Showing posts with label John Fox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Fox. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Tim Tebow Experiment

Well, Tim Tebow has truly made his mark on the quarterback position. After last weekend’s performance of the ages (2-8 passing, 69 yards and a touchdown) he may have set the quarterback position back eighty years. All these years later, those coaches who refused to adapt and regarded the forward pass as a fad have been proven correct.

Why bother playing the quarterback position with anything resembling skill when you can just run the ball sixty times? Why have solid arm strength and the ability to hit receivers in stride when a toddler could play roughly as well at that position? And yet, somehow the Broncos have managed to win games with this joke behind center, because the opposition is not smart enough to put nine players in the box.

In fact, Tebow’s own coach has admitted that if Tebow were in a real NFL offense that “If we were trying to run a regular offense, he’d be screwed.” That statement coming from John Fox is truly damning. Yes, everyone knew that Tebow would be a project if he stuck as a quarterback, but you would expect something resembling progress. Instead, he has regressed to the point where even his own coach does not want to see him throw the ball. And John Fox knows terrible quarterback play – he did see Jake Delhomme over his last two seasons in Carolina. Just wonder why he didn’t try the No Passing offense then….

The notion that Tebow is winning games has to be a nightmare for the Broncos organization. They were going nowhere, and gave in to the public clamoring for Tebow. They wanted to prove to the uneducated masses that Tebow, while he has a lot of heart, is not a quarterback. In this, they have been proven correct – Tebow is most definately not even close to an NFL quarterback.

Yet, the Broncos inexplicably manage to win games that Tebow starts, and somehow find themselves in the race for the AFC West. While this may be due to Tebow being Football Jesus and having magical powers (such as causing amnesia to opposing defenses so that they forget that the Broncos only run the football now), in all likelihood this is due to the unorthodox gameplan. Remember, the Miami Dolphins managed to win games with the Wildcat when it first came out. How long did that last? Well, the Broncos offensive playbook straight from 1904 probably has the shelf life of yogurt on the dashboard of a car during an Arizona summer.

In the end, expect sanity to win out, and the Broncos to fall back to Earth hard. Even Football Jesus cannot cause that many miracles.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Beginning Of An Error

With the benching of the much maligned Kyle Orton, it is officially Tebow Time in Denver. As the Broncos continue to search for the heir to John Elway, their search is beginning to look a lot like the Dolphins quest to replace Dan Marino. There have been failed prospects, trades that did not work out, and incompetent coaches which have all served to set back the process of moving forward. And Tim Tebow is merely the latest roadblock.

Is Football Jesus an athlete? Yes. But is he a quarterback? The answer is a resounding NO!!! What Tebow happens to be is a college quarterback who made a name for himself with what he is off the field. If one ignores the name on the back of the jersey and looks at what the person does on the field, then Football Jesus is nothing more than a practice squad player if he’s lucky.

Now, it is certainly possible that Football Jesus will have a good career – in the Canadian Football League. To be an NFL quarterback, you need to be able to actually throw the football without a windup that makes it appear that one is doing the old cartoon windup where the arm spins around several times. Yeah, he can run, but can anyone respect his passing game? Defenses will be playing eight man fronts and contain against him within weeks, and what then? This is someone that fumbled three snaps in his brief time last game, and only connected on four of ten passes. Somehow, I doubt that opposing defenses are terrified of his abilities.

The biggest gripe that supports of Football Jesus have is that he has not been given a legitimate chance. Well, there happens to be another quarterback on the team that has not had a legitimate chance – Brady Quinn. Quinn has starting experience, but it was in the cesspool of football that is commonly referred to as the Cleveland Browns. He has had absolutely nothing in terms of weapons, a line, a defense, or a coaching staff to work with. Unlike Football Jesus, he actually progressed this offseason, showing a firmer grasp of the playbook and the finer mechanics of being a quarterback. Football Jesus, meanwhile, spent the offseason making underwear advertisements and pitching his autobiography. Seems a lot of people really needed to know what it’s like to hold a clipboard in the NFL. Oh, and Football Jesus has actually regressed this year in terms of pocket presence, awareness, and reading defenses. Yeah, that’s what the Broncos need at quarterback, someone that has no concept of how to be one.

So where are the billboards for Brady Quinn? When does the ‘Free Quinn’ movement begin? Where are the people trying to pressure John Fox into making Quinn the starter? That’s right, Quinn isn’t a name with zero NFL pedigree that has inexplicably created a legion of mindlessly loyal fans who will scream prejudice at anyone who even displays the slightest thought that their Chosen One is not a legitimate football player. Well, those people need to wake up.

Football Jesus is not the answer. Football Jesus will not be the salvation of the Denver Broncos. If anything, he will condemn the Broncos to roam the draft boards like the Wandering Jew is condemned to roam the Earth. Enjoy what you have brought upon yourselves, Broncos fans. Sometimes it is better not to receive what you want.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Shut Up Tim Tebow Supporters

Fans of third string, and hideously overrated, quarterback Tim Tebow are planning to purchase billboards, urging Denver Broncos coach John Fox to bench Kyle Orton and start Football Jesus. First, this assumes that Fox would actually care what these obviously delusional people think about the quarterbacking situation in Denver. Second, this assumes that Football Jesus not only can walk on water, model underwear, and praise God while playing quarterback with some level of competence. Tebow has managed to do the first three on this list, but he is not ready to do the fourth.

If a quarterback with a similar set of skills was to come out in the NFL Draft, and not have been named Tim Tebow, he would have been no more than a fifth round selection. Quite frankly, he needed to revamp his throwing motion, which is still a work in progress, learn a complex offensive system, learn to read a defense, and to make plays with something other than his legs. In fact, in most cases, the same player would have been converted to tight end. But since he’s the Football Jesus, he stuck at quarterback and was a first round pick.

Naturally, Tebow’s supporters are blind to this. To ‘attack’ Tebow (mention his shortcomings and how he needs to improve his game) is to attack his religious beliefs. Apparently, those people that notice the problems with Tebow’s game are against religious people, puppies, super happy sunshine, freedom, the sanctity of marriage, Swedish Bikini Teams, teddy bears, rainbows, and beer. But, that is not the case. No one cares who Tebow worships. He can praise God, Allah, Satan, or Cocidius for all anyone cares, as long as he plays football with some degree of skill. The reality is, that he cannot do that. So shut up, religi-freaks.

Lost in all the Football Jesus hype is the fact that the fact that Orton is actually a good quaterback. Last year, before the ill-advised Tebow games at the end of the year. He has completed 58.1% of his passes in his NFL career, has not had a quarterback rating below 79.6 in any full season that he has been a starter since his rookie year, and knows how to win football games. Tebow won games in college. Let’s put it this way – if Tebow throws for more than 70 touchdowns in his NFL career, I will eat my boxers on air during a podcast The Mad Sportsmen – you should give us a listen *shameless plug*). Take it to the bank.

Football Jesus was a great college quarterback, make no mistake. But there have been quite a few great college quarterbacks that have not done anything in the NFL. Just look to Rodney Peete, Gino Torretta, Eric Crouch, Brad Banks, Troy Smith, and Danny Wuerffel, amongst others. They were terrible in the NFL, and in fact, some players like Jason White, never made it in. THAT is the company that Tebow will be in – not in the Steve Young or Randall Cunningham level.

So shut up Tim Tebow fans, and get over yourselves. The criticism of Football Jesus has NOTHING to do with his religion – just the fac tthat he is not and never will be an NFL quarterback.