A word on Tim Tebow

For basically the last three weeks, the subject of Tim Tebow has constantly been popping up across the mainstream media and the Internet. There are lots of reasons for this, but no doubt prime among which is the fact that controversy gets people talking. It makes your website stand out on Google searches and gets people to click on your website and come take a look. Page views go up, thus potentially so does advertising revenue.

But lately it's been getting ridiculous. For those of you who - like me - drop in on ProFootballTalk.com each day to browse the headlines, you'll have noticed that Tim Tebow seems to crop up on a practically daily basis. I wouldn't mind so much to be honest if it wasn't for the fact that Mike Florio spends most of the time that he devotes to the subject of Tim Tebow - like a lot of people in the media - talking out of his fucking arse.

The common thread at the minute appears to be that Tim can't throw. This has been brought up in God only knows how many articles and TV segments, and frankly it's starting to piss me off. It's as if last season didn't happen, that Tebow never went onto the field and never threw a pass. We're told by many "expert" sources that Tebow doesn't have the correct throwing action to be an NFL quarterback. Or that he isn't accurate enough. Or that he doesn't know how to throw NFL passes full stop.

So here's what I did. I went to YouTube and I typed in "Tim Tebow Denver Broncos". I found the first video I could that had clips of him from last season playing with the Broncos and I present this video to you now.






Now you tell me. Watch the video again and tell me whether you can see any completed passes? I can. Presumably you can to. I dunno though. Apparently he can't throw these kind of passes. He's unable to. Well, at least that's what all the QB experts on the TV and Internet keep telling people.

See I'm confused. I don't know what to think anymore. My eyes, they're telling me that I can see Tim Tebow making passes. Short passes, off play action. Screen passes. I can see intermediate level passes. I can see deep passes. Well, at least I think I can. That's what my brain is telling me that my eyes can see. But apparently not.

See when I go over to ProFootballTalk.com they keep telling me that Tebow sucks. They keep pointing me towards articles by respected people in the football world who tell their audiences that "Tim Tebow can't make NFL throws" etc.

So who do I believe? The experts? Or my own eyes?

Funnily enough, I've become very attached to my eyes over the years. They're not 100% trustworthy, but more often than not they are. And no matter how many times I watch the video above, it appears to show Tim Tebow playing for an NFL team, running an NFL offense, throwing NFL passes, against NFL defenses.

So frankly I'd like to invite Mike Florio, his bitch Rosenwhateverhisnameis and every other person who insists that Tebow can't make NFL passes to just sit back, relax, and drink a nice big cup of shut the fuck up. In fact, I'll even give you something to watch while you have your drink.

Because the other big knock on Tebow has always been his throwing motion. Apparently, so I'm told by experts, having such an elongated throwing motion, where the ball dips low before being brought back up over the shoulder, should not work. In fact, we're confidently told that it will not work. Ever. Never has, never will. Least not in the NFL.

Defenses are too quick, too smart. NFL defenders will see the arm motion and break on the ball with time to spare, providing it isn't ripped from Tebows arm for the 40th time that game before he can throw it.

Well... I'm calling Bullshit on this.

Not least because of the simple fact that everyone who has ever spoken on this subject has constantly affirmed that Tebow should adapt his motion to be more like Dan Marino's, which is considered to be a cleaner, more precise motion, with less wasted downward movement.

And while that sounds great in principle, the simple fact is it's complete bollocks of the highest order. Dan Mario's throwing motion was as cack handed and elongated as Tim Tebows. How do I know this? Because unlike BSPN and the army of sycophants who are all looking for a job on their news desk, I actually bothered to go back and have a look.

Yes that's right; research.

I understand that in the world of modern sensationalist journalism such a word as "research" is often considered up there right alongside "integrity" as words that should be kept quiet, locked up in an underground vault somewhere never to be seen or heard from again. But I happen to find research can be quite useful. It has a tendency to help prevent one from talking out of ones arse, though this is a general rule not a precise one, as I've personally proven in the case of Mark Herzlich and others.

So again I'm going to furnish you with a YouTube video for your perusal. This is of Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. What in particular I'd like you to notice is that fact that Marino had a penchant for holding the ball down near his back hip, one handed no less, which then required the ball to be brought up from this low position to behind the shoulder, and then forward. Literally the only difference between Marino and Tebow is that Marino took a slightly less curved path and he moved his arm at lightning speed.

The fact remains though, his motion was not the paragon of muscular efficiency and technical artistry that it is often made out to be. He was just bloody quick. Here's the proof;






And you know what? I'm in the mood for showing off. Taking the piss as it were. So I'm going to throw in another video just for good measure. This time we're going to look at Joe Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Of course my opinion on Montana has nothing to do with being a 49ers fan...

Anyway. The purpose of this next video is to demonstrate that even a slightly elongated motion can produce results. It may not be the picture perfect throwing motion desired by modern analysts, but it just plain worked. Adhering to Bill Walsh's often repeated mantras of 1) making sure the tip of the ball doesn't dip below the waist and that 2) the ball is released above the shoulder, Joe Montana went on to have a mildly successful career.

Well, who doesn't have four Super Bowl rings these days?

I should also point out that Montana, like Marino, and so far like Tebow, managed to avoid the issue of the constant strips which we were assured by experts, and continue to be assured by them, would be the every other play consequence of a dipping throwing motion.

I'm particularly keen on this video because Montana's motion is a bit more akin to Tebow's than Marino's was. The path of travel of the football is a much closer match, as was the speed at which Montana used to throw. Here it is, with some great slow mo action to help you make a comparison.






Now adding all this up, does this mean Tebow will be the next Montana or Marino? Well frankly it's a little early to tell. All I'm trying to do here is to disprove the current hypothesis expounded by seemingly everyone that can get themselves close enough to a keyboard or a microphone; that Tim Tebow can't throw NFL passes and that his throwing motion is inadequate for the NFL.

There is obviously more to quarterbacking than throwing passes. Tebow will have to master the mental aspects as well, from learning plays, protections and reads, to developing the requisite skills of leadership and the command of the huddle, to name but a few.

I personally believe that in time, and if given a proper shot, he will. I'd love it even more if that team were the San Francisco 49ers whom I follow so dearly and regularly shout at so profanely. Most of all though I just want Tebow to get his chance. He seems like a great kid who has come under a lot of unnecessary scrutiny since leaving college, and I simply can't wait to see the day when he makes a rather large amount of people choke on their fucking words.

Go on Tim. I'm a Tebowliever!! As are many others. You can do this.

Thursday Night Football pick, plus a rant (or two).

Some stuff to get through today, so cracking on would seem the best course of action: -- The NFL has convened a meeting of it's Head, Neck and Spine committee. And no, I didn't know they had one either. I'll get into the details in a minute but first; why the simple and all encompassing name of "Player Safety Committee" couldn't be used is a mystery. Well not exactly. It seems an odd and beauracratic thing to do, because it is. The NFL is worried about its image in the public (and political) eye and wants to be seen to be doing everything it can to get safe. It also has to show the players that it "cares". If the league wants the players to agree to an 18-game schedule it has to prove it's trying to make the game safer. Now if all this sounds like me being rather cynical then that's because I am. You should try reading my info thingy to the right >>> What jumped off the cynicism scale for me though was the apparent schedule juggling by Commissioner Roger Goodell. We're told that he was very busy yesterday, but in the name of player safety and showing that he "cares", he put all that other stuff to one side so he could come and listen to the folks recommendations. What a nice guy huh? Bullshit. In a season where concussions are the hot topic, and fines and penalties are being dished out left, right and center, does anyway honestly believe that Goodell didn't have this date ringed on his calender in big red pen? I can't stand it when people like Goodell try and make it out like they went out of their way to drop a bunch of important meetings in order to find time for this. It just serves to further reinforce my belief that Goodell is the slimiest of the slimy, a true snake. All smiles and "we're clean as a whistle Governor, honest", when in fact Goodell is as dirty and rotten as anybody walking the halls of power in Washington. But I digress. The point of the meeting was to allow helmet manufacturers to come forward with new ideas and research that they'd come up with. Now what intrigued me the most were two designs. One was a helmet with a soft outer shell designed to absorb impact and the other was a helmet that appeared to contain a two-fold layer of concussive protection; a series of transparent cells that appear to be filled with air/water/some fluid, who knows. This was topped by a layer of soft, squashy foam (it's the second helmet shown in the clip I'm going to link to, the one where you can see inside). In fact, here is the link. I bring this up only because I'm an intolerably smug individual who suggested these ideas for helmets not so long ago. Thinking about it, I actually think the helmet with the hard exterior and the crush able foam interior padding might be the best choice. -- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants. I bloody knew I'd missed someone yesterday. Pierre Paul is another player that in hindsight should have been on the watch list but I missed completely. Why? Only a single year playing at the highest level of college football, coupled with a concern that his game was all about his physical skills and not about technique. Ooops! -- Tim Tebow. With the sacking of Josh McDaniels comes the speculation that Tebow will be following shortly, traded away or even cut by the new Head Coach. As a result, many are already labelling Tebow a bust, berating Daniels for drafting him and for not having a plan for his development. All of which I find laughable. I think Tebow, quite apart from his rushing skills, is just straight up a very good quarterback. Very good. I think a first round pick for Tebow was fine. And I believe his development was coming along nicely. The trouble is though we're in an age when everybody wants everything now. They want Tebow on the field, winning games single handedly, and they want it yesterday. But that's not how things work. McDaniels's use of Tebow in short yardage and goal line situations reminds me of the story of a another quarterback during his development phase; Joe Montana. Despite what some peoples glossy memories may recall, Montana started his career in San Fransisco as Mr. Fill In. He was brought in for the odd play here, a drive or two maybe towards the end of game etc, but for his first season he was nothing more than a situational quarterback. Montana subsequently went on to be a half decent quarterback (I have no smilies, so I'm literally going to have to type *wink*). Cast your mind back as well to last season. Remember the name Michael Vick. Remember that in Philadelphia he was worked back into the team largely through his use in short yardage and goal line situations. That story didn't turn out too bad now, did it? (*wink*. So far...). In fact, the parallels between Tebow and Montana are more than you'd think. You're going to have to trust me on this one but you need to go back and watch Joe Montana throwing. In a bit, I'm even gonna lay on a video for you. What you'll see is very much a Tebow-esque release (or is Tebow using a Montana-esque release?). Montana's dipping motion with the ball isn't quite as pronounced and he sometimes uses a much faster motion, but trust me it's there, on film, on game day. So all this utter nonsense about Tebow's motion being unacceptable in the NFL is ridiculous. It's analyst speak for "we need to cover our butts in case he doesn't pan out". Well I for one have no intention of covering on this. I think Tebow is someday going to be a great quarterback. There it is. In writing. If I'm wrong, then damn it, I'm wrong. But I vehemently believe that Tebow deserves a chance and I think people are wrong about bashing Josh McDaniels for having the courage and audacity to pick him and try to develop him. Now here's your film clip, part of a seven part series that I probably have already posted on here before. Ah well, it's definitely worth posting again. You'll have to nip over to YouTube yourself to watch the other six parts : Right, time to get my pick in for tonight's game. Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans: Colts win. Job done. Allow me though to explain. I know that Peyton Manning threw four picks in week 14. I get that, he's having a bad year. But even though he threw four interceptions, and even though two were returned for touchdowns, the fact remains that the Colts still took the Cowboys to overtime. Manning completed 36 of 48 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns. Freeney and Mathis both had sacks. The Colts had a rushing touchdown, and they made a big play on special teams as well. But let's not forget the most convincing reason that they should win; They're playing the Titans. The Titans. And yeah, I know the Titans have Chris Johnson, but that doesn't matter. This is the Titans we're talking about. I've learned that just because I would cram the ball down Indy's throats with the running game until they started puking up stitches, doesn't mean that the Titans will actually do that. Last week against the Jaguars they handed the ball to Johnson just 13 times. That was it. Now do you think Kerry Collins is going to tear up the Colts secondary instead? I don't see it. The best hope the Titans have is if their D-line can get back to making big plays against the pass. Like the Chargers and Cowboys before them, they need to get to Manning. Anything less will not suffice. That could be a problem though given the Titans recent knack of leaking rushing yardage. The Colts may not exactly be the masters of the rush, but against a 6-man front they can block to a reasonable degree, enough at least to victimise the wobbly looking Titans defense. All in all, I just can't see the Titans offense being able to keep up. As the score mounts the Colts options on offense get more flexible while the Titans offense becomes more one dimensional. As a result, the Titans let the game slip away and give Colts fans some hope. At least for now. Colts win. Have a great day everyone.