can help do.
We all remember Tebow-Time last year, how it was somehow, both, so terribly painful and exciting to watch at the same time. When Tebow stepped in and took over for Kyle Orton, the Broncos were 1-3 and trailing 23-10 against the Chargers. Up to that point, the Broncos had a league-high 12 turnovers, fueled primarily by Orton's bad decision making. The Broncos had few recognizable names and little hope. By the end of the 2011 NFL season, the Tebow led Denver Broncos finished 8-8, good enough for a Division title in the AFC West. The Broncos went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the Playoffs.
Copy-Cat League -- The Option -- The Pistol
The NFL is a copy-cat league. We've seen proof of that before. If there is an extra inch to be had in a game, teams are going steal, mimic, borrow, mold and customize their way to gaining that inch. We've seen it with the spread offense and even a bit of spread-option. We saw it with the wildcat. The NFL is constantly evolving -- and teams need to stay on the forefront. New England is currently heading-up another trend, using multiple tight-end sets, with tight-ends athletic enough to create major passing mis-matches. Whether it's schematic or with personnel, teams are ALWAYS looking for an edge. I can promise that more than a few offensive coordinators have noticed RG3.
Tim Tebow is not RG3. Tim Tebow is by many measures, a terrible passer. He does not possess the speed, quickness, decision-making, throwing ability, or up-side, that RG3 does. But many of the same principles that have enabled RG3's NFL success are the same that worked for Tim Tebow in Denver last year. The option, the zone-read running plays, and the QB read-option. Let me add -- dual-threat QB's are the next big thing in the NFL. I've already mentioned RG3. There's also Cam Newton and now Colin Kapernick. Aaron Rodgers ability to escape the pocket and either, use his legs to get up field, or make an accurate throw on the run, is one of the primary reasons Green Bay's offense is as deadly as it is. The future of the quarterback position is one of dual-threat. Even Andrew Luck, a deadly accurate QB thought of as a pocket-passer, displays speed and mobility, with Draft measurables nearly the same as Cam Newton's. The major difference between those QB's and Tebow -- the inaccuracy and inconsistency in the passing game.
As much as I've tried to deny it, the option offense is here in the NFL. Prior to this season, the word option was like a curse word to me. I didn't even like it when Tim Tebow did it in Denver -- even though it worked! To me, the option symbolizes everything amateur about football. It's fun to watch in high school and college, but pro's don't run the option.
Tim Tebow is not RG3. Tim Tebow is by many measures, a terrible passer. He does not possess the speed, quickness, decision-making, throwing ability, or up-side, that RG3 does. But many of the same principles that have enabled RG3's NFL success are the same that worked for Tim Tebow in Denver last year. The option, the zone-read running plays, and the QB read-option. Let me add -- dual-threat QB's are the next big thing in the NFL. I've already mentioned RG3. There's also Cam Newton and now Colin Kapernick. Aaron Rodgers ability to escape the pocket and either, use his legs to get up field, or make an accurate throw on the run, is one of the primary reasons Green Bay's offense is as deadly as it is. The future of the quarterback position is one of dual-threat. Even Andrew Luck, a deadly accurate QB thought of as a pocket-passer, displays speed and mobility, with Draft measurables nearly the same as Cam Newton's. The major difference between those QB's and Tebow -- the inaccuracy and inconsistency in the passing game.
As much as I've tried to deny it, the option offense is here in the NFL. Prior to this season, the word option was like a curse word to me. I didn't even like it when Tim Tebow did it in Denver -- even though it worked! To me, the option symbolizes everything amateur about football. It's fun to watch in high school and college, but pro's don't run the option.
Cam Newton opened my eyes to the spread option last year. RG3, this year, has made the spread option and the pistol option unforgettable. The offense that Mike and Kyle Shanahan concocted for RG3 and the Washington Redskins this season is nothing short of spectacular. The Shanahan's crafted an NFL playbook using the strength's of RG3's Baylor days, instead of forcing him into a conventional mold of something he isn't. Unbelievable coaching job this year by Mike Shanahan.
The Redskins Pistol offense and zone blocking scheme has proven difficult for opposing defenses to stop. The Redskins have won 5 straight games largely as a result of their success on the offensive side of the ball. Washington leads the league in rushing, averaging 164.8 yards per game.
The 2012 Redskins offense is a hybrid of outside zone, read-option, using zone blocking schemes -- run primarily out of the pistol formation. Mike Shanahan and Alex Gibbs, the brain-child's of zone blocking, have been using the same zone blocking principles on offense since the days of John Elway and Terrell Davis. Though Alex Gibbs, Davis and Elway have retired -- Shannahan's 2012 offense has carried on those same principles.
Zone blocking eliminates pre-snap confusion about blocking responsibilities when there's defensive shifting. Lineman rely on reach, athleticism, double-teams and cut-back blocks at the point of attack to create one-cut vertical reads for running backs. Lineman are responsible for a piece of real-estate opposed to a man. This creates a double-team at the point of attack, while leaving one defender, typically the back-side defensive end, unblocked. When executed properly -- zone blocking can be one of the most difficult schemes to defend. The Houston Texans also run it and have a top rushing attack.
But this year has also been unique in a number of ways. By not only mixing zone blocking with mis-direction and play-action -- out of the pistol formation -- but also adding in the read-option with RG3, Shannahan has coupled some of the most potent elements of the college game and blended them with the technique, discipline and execution of an NFL game that yielded him 2 Superbowl rings.
The pistol formation consists of the QB taking the snap 3 yards behind the center with the RB lined up 3-4 yards directly behind him. This allows for a quick snap and a quick read of the defense by the quarterback, compared to taking a traditional shotgun snap 5-7 yards behind the center. The RB also takes the hand-off 3 yards closer to the line-of-scrimmage than he would out of the traditional shotgun. The pistol can be run out of a variety of formations, including, multiple back and multiple tight-end sets, adding to a defenses confusion. Add to that the complications of a speedy athletic quarterback -- and it's no wonder defensive coordinators put in 168 hour work weeks.
Athletic quarterbacks like Tim Tebow and RG3 have the option to read the defense, then decide whether to hand the ball off, or keep it themselves. Defenses are caught off-guard and hence hesitate. Split second hesitations can cost defenses points in the NFL. Defenses also often over-commit to the run, making mis-direction and play-action important components of an offense. If a quarterback can momentarily can freeze the linebackers with play-action and the threat of the zone-read, option offense, it can camouflage a teams weakness in the passing game. These principles helped Tim Tebow get to the playoffs and can do it again.
We've gotten this far and haven't even mentioned the primary skill he is credited for possessing a great deal of -- his leadership. Tebow attained world-wide fame mainly as a result of the type of person he is off the field. He possesses skills that cannot be taught or measured with statistics. Tim Tebow is a special, unique player, who can still find success and a starting role somewhere in the NFL.
