Tim Tebow Will Be a Good Pro Quarterback; Donovan McNabb Showed Me How

In the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the BCS Championship Game, so-called college and professional experts spoke at length about how Oklahoma's Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford might be the top overall pick if he leaves school.

The flip side of the coin has been Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. He now has two National Championship rings to his credit and his own Heisman Trophy. But these same experts, who say he might be the best thing to happen to college football since the facemask was put on the helmet, believe he won't be a quarterback on Sundays.

Too much of his game is dependant on his legs, they say. He runs too much; he'll never be durable in the NFL if he runs that much.

His accuracy isn't good enough. He doesn't lead his receivers well enough, they say.

When I think of Tim Tebow, there are three recent quarterbacks that have become professionals that I think of as comparing favorably to Tebow in one way or another.

First, I think of former Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey. Dorsey, like Tebow, did nothing but win in college. He was surrounded by superior talent to what his opponents put on the field almost every week, and he delivered with big time performances in big time games.

Where the comparison to Dorsey falls apart, though, is Dorsey was as mobile as setting concrete. He also showed just about as much emotion on the field as that same pavement.

Tebow, while being statistically a bigger winner, is as much the emotional rock of Florida as he is the leading performer. He is also as good as any quarterback since perhaps Nebraska's Tommy Frazier at making plays with his legs, killing the Dorsey school of thought.

The second college quarterback that comes to mind is Michael Vick. Not only did he share Tebow's left-handed delivery, but he was the central figure in Virginia Tech's running game. Like Tebow, if a play needed to happen, Vick's legs could often make a play happen easier than his arm.

But the Vick comparisons are thinner than the Dorsey ideas. First, and I won't waste much time talking about it, but there is a substantial character difference. Vick's in jail as a criminal; Tebow goes there to share his Christian witness.

But Vick was a far less accomplished passer than Tebow, and was far more electrifying with his legs. Tebow is considered a better fit in the NFL as an H-Back because he runs people over, while Vick ran his 40 in the 4.2 range. So the Vick comparison is too thin to carry weight.

There is one quarterback that had a similarly outstanding collegiate career that also had questions about his position (indeed, even his sport) of best ability as a pro. Syracuse's Donovan McNabb was the Big East Conference's Player of the Decade for the 1990s. He was an excellent running quarterback, who grew to understand when to throw and when to tuck and run.

But McNabb had questions about which sport he should play. He attended Syracuse for two specific reasons: They would let him stay at quarterback, and the quality of their basketball program.

After his numerous Pro Bowl and NFC Championship Game appearances, and his one trip to the Super Bowl, many fans forget that McNabb played a crucial role off the bench on a Syracuse that made the Final Four.

McNabb was enough of a leader at 'Cuse that he elevated himself to the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, after the Cleveland Browns selected Tim Couch. He ended his college career with 77 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns.

He would rush for just short of 1,500 yards in his four year college career, and showed that his abilities as a guard on the hardwood translated well onto the grass in Philly.

Tebow and McNabb have a more similar skill set than many fans will remember. While the media is justifiably enamored with Tebow's remarkable career, he has already posted numbers comparable to those of McNabb's four-year career in just three.

Tebow has 67 passing and 43 rushing touchdowns in his career, and has over 2,000 rushing yards. He also has three things McNabb doesn't: two Championship rings and a Heisman.

The fiery personality that has helped McNabb become an effective leader with the Eagles is similar to that of Tebow. When you look at the great quarterbacks in the NFL, especially those that are winning Super Bowls, there aren't many not named Manning that aren't emotional on the field.

Also consider the thin amount of talent at skill positions in the NFL. At Florida, Tebow has two running backs that are world class track athletes. How many receivers or backs in the NFL can run a 10.1 in the 100 meter dash?

Tebow's got two, maybe three. So to say he underthrows his receivers could be read as much as a statement of quality in the skill position players around Tebow as it could be an indictment of his throwing abilities.

Tebow also has a passion to learn, to be taught, and to improve. When he called in to ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper's radio show to ask, point blank, what he needed to do to become a better quarterback prospect for the NFL, he showed that he has no issue asking tough questions and his self-awareness is at the level many professionals don't reach until they've been retired for five years.

If McNabb can take his skills from the basketball courts at Mt. Carmel High School to the turf at Syracuse to the Super Bowl with the Eagles, what's to say Tebow can't do the same?

If he can line up and take the best shots of anyone and everyone in the SEC, is that something that should lead us to argue against durability or something that should be admired?

These same experts, who's paychecks make them think that even the best players have enough flaws to make an uneducated fan wonder if there will ever be another great player, told us that Adrian Peterson runs too tall. They questioned Atlanta's selecting Matt Ryan. And they praised Alex Smith for his brains and skills, elevating one of Urban Meyer's former quarterbacks to the top overall pick.

While San Francisco regrets smith, Atlanta and Minnesota are thrilled they picked studs rather than read the over analysis of the pundits.

In my mind, if McNabb can do it, why can't Tebow?