I am a freelance writer with a degree in communications from the University of Toledo.
what happened?
there are several reasons why tim tebow did not make it to the nfl. his shooting style was awkward and as a result his passing was inaccurate. he adopted a run-oriented mindset early in his career that led him to run when his primary receiver wasn’t open or when he felt pressure. The most obvious reason he failed as a quarterback in the NFL was because of the training he received in high school and in Florida.
tebow was never forced to become a conventional quarterback. because he was big, strong, and could run, his trainers at lower levels of him simply went with the flow and allowed him to run without helping him develop other abilities. as a result, he simply enhanced what he was naturally good at and weakened what he didn’t do well; passing the ball.
Although he worked out on his own, there is no substitute for proper instruction, and tebow clearly received none. Why else would NFL quarterback coaches have to work so hard with him on his mechanics? What were his high school and college coaches doing when he was at his practices? Did no one work with him on his footwork, stance, shooting motion, delivery and follow through at the time?
It’s a shame what his former coaches did and didn’t do for him. they just passed him on to the next set of trainers who completely ignored his shortcomings and took advantage of his natural abilities.
if there is a category of lawsuit that could be brought against your coaches before your time in the nfl, i would advise you to pursue it. because what they did to him and not for him was a crime.
at the beginning
tim tebow entered the nfl followed by much fanfare and hoopla. With a highly successful career at the University of Florida, capped off by winning the Heisman Trophy and two National Championships, Tebow was at the top of the college football world.
Primarily a running back quarterback, he punched, bruised and punched throughout his college career, and for good reason. At 6’3″ and 230 pounds, he had the build of a fullback and ran like one.
After four years of literally roughing up the competition, Tebow came to the NFL with the same questions surrounding every player who made the leap. Will he be successful playing at this level? Will his talent transfer to professional football?
tebow would have the opportunity to answer those questions in denver, colorado.
tebow transition
in florida, tebow basically ran a read option offense that allowed him to take the snap from the middle and decide if it was better to hand it to the running back, pass it, or run it himself. it was a fairly simple offense that eliminated the need to make quick reads of defensive coverage at the line of scrimmage.
When he arrived in Denver, many wondered if he would be able to adapt to a more pass-oriented offense or if the Broncos would modify their offense to suit his skill set. That concern was not an immediate consideration as Tebow was not a starter nor was he projected to be in the near future.
During his rookie season, Tebow saw little action. Most of his time was spent holding a clipboard and wearing headphones as he learned the NFL game. Late in the season, veteran quarterback Kyle Orton’s inconsistent play had fans screaming for Tebow to be inserted into the lineup.
sudden success
Starting his second season in Denver, Tebow still trailed Kyle Orton on the depth chart despite starting three games late in the 2010 season and experiencing minor success. however, undeterred, he bided his time waiting for his chance to show what he could do on a professional level.
orton once again played poorly in the first four games of the season and chants of tebow could soon be heard at mile high stadium.
Although he was the second-string quarterback, he was a popular figure and a fan favorite in Denver. Head Coach John Fox was faced with a difficult decision; stay with orton or go with the fan favorite.
for game five, fox knew he had to make a change and chose tebow.
tebow had an immediate impact. a once-sluggish offense came to life. Fox modified his offense to a read option Tebow was familiar with, but the team was rejuvenated anyway.
After securing the starting quarterback position, Tebow leads the team on an eight-game winning streak that lasted until the Broncos played the New England Patriots. they lost the last two games of the season, but a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week qualified the Broncos to make the playoffs.
tebow led his team to victory over the favored pittsburgh steelers, putting them in line to face the new england patriots once again. In the New England game, Tebow was not allowed to run outside or inside, forcing him to be a pocket passer. without the ability to run the ball, the Broncos’ offense was stifled, leading them to lose the first playoff game they had qualified for in several years
betrayal and trade
after experiencing success during his sophomore year in denver and leading the broncos to the playoffs, everyone, including tebow, thought he would be a lock for the starting quarterback next season. however, the loss to the Patriots caused trade rumors to begin to circulate. Although he had been successful, the prospect of landing Peyton Manning as a free agent coupled with continued criticism of his quarterbacking style fueled rumors of trading him.
manager of player operations john elway tried to quell rumors about tebow’s alleged business status by saying he was the team’s future quarterback. But anyone who witnessed his proclamation could tell his heart wasn’t in it, and almost as soon as Peyton Manning officially became a free agent, it was a done deal, Tebow was traded to the New York Jets, thus ending his tenure. mandate in denver.
a new york type moment
the new york jets and their coach rex ryan had a plan for tebow’s unorthodox style of play. unfortunately, it didn’t involve him playing the pure quarterback position. what they envisioned was putting him in a hybrid role of the “wildcat” offense where many teams used a running back at quarterback. the new york version was to use a quarterback in the quarterback position who they didn’t really see as a quarterback (hope i didn’t lose anyone there, had i read that last line multiple times until you get the point). )
the jets developed packages (plays) for tebow to run in the game that were mostly running plays instead of passing them (because they didn’t see him as a true quarterback, now does the above sentence make more sense? ) the plays, as you can guess and probably witnessed, didn’t go well as everyone and their grandparents knew tebow was going to make a running play. defenses just stacked up the defensive line, waited for tebow and got him into the line of scrimmage.
Needless to say, Tebow’s tenure in New York was not highlight material and after the 2012 season he found himself unemployed and looking for a new team again.
patriotic movement
after a less than stellar season in new york, tebow was disappointed but not discouraged. He still felt that he could play in the NFL and was determined to keep trying if a team was willing to give him a chance.
enter bill belichick and the new england patriots. It was believed in football circles that if anyone could turn Tebow into a strong quarterback, it was Belichick.
the patriots let him play the position to see if he really was nfl material. Long story short, he failed to impress the team in training camp and was released before the start of the season. Although he put up decent stats, they were below the standard for an NFL quarterback, so they let him go.
After his release from New England, Tebow still tested the waters of the NFL, but found no takers. He was forced to prematurely retire from the game he loved and had played since he was a little boy in Florida.
For all intents and purposes, his NFL career was over and it was time to seek employment elsewhere. He got a job at ESPN as a college football commentator, and then started playing minor league baseball, hoping to make it to MLB one day.
It was a sad end to a career full of stories and highlights, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
© 2014 tony daniels
comments
rob on August 04, 2020:
this is absurd. The premise here is that TT was NFL QB material, despite his clear inefficiencies, namely throwing the ball and making wise, sharp decisions at that level. this is not the fault of any coach. yes, he settled in the lower levels to play the position in an offensive option. yes, at those levels, particularly in high school (he lived in ponte vedra beach and I saw him many times), a man among boys. you mention bill belichick. his interest in tt didn’t start at the end of the road in new england (who, by the way, had a pretty good starting qb and multiple backups who were smart enough to learn his system. bb, among others, had discussed the potential career of tebow in the nfl throughout college, trying to convince him that he was not a prototypical nfl qb, and that no nfl team would completely retool their entire offense to simply accommodate him, he is no more “special” than any other player. he, tt, refused again and again and again, selfishly and foolishly, to heed his advice to consider fullback or tight end in the nfl. he stubbornly insisted that jesus wanted him to play qb and only qb. who else gets away with it he tt ruined his nfl career not just any coach if he himself didn’t realize his shortcomings at the qb position all along then what a shame if he takes all the credit for his success, he owns d and his faults and god or jesus has nothing to do with it. There are many, many other “good guys” in the NFL. that person does not distinguish it.
jim on June 29, 2020:
some have the arm and some don’t lean and all the training in the world won’t change that. it’s a passing game today in the nfl tebow game will never give you a super bowl trophy
lion on March 23, 2020:
send me tim tebow’s number please
yvonne on January 19, 2020:
His religious beliefs were what really made him fail. I don’t know how that got left out of the story. he was wearing john 3:16 black eye and knelt in prayer to thank god. The NFL made a big deal out of it by telling him that he couldn’t kneel down and pray.
carol m on January 11, 2020:
tim tebow was definitely crossed in my mind. I think it was the duty of the coaches to work on his weaknesses to complete him. they did not and as always happens, the player takes the wrong turn. tebow lived for football, he was a great leader, teammate and a great team player for the gators. this proved to leave a void by leaving the nfl. he did the best he could, but apparently it wasn’t enough for some.
tim, you are loved for your love of god, country, and all that you have done and will do. never forget that. I will be rewarded in the time of the gods.
You gave me great moments when you were playing soccer and you give me encouragement to improve my own life. you rock my man ❤️
david a on December 18, 2019:
i don’t understand after a great college career as coaches in the nfl saying he couldn’t be a good quarterback especially after leading the brocos to the playoffs how many other qbs can do that i think it was because of his support for christ
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peak on November 09, 2019:
mechanics matter
john varley on August 18, 2019:
that’s why the nfl is the worst thing to watch. it’s so boring. boring position players playing boring position games and putting the audience to sleep. i thought tebow would have been a great fit with the jaguars who had a terrible qb on bortles for a long time. anyway – nfl sucks. very boring.
david180 on March 13, 2019: