Tim Tebow: Breaking Down Why the Denver Broncos QB Will Never Succeed in the NFL

Love him or hate him, Tim Tebow will never be a starting quarterback in the NFL. At least not a good one.

You might think that's just my opinion as a fan of the NFL, but that's not the case.

Having been a consulting scout to two NFL personnel executives and after spending three years scouting in the Arena Football League and coaching quarterbacks at the high school and minor league levels, evaluating quarterbacks is what I do. And I do it well.

Before the media jumped on Matt Ryan, I wrote that he would become the "next Tom Brady."

That's not to say I'm smarter than Josh McDaniels, the Denver Bronco head coach who drafted Tim Tebow in the first round, it's just to say that this article is not from your in-house fan boy hoping to stir up comments or reads based on emotion.

My personal feeling toward Tim Tebow is that he's a great young man with high character and integrity. However, some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history were horrible people off the field. Being a great person does not guarantee success, no matter how much we want it to.

In preparing for the 2010 NFL draft, my team at New Era Scouting worked up three separate 22-personnel game films of Tebow's senior season at Florida. For those who may not be familiar with the term 22-personnel, this means film that is shot from the end zones or high above the sideline so the user can see all 22 players on the field in one shot.

Our findings at the time left us wanting, in extreme ways. Tebow's performance on the field at Florida was less than first-round material. In fact, we rated him our No. 53 player overall.

Below is a scouting report completed by myself on Tebow before the 2010 NFL draft. This report covers the basic needs of a quarterback, whether through fundamentals or instinct. The report has been updated to include film study of Tebow's rookie season.

Accuracy: Can hit moving targets in stride on the numbers consistently throughout all three levels when he has a clear vision and the time to set his feet. Does underthrow the intermediate pass too often, making it a difficult catch for his receiver. Struggles to throw the receiver open, does not see the windows in coverage before they appear. Tebow's deep accuracy is better than his short-range, which points to possible timing issues in his delivery and his footwork mechanics. Tebow has been very poor when throwing to the boundary, hitting on just 30% of passes we viewed. Grade: Negative

Arm Strength: Has enough arm strength to put the ball on a line fifty yards downfield in to the wind, as seen in Mobile at the 2010 Senior Bowl. Can put his body in to a throw and get it on a rope in between the numbers. The sideline passes take a little too long to reach the receiver, but he has an average NFL arm when viewing his ability on all three levels—short, medium and long. Tebow does throw a nice deep ball that receivers can easily run under. His deep eight patterns are thrown with good zip and a tight spiral. Grade: Positive

Athleticism/Mobility: Has plenty of experience as a runner because of the offense he played in throughout his tenure at Florida. Has a bruising, fullback type running style. Not as mobile as one would believe when looking at the numbers, lacks explosion and agility in the open field. Has good vision when running the ball and is able to find clear running lanes. Does not move well in the pocket to set up the throw, instead looks to pull the ball down and run. Grade: Positive

Decision Making: Will go through multiple reads and maximize his time in the pocket. Does not give up on a play too soon. Likes to take risks, but they are calculated and safe, not reckless. Just 16 career interceptions despite nearly 1,000 passing attempts during his college career. Tebow is not a reckless passer. He is thorough and methodical in his approach and his reads, however he can take too long to diagnose the play and must become faster at reading and reacting. Grade: Negative

Field Vision: After playing under a single read offense for four years, Tebow had very little experience with diagnosing a defense and seeing the whole field when he entered the NFL. Tebow's rookie season showed impressive development in locating coverage and anticipating windows. Grade: Negative

Mechanics: Very long, looping release that starts beneath his waist and makes a big circle behind his body before the ball reaches his ear hole. Does not have a smooth release, inconsistent and choppy which ends with a lot of wobblers. Is a natural athlete however that improved his mechanics as the week progressed at the Senior Bowl. Tebow's mechanics improved as a rookie in the NFL, as he worked to bring the ball higher to his ear during his drop steps. His feet looked faster in taking his drops, and was more consistent in foot placement and distance in his drop steps. Tebow still makes fundamental mistakes that high school quarterbacks are taught—balance in his drop step, how to shuffle his feet and slide up in the pocket, getting equal depth in his drops, making his first step longer to get away from the line of scrimmage. Grade: Negative

Pocket Awareness/Poise: Has a good feel for the action around him, does a nice job of getting the ball out quickly. Will stand his ground in the throwing position with a defender bearing down on him. Tough competitor in the pocket that is not afraid to take hits. Grade: Positive

Touch: Showed surprising ability to put the ball in a bucket throwing over a defender. Will throw the ball short at times, but can really lay it in there when he has time to set his body up for the throw. Has much better touch when throwing deep and to the middle of the field. Struggles to drop the ball in tight windows when throwing outside, which is a sign of mechanical issues in his release points. Grade: Negative

The above is a clean, thorough review in an unbiased look at what Tim Tebow's positives and negatives are. In this instance I've gone through and marked "positive" and "negative" on each attribute, grading Tebow against a standard held to play the position in the NFL.

As you can see, the negatives outweigh the positives.

Mechanical issues may seem like something you can fix, but imagine me telling you to walk a different way after you've walked this one way for 22 years. Or being asked to put your shoes on in the opposite order you have always put them on. Sure, you can do it if you have time to think about it. But if I told you I was giving you five seconds to put your shoes on in a way different than you have always done, how many times would you revert back to your old method?

Tebow's throwing errors and issues are ingrained in his DNA. How he holds the football, how he throws the football and his run/stay instincts are programmed in. The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" applies here.

Tebow is the old dog, and expecting him to ever be more than a gimmick quarterback is foolish.