“As a quarterback, I just don’t see it…” - Mel Kipler

“Star power is incredible, and Tebow is an iconic figure…
people would legitimately think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if he was a Jaguar?’”
Wayne Weaver

Tim Tebow holds an insane amount of Florida and NCAA
records, from most consecutive games with a rushing or passing TD (which hit 31
with his rushing TD this week, an NCAA record) to his SEC record interception
percentage (about a 1.61). He has
amassed a 25-5 record as a starter with this weekend’s hard-nosed victory over
Tennessee and is 4 TDs away from Herschel Walker’s SEC record 49 rushing TDs. At Florida, he is within striking distance of
records by Emmit Smith (career rushing attempts) and Danny Wuerffel (total
touchdowns) and already owns the record for career completion percentage there.

His Heisman season saw him score 55 total TDs (another
record) and set SEC records for TDs in a game (7 against Spurrier) and yards
gained in a season (4181).

So why is everyone so flabbergasted with Jaguars owner Wayne
Weaver’s comments to questions about Tim Tebow this week?

Look, the Jaguars aren’t living the high life right
now. After their 5-11 2008 season, they
lost 17,000 season ticket holders and are facing blackouts for pretty much the
whole slate of home games. They are
routinely thrown into discussions about movable franchises, but Weaver has been
stalwart in his dedication to keeping the team in Jacksonville, as he believes
it is an essential part of the community fabric there.

However, in a town with an economy that relies heavily on
service based industries, the 1.3 million inhabitants aren’t ready to shell out
the money for a losing team, no matter what “flex packages” or incentives are
provided. Times are tight and the Jags,
like any other business, are feeling the pressure. Weaver, though, believes that hometown boy
Tebow may be the cure to the team’s economic woes.

And why not?

Tebow’s announcement that he was going to be driving up the
road to Gainesville to be a Gator after high school was heard by an excited
crowd of thousands at Nease High School who all turned out to hear something
they already knew by that point. It was
no secret by the time of his public comments that he had chosen Florida over
Alabama, yet the rally was huge, so imagine the response if he was carried back
home to Jacksonville to complete the circle.
They’d line up on I-10 and 301to carry him home. There are Draft Tebow stickers circulating
Jacksonville these days and, although Weaver pushed the question aside, there
appears to be a survey going around the five counties to see what effect Tebow
would have on ticket sales.

Of course Weaver’s comments were pretty evasive, as talking
about a player before they’re drafted can be pretty touchy, but there was no
mistaking his admiration for Tebow and his belief in what he could do for the
Jaguars’ franchise.

There, I think, is the problem with this whole thing.

Many teams have room and use for Tebow, some even have the
coaching and programs to make him useful as a quarterback, but Jacksonville
seems to be looking at him as a short term solution to marketing. Coach Del Rio doesn’t go with a spread
offense too often, if ever, and the tools to utilize Tebow just don’t seem to
be in place in Jacksonville. Now, that
could change, but...

Weaver’s comments, although encouraging to Gator fans who
too often hear how their QB won’t translate to the NFL, aren’t much more than a
business man trying to gauge the reaction to a possible business decision. The Jaguars are looking for answers right
now, something to get the fans interested in spending money again, and Tebow
looks like a great short term answer, but they just don’t seem to have the team
or coaching to utilize the Heisman winner.

Tim Tebow is a proven winner, with great leadership skills
and a drive to improve/succeed that I haven’t ever seen in a football
player. His athleticism is not in
question, nor is his place in the history of the NCAA. As of now, Tebow may very well be one of the
top five, if not the best player to come out of college.

So, why do people in the know talk about his inability to
translate into a top NFL draft pick?

Many say that he can’t play QB in the NFL. They question his arm strength and ability to
read defenses, his slow delivery and awkward release, and his speed on the
run. Didn’t they question Montana and
Brady’s arm strength once? Does Donovan
McNabb really have that much speed?

Granted, he doesn’t run like Mike Vick or Vince Young, but
what have they done since their first round drafts? And weren’t Ryan Leaf and Rex Grossman
expected to really bring it in the NFL, only to lay golden eggs all over the
field?

Look, the chance of a first round pick succeeding moderately
these days are, at best, 50-50. There
are no guarantees in the game and you have to realize that every rookie is
going to be a coin toss for your organization.
Saying Tebow should abandon the quarterback position for tight end, full
back, or, as he started in high school, line backing is ridiculous. It’s like spending all your time in college
studying to be a marine biologist, only to be told, after graduating with
honors, that you’d be best suited to be driving the boat for other scientists.

So, apart from Weaver and Jacksonville, who I believe see
the financial savior of their franchise, yet have no idea how to use him once
the season begins, you have to wonder if there are other teams that could
properly utilize Tim’s skills.

Here are several possible scenarios that would allow Tebow
to succeed in the NFL.

1. New England –
Perhaps the best fit for Tebow and the greatest chance for him to succeed in a
system that would know how to utilize him.
He’d have time to develop into the pocket passer he is striving to be,
would be involved in a spread offense he understands (Meyer has often stated he
models part of their offense after Belichick’s), and would be properly utilized
by an offensive minded coach who would know how to harness and focus that
winning drive and ability. Could he have
a better mentor than Tom Brady, who is THE underdog who succeeds? In addition, the hopes and dreams of the
future would not be forced to rest between Tebow’s massive shoulders, as would
happen in Jacksonville. If he became a
Jaguar, one losing season might ruin football for him as fans would most likely
turn on him and rookie expectations would be simply ridiculous. With the Patriots, we wouldn’t see him much
at the beginning, maybe on third downs or fourth and goals (wasn’t that how he
started here), but the ensuing seasons would see a more polished and able
quarterback. He wouldn’t be a dollar sign;
he’d be a tool for winning.

However, you can’t expect old Bill to jump up and snatch him
with his first pick in 2010, so Tebow would have to avoid Jacksonville and,
perhaps, some others in order to end up a Patriot, so this optimal scenario may
never see the light of day. So…

2. Tampa Bay – In
the rollercoaster of quarterbacks to come through Tampa in the past five years,
you’ve got to think that Tebow would be able to exceed what has come before him
if he was drafted by the Bucs. First
year coach Raheem Morris is still trying to fill Gruden’s shoes and is giving
Byron Leftwich another chance at an NFL career, but you can’t expect him to
remain in place if he doesn’t start succeeding in an already tight NFC
South. Originally, I kind of liked Tebow
to step in to the role vacated by the much beloved Mike Alstott, and he still
could, but he would also have a chance to be a starting QB if they can find the
right offensive system for him. With the
firing of their Off Coord. right before the season, Tampa doesn’t really have
an offensive identity yet, which may help in creating one should they decide to
take Tebow in the first round (one in which they will most likely have a high
draft pick ff this season plays out the way most expect). Tim would have a chance to be the centerpiece
of a franchise here, would be expected to lead, but would have to be patient as
they built around him. As opposed to New
England, a lot of the wins would fall on Tebow’s shoulders and there would be
more trial and error, but he would remain in Florida, which would yield similar
benefits as the Jaguar idea.

The downside? He’s
going to a team that has no expectation to win, no proven tools to defy those
expectations, and a history of using quarterbacks like tissues. He would have to take more of the
responsibility on his shoulders, which he has proven he can do, but factor in
that his protection, both on and off the field, would weaken. Not only would he have to remain tough on the
field, but those first couple years of learning would force him to toughen up
as concerns the local media, which he has NEVER had to deal with in
Gainesville. Yeah, it could work, but
what if we look at one more optimal scenario…

3. Minnesota –
Harvin’s already there. Peterson is a
force to be reckoned with. Favre has
maybe one to two seasons left in the tank.
This could work magnificently.
The Jaguars were probably watching the Vikings in the offseason to learn
what a name can do for your sales, as Favre’s arrival boosted ticket and jersey
sales into the stratosphere, but with a 40 year old at QB, this experiment
definitely has a cutoff point, so Minnesota needs to start planning for the
future now (and Tavares Jackson isn’t it).
With so many offensive pieces in place already, Tebow would be placed in
one of his best opportunities to win on his own terms, as a quarterback, with
people who know who he is and how he works.
Having Harvin to his right would be one of the biggest confidence
boosters you could ask for, exceeded only by the fact that his running back may
go on to break just about every record at the position. The Vikings, as you’ve seen this year, have no
problem adapting their offense to suit a QB, and Harvin’s arrival, coupled with
the Dolphins success last year, has already yielded a wildcat formation, one
which Tebow would be right at home with.
Can’t you just imagine the headaches defenses would have trying to match
up to a trio of weapons, all capable of making plays? This takes the cold New England home weather
out of the equation and gives him a team with more weapons than Tampa can
offer. Yes, he’d be asked to start
within a year, maybe less if Favre gets confused and old again, and would not
get the teacher he would in Brady, but he would have the chance to win in a
town where people appreciate what a tough athlete can accomplish. Minnesota could succeed in ways they haven’t
since the Moss/Culpepper heydays and they didn’t even have a big name running
back.

Peterson could win without a QB, so much of the pressure is
taken from Tebow here. Tim will not be
the face of Adrian’s franchise here, a blessing if you ask me, and the game
won’t be forced on him in every situation, as it would in Tampa. Granted, you are going in to a division that
is currently looked at as one of the hardest in the NFL, mostly due to some
amazing talent at quarterback, and the weather in Green Bay and Chicago will be
hard to accustom to, but this fit makes sense in so many ways. The Vikings are just a few years removed from
greatness and the addition of Tebow may just be the final piece in the
offensive puzzle. This could work, so many
things point at it, but…

We’re getting ahead of ourselves here. The season is three weeks old and we’ve just
handled our first SEC battle with question marks, though we did handle it. Tebow isn’t thinking much past Kentucky right
now, probably isn’t even allowing the words “National Championship” or
“Heisman” or even “NFL” to be spoken, so he is most definitely not worrying
about where he’ll end up next year. If
he is, though, I can promise you that he isn’t wondering how good a tight end
he’ll be or if he can bail out a Jacksonville team looking for a payday. He’s looking to play quarterback at the next
level, looking for that next challenge so he can show the unbelievers what a
winner can make possible with hard work and dedication to a cause.

Tim Tebow will play in the NFL; we just have to hope that
someone will be smart enough to truly give him the opportunity to do it as a
quarterback. Otherwise, this year will
be our last chance to see the greatest college player in NCAA history, because
the Tebow we see next year won’t even compare.

Owners, you know what you have to do.