Will Tim Tebow Trade Orange-N-Blue for Black-N-Gold? How Sweet It Would Be

We've all heard the arguments from his detractors (mostly unemployed NFL coaches like Brian Billick or NFL draft gurus who spend a lot of time primping their hair or the beer-bellies in the cheap seats).

He doesn't take snaps from under center, they say.

His throwing motion is too long, they say.

He drops the ball too low on his delivery, they say.

His arm strength is not great, they say.

His running style won't work, they say.

And I suppose this is somewhat understandable. If Tim Tebow has beaten your team's brains out the past four years. If you're not good enough to beat him on the field, well, then, your only recourse is to say he's not an NFL quarterback. And then you can return to your miserable job on Monday morning feeling a little better about yourself.

For those of us fortunate enough to witness his extraordinary performance Friday night in the Sugar Bowl, any lingering doubts surrounding his ability as a successful NFL quarterback were promptly assuaged.

It was the finest QB performance seen in Sugar Bowl history since Michael Vick's magic show in a losing effort to Florida State in 2000.

533 total yards. 482 passing yards. 51 rushing yards. He must be suffering from writer's cramp after rewriting all those record books.

"When it comes to Tim Tebow there are two different types of people," said WGSO's Kenny Trahan this week on New Orleans' best radio sports talk show.

"You either love him...and the other people don't hate him, they're just jealous or envious of him for all the attention he has received, and those are the people who take shots at him and try to put him down and say he's not going to make it and analyze everything and I think there is a degree of envy and jealousy there."

Envy and jealousy. The evil twins.

And it is a shame considering the young man represents everything that is good and decent and right about the game on and off the field.

For those with a hidden agenda regarding Tebow, this column isn't for you.

Go read about cheerleaders or how everything is hunky-dory with the New Orleans Saints run defense.

Life must be nice on Fantasy Island.

Among those without an axe to grind, there is a growing consensus that if Tebow is fortunate enough to land in the right situation (New England or New Orleans, for example) and can sit for a couple of years as he learns the finer points of the game under a Brady or Brees or Manning, he has a chance to prosper as an NFL starting quarterback, a la Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.

ABC 26 Sports Director Ed Daniels said Saturday morning, "Can he (Tebow) play in the National Football League? I think he can but I think the one thing he needs to do is be in a situation where he's not asked to really play quarterback in the NFL for a year or two.

"I think he's got to learn to play the NFL game. At Florida, he worked out of the shotgun. He's not, 3-5 and 7 step drop. He's got to learn how to do that. He's got to shorten his motion. He's got to learn to throw it into tight windows.

"Can he learn all these things? Absolutely yes," said Daniels.

Added Trahan, "No one is a more determined and a harder worker than he is. You won't find a more positive guy and understandably this is a guy somebody is going to take a chance on because of his incredible character and work ethic."

Similar sentiments were expressed not too many years ago about a QB named Drew Brees at the conclusion of his brilliant collegiate career at Purdue.

If you buy into the logic of Tebow's detractors (an angry, sad, bitter lot), Drew Brees would have never been given the chance to start in the NFL; too short, lacks a strong arm, throws the ball with a low trajectory.

And what about Archie Manning? He threw side-armed, didn't he? And Fran Tarkenton was vertically challenged at a little under six feet. Billy Kilmer threw a wobbly ball. Dan Marino couldn't move. And Joe Montana lacked proper mechanics and a gun for an arm.

The Score Takes Care of Itself Jack!

As for Tebow, he said before leaving the Superdome field on Friday night that all he wants is a chance to play the position he's dreamed of playing since he was a kid.

"I hope that I just get the opportunity and the chance to play quarterback at the next level. It's been my goal since I was a little boy and I'm working extremely hard at achieving that goal."

After watching Mark Brunell's woeful performance on Sunday against Carolina, your mind couldn't help but wander back to Tebow's just two nights earlier in a 52-24 thrashing of previously undefeated Cincinnati in New Orleans; and dream about this young Kenny Stabler donning the black-n-gold as Brees' understudy in 2010.

Tebow's critics be damned. Fools, every last one of them.

As per the late great Bill Walsh, the score takes care of itself for those who have paid the price. Time will tell and time is on Tebow's side.