Just as no one sets out to become a smooth jazz musician, no quarterback sets out to become a game manager. Young guys growing up want to win the Super Bowl like Favre or Elway did; not a single one envisions themselves winning it like Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer did.
The term "game manager" has turned into a backhanded compliment for quarterbacks, almost like saying a woman has a "great personality." It's good to be able to manage games, of course, but it's code for saying the guy has a weak arm, limited mobility, and gets by on short passes and handoffs.
Tim Tebow was not a game manager in 2007. He was a force of nature, taking on a Herculean load in hopes of compensating for an impossibly young and overmatched defense. Only the 20-17 loss to Auburn can fully be blamed on the Gator offense; Florida scored 30 against Georgia and lost late fourth quarter leads against LSU and Michigan thanks to an inability to get stops.
Now in 2008, Tebow has not quite been a force of nature again. His running duties have been reduced drastically to help avoid injuries, and in three of the four games so far Dan Mullen only used a portion of the playbook. The offense has called for Tim more often than not to stay in the safety of the pocket, which in reality hasn't been all that safe thanks to injury on the offensive line.
To make sense of it all, I tried to boil down his performance last weekend to a couple short sentences, so here goes. Against Ole Miss, Tebow mainly stayed in the pocket and only left to avoid rushers. He ran a small number of designed quarterback runs, and unfortunately he overthrew all of his long throws. He was good on the short and medium ones though, especially the quick ones.
Does that sound familiar to you? It did to me. That is almost an exact description of Chris Leak in 2006, and you can throw in the turnover-laced third quarter meltdown in on top of that.
Leak came in and played very well for his age at first, but the constant changing of offensive coordinators and an ill-fitting system his final two years made him inconsistently good. He was kind of like Doug Johnson, only with a completely different personality. Throw out the smashes, and Tebow was Chris Leak.
I will always hold Leak in high esteem for many reasons, but Tebow hit a higher level last year than his predecessor ever did. Ultimately, what we saw last season was not sustainable though; it was a supernova of a year that would likely have burned out if it were attempted again.
This season's change is like when Tiger Woods changed his swing a few years back. He won plenty of majors with his old one, and Tebow won a Heisman with last season's style. Let's not forget though that he first held his bronze trophy with a cast on one hand, a perfect symbol of what kind of toll that season took on him.
Once he can get this year's plan right, they Gators will be back to cruising on offense just as Tiger returned to winning majors. What is that plan, you ask? It's to get more people involved and to lighten the pounding on Tebow.
The second part about Tebow taking fewer hits has not been going as well as planned. Without Jim Tartt in the game, blitz coverage downgrades significantly. Sadly, Tartt likely won't play a full game again thanks to his nagging shoulder injury.
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2 months ago
Great article. I am no Tim Tebow fan but I do think he plays better when you let him play wide open. Tebow is an aggressive quarterback that likes to deliver the blow not wait for it to come. It is a high risk to let him run like he did in 2006 and 2007 but that is who he is. Tebow is still one heck of a quarterback and his competitive nature and instincts will always takeover when the game is on the line.
2 months ago
I certainly agree that his development at a game manager is going to be a key to the offense developing. We have enough playmakers that it's got to be his job to get them the ball. But I also agree with what Meyer said a while back: they've got to "let Timmy be Timmy." We don't want him to get hit every play, but he's not made of glass, either.
Here's hoping Tebow's "bigger and better things" come against LSU or we could be in big trouble.
from 2 months ago
If the overthrows were completions last Saturday, everyone would be raving about his performance.
I think it'd be useful to run plays where he rolls out of the pocket every now and then. It's something they did with Leak in 2006, so I know the coaches are willing to do it. It could compensate for the blitz protection issues as well as get him moving where he's more comfortable.
from 2 months ago
Very true. His numbers were good, and just one deep completion probably could have tipped the game's final result pretty easily.
Seems like rolling out is something Tebow could do to greater effect than most quarterbacks out there. I imagine we'll see more of it now that the protection is thinning.
2 months ago
How can you keep the defense honest when you have no running game though? I thought the problem in the last game was that the Gators were being manhandled on offense and defense. They seemed like the passive team.
I think the reason the offense works when Tebow runs is because there is no real runner outside of Tebow. I am also a firm believer that the one who isn't deliviering is not Tebow. If that was the case teams would not be so focused on stopping Tebow. I think the person who is to "blame" is Percy Harvin.. and ti goes on down the roster. How can our best player be the one most responsible for losing when the opposing team is focused compeltely on taking him out of the game.
I know what youa re going to say.. "but look at Harvin's numbers. He was carrying the team" yeas his stats loo great. But the question is do they look great enough? Does everyone outside of Tebow look good enough considering all the defensive pressure Tebow draws? I don't think they do. I think if Harvin was truly punishing teams for defending Tebow the way they do the opposing defenses would have to no put so much pressure on Tebow.
Let me give you an example. If the opposing defense is blitzing Tebow on every play.. and giving up a certain number of yards to Harvin because of it. There is a certain number of yards that is managable for the team. If Harvin doesn't explode enough the opposing team benefits from guarding Tebow the way they do. And this is what I see happening. Harvin is punsihing them.. but not enough to force them to take pressure off Tebow.. This is true of all the other Gators. Especially their runners. It's as if you have Michale Jordan getting triple teamed in basketball. In basketball there are rules preventing teams from loading up defensively on a player too much. It's calle dillegal defense. This allowed a adomiannt player like Jordan to isolate a defender.. rather than allowing the opposing defens eto compeltely take him out of the game. In football this isn't the case. They can load up on who ever they want. But in basketball Jordan still needed his three point shooters to hit their shots to take pressure off him to operate. How many games do you remember where Steve Kerr hit the three pointer to win the games? If Kerr doesn't hit his three pointers at a high enough frequency this allows the opposing team to get away with defending Jordan too aggressively. taking him out of the game. This is what is happening to Tebow by not having a running game to take pressure off him.
If you are going to blame someone for the Gators losing Tebow is the last person who should be blamed. Look at all the pressure he face din that game. He had no time in the pocket. And I think he is getting hit MORE as a pocket passer than as a running QB. I would rather be a moving target than a sitting duck. Especially in the spread offense where defenders fly through the line and beat on Tebow every play.
I would also like to see a no huddle offense. This would give the Gators more possessions to make up for the time rules change AND I think it would prevent defenses from sitting on the Gators plays. And I think it would benefit Tebow because he sis such a incredibly conditioned athlete. And the Gators are very deep. I think they would wear down defenses more this way. With Tebow being so versatile I think having the no huddle offense would make opposing defenses heads spin. They wouldn't know what Tebow was going to do.. this would make opposing defenses more passive.
from 2 months ago
1) I quote the article: "[The loss] cannot be laid on any one single player's shoulders, least of all Tebow."
2) Florida had 124 rushing yards in the game, which is not great but it's not bad either. The short and intermediate passing game worked well enough that it was like a substitution for running.
When the defense blitzed, they threw to the empty space where the linebackers used to be. When they dropped into coverage, they hit something short so the receiver could hit a gap and go. Only when they got overly ambitious with the passing plays did the blitz become effective against it, and it only takes one 7-10 yard sack to ruin a drive.
Aside from the overthrows on long balls, Tebow was pretty sharp. He had 24 completions and 14 incompletions. Of the 14 incompletions, about 5 were long pass overthrows and 4 were drops by receivers. Connect on the long balls, and he saves the game and becomes a hero.
from 2 months ago
"How can you keep the defense honest when you have no running game though?"
I know you must assume this after their recent play, but the gators have two freshman backs in Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps who are both track star, elusive backs.
They will make you feel embarrassed you ever thought about typing this comments above, as soon as Mullen decides to run the sweep and screen pass with them.
2 months ago
David, what I'm wondering is if the protection is bad, Florida has great blocking from their receivers, the run game is not producing, why are they not running seeing more WR screens? It seems like the perfect solution for the run game (I was a OC for a flag football team once, so I have experience). Is there something I'm missing?
from 2 months ago
I don't know. I know the over the middle game was extremely effective against Ole Miss, and they were ahead of Tennessee and Hawai'i for so much that it wasn't an issue. That leaves only the Miami game where a lot of screens would be needed, but when the offense finally exploded in the fourth quarter it had more to do with changing the protection than changing the passing strategy.
There was nothing wrong with the quick passing game last weekend. It's how Tebow got up to 319 yards on the day. It was protection breakdowns in the slower passing game (as well as overthrows on every deep ball) that was an issue.
2 months ago
Tebow-Up-The-Middle...
2.6 Yards per Carry...
Tebow has more rushing carries (49) than Harvin, Rainey and Demps COMBINED. Tebow averages 2.6 yards per carry this season.
The playmakers average 6.9 yards per carry... Harvin - 21 carries, 6.7 ypc; Rainey - 21 carries, 5.6 ypc; and Demps 6 carries- 12.5 ypc.
We have a host of 5-star playmakers sitting on the bench watching Tebow-Up-the-Middle over and over again. What a waste. We lost four games with this plain-Jane offense last season and we are on target to lose four this year as well.
P.S. RB Moody averages 5.2 yards per carry.
from 2 months ago
Harvin was out injured against Hawai'i and had a limited role against Miami and Tennessee thanks to the coaches being cautious with his return. Ole Miss was his first pain-free game of the season.
Rainey is not an every-down back. He's too small to be, so he has to be a changeup back. His workload so far could be a little bigger, but overall it fits with what he is.
Demps is a true freshman and is basically a duplicate of Rainey. He's not going to get the ball more than 1 or 2 times a game.
Moody went out injured after 2 carries against Hawai'i and after 3 carries against Ole Miss. He did not know the blocking scheme well enough to the coaches' satisfaction to play against Miami.
Any other questions?
from 2 months ago
Dave, my point is that the Mullen offense has not succeeded in distributing the ball to a variety of playmakers in the way the Mike Sanford (Meyer's OC at Utah) offense did... not even close.
Agreed, Moody failed to master blocking schemes. But that failure falls on Mullen and his staff as much as it does on Moody. A coach's job is to teach... coach, as it were.
Instead of dumping the load of the offense on Tebow (at 2.6 yards per carry, it is evident that the defensive co-ordinators have an answer for Tebow-Up-the-Middle), Mullen needs to get his host of playmakers involveed with quick-hitter passing and mis-directiion running plays. We saw a little of that late in the Ole Miss game... too little too late, unfortunately.
from 2 months ago
One other point. I think I am as high on Tebow as you are. I also feel that Mullen needs to "let Tebow be Tebow". That drop-back-pocket-passing crap is painful for me to watch. Mullen has completely changed Tebow's throwing motion. That's a crime in my opinion. That sidearm-sling of Tebow's was a deadly weapon... Tebow had the ball released and on target before most D-backs knew a pass play was happening. Tebow's throwing motion was natural and HIGHLY effective. Mullen's tinkering has screwed it up.
How many perfect spirals did Terry Bradshaw throw in his NFL carreer? None sounds about right. And how many Super bowl rings did Bradshaw win...
from 2 months ago
P.S. Moody has a hurt ankle.
from about 1 month ago
What I want to know is why we never have Tebow and Harvin run the Wild Hog (or Wild Rebel) when we are going to run Tebow anyway. Having Harvin in motion on a fake sweep at least prevents the defense from 100% committing to stopping Tebow up the middle. On the crucial 4th and 1 against Ole Miss, Harvin was on the bench!!! If you are determined to give it to Tebow up the middle, at least use the most electrifying player in college football as a decoy. Worked great for McFadden last year and for Ole Miss against us the entire game.
2 months ago
David, I didn't mean to imply that you were saying these things. I was just speaking in general about Florida's offense and how Tebow has been taking the blame and how his teammates aren't pulling their share of the load IMO, at least if the Gators want to win a national championship.
2 months ago
Good article. I'm a big Florida fan and Tim Tebow fan. I think your overall take is correct. Last year was an anomaly. Tebow got to play like he did in high school. It was fun to watch, he had great stats, but they lost 4 games. With more talent around him now, he needs to revert to a guy who doesn't score 90 rushing TD's in a season. With him as more of a classic field general, they should win more games and I think they will.
People are upset about the Ole Miss game. Florida has the best schedule they will have in a decade and they screwed the pooch on one of the gimmees. Tebow is so deified in Gainesville that nobody wants to tell the truth. He blew the game. Those 3 passes he overthrew that you called "long" weren't long at all. They were 15 to 25 yard touch passes. The type you watch on TV and say, "Hey, my Mom could have hit that guy!". Also, he came within an eyelash of throwing a pick six, which Harvin somehow turned into a touchdown. That was a real bad pass that showed up on the stats as a TD pass.
I'll say this. This is my 3rd year of watching Tebow and I think I've seen the majority of the plays he's run. Incredibly, up until last week I can't recall having seen him make a single mistake or bad play. He only has 6 career interceptions and I'm positive they were all caused by bad routes taken by the receivers and to my knowledge, he's never fumbled either. Finally, the guy had a bad day, that's all that happened.
It should just remind everybody that there was just one perfect man......................
from 2 months ago
The thing you are completely missing, though, is all the pressure Tebow had in the "pocket" in that game. And all the hits he took. I honestly think Tebow is much better off running than being in the pocket without a running game or a line to protect him.
It has nothing to do with being a deity. Tebow is just that good. But it doesn't matter how great you are as a pcket passer (llok at tom Brady in the Superbowl), you need great running and a great Oline to protect you in the pocket.
If you look at the video and see those passes Tebow "over threw" he was backpedaling like crazy and trying to arc the ball over the rush.
The bottom line is that either the Gators need a better Oline and runners to take pressure off Tebow. OR then need a great defense like LSU.
Right now they don't have any of those things. All they have is Tebow.
2 months ago
Those receivers were wide open. If you can't hit those guys 3 (was it 4?) times in one game, it doesn't matter if there was some pressure or not. There's supposed to be some pressure. I know he just had an off game, but at the same time, a fundamental weakness of his was exposed. I don't think Florida fans want to admit that.
Tebow's just not that great a passer. Because he's a North/South running threat with a little speed, he's a devastating talent in the college game. But he won't be playing football on Sundays, unless somehow he makes it as a blocking fullback. It's too bad. He has a great mind for the game, what in basketball they call "court sense". From what I hear, he'll probably be drafter lower than Weurful was. At least he'll get a shot at the pros and a chance to prove the scouts wrong.
2 months ago
"Tebow's just not that great a passer."
lol You obviously have not watched him play. Tebow is a fantastic passer. He is going to dominate in the pros, too. This is just a different era in college football. There is a lot of parity. And the Gators and Tebow are the "hunted".. Teams are playing Tebow like it's the Superbowl every game. It's his teammates that have faltered under that pressure.
Brady wasn't a good passer either when the defense was pouring through his offensive line. And Brady took a lot fewer hits than Tebow did in that game, too.
2 months ago
Hey, I'm just repeating what I heard a pro scout say on the radio. Everybody in Gainesville thought Danny Weurfel walked on water too. He was drafted 100th and never made it as a pro QB. Very few guys do. It's not a knock. I think Tebow is a special college player, one that comes along only once every 10 years or so. I'm just willing to admit he had a bad game Saturday. The AP News writer finally figured it out yesterday.
"The Heisman Trophy winner fumbled once, misfired on four deep passes and was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 play at the Ole Miss 32-yard line in the final minute."
My only argument with that statement is that the passes weren't that deep, except maybe the first one of the game. (Was it Harvin who was wide open down the right sideline?). Also, I'm not sure the fumble was his fault. It was on a handoff. The mistake could have been by the running back ie maybe Tebow was supposed to be faking the handoff, but the RB grabbed at it. I'm willing to give Tebow the benefit of the doubt, because incredibly I've never seen him fumble before, despite so many carries into hitting and stripping linebackers. Also, its not his fault the run got stuffed. That was the offensive line's fault.
They lost the game because his passing touch was off. plain and simple.
2 months ago
"Hey, I'm just repeating what I heard a pro scout say on the radio."
That's the worst possible thing you can do. Those guys don't watch the games either. They just parrot whats omeone else says. Tehy blame Tebow because it makes good drama. They hype you to knock you down.
And they only predict what has happened in the past. Tebow is unlike any player to come before him.
"Everybody in Gainesville thought Danny Weurfel walked on water too. He was drafted 100th and never made it as a pro QB. Very few guys do. It's not a knock. I think Tebow is a special college player, one that comes along only once every 10 years or so. I'm just willing to admit he had a bad game Saturday. The AP News writer finally figured it out yesterday."
Well I watched the game. I saw it with my own eyes. The problem is Tebow had one turnover and they lost the game. That's shows how he has to be perfect to win games in Florida.
And what does Danny Weurful have to do with Tebow? One thing has nothing to do with the other. There's never been a Tim Tebow before.. so how can you compare them?
"They lost the game because his passing touch was off. plain and simple."
But the passing plays weren't his fault either.. he was getting heavily pressured. He had to get the ball over a defender right in his face and another play he was about to get sacked, he had a guy on him.
And since when is 1 turnover in 4 games a bad game? Again, just shows how Tebow has to be perfect all the time to carry that Team.
2 months ago
I think a lot of it comes down to playcalling and execution. Some of the plays take too long to develop and leave Tebow few options on blitzes. There is a lack of outside running plays to Rainey and Demps. And then the players drop passes and fumble, and Tebow has a few overthrows.
Also, the signficance of the injury to Moody cannot be understated. He was beginning to establish a rhythm.
2 months ago
David,
You have taken the premise of my "Reasons Tim Tebow is no longer defending his Heisman" article and said it much more eloquently than I could. I LOVE the line about the symbolism of him accepting the Heisman trophy with a cast on his hand. He was a bit of a "game manager" today and it worked out.
Everything he touched turned to gold his first two years. I'm interested in seeing how we match up vs. LSU now.
Great job!
2 months ago
Tebow shouldn't be just managing the game. He should be controlling it. The reason we lost 4 games last year was b/c of defense. We have a better defense. We should've kept everything else the same.
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