Madden 13 Player Ratings: How Tim Tebow QB Stacks Up Against Mark Sanchez

With the 2012 NFL preseason in full bloom, one of the most oft-debated position battles is between New York Jets quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.

Despite Tebow being used specifically in Wildcat sets and on the punt team so far, many across the nation think Jets head coach Rex Ryan would be better off making a switch at quarterback.

With just about everyone else in the nation weighing in, we've finally got a definitive answer on who's the better player—at least virtually. According to today's release of the full player ratings for EA Sports' Madden NFL 13, Sanchez is the better overall player.

While Tebow comes in with a very respectable 77 overall rating, the former USC standout came in three points better, at 80.

According to an interview Madden ratings head Donny Moore did with Kristian Dyer of Yahoo! Sports, much of Tebow's rating in this year's game came from last year. Moore said the following:

"

Tim Tebow finished in Madden NFL 12 as a 77 OVR, and he starts out Madden NFL 13 as a 77 as well. Tebow's "Deep Accuracy" numbers have increased from last season and his "Carry" rating has lowered based off of his 2011 season metrics.

"

But oftentimes a player having a better overall rating doesn't make him a better virtual player.

With that in mind, here's a full breakdown of how the two quarterbacks stack up against each other ratings-wise:

Passing

Category	Tim Tebow	Mark Sanchez
Awareness	74	78
Throwing Power	87	88
Throwing Accuracy (OVR)	72	86
Short Accuracy	74	86
Medium Accuracy	70	80
Deep Accuracy	73	71

No shocker here, as Sanchez comes out ahead in nearly every category, except deep accuracy. As Moore stated in his interview with Yahoo!, EA used a ton of advanced metrics to put together these ratings.

It also doesn't hurt that the biggest game of Tebow's career, the Denver Broncos' 29-23 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round of last season's playoffs, was predicated on deep bombs.

But if you're a traditionalist that enjoys a drop-back quarterback and short throws like I am, Sanchez is definitely your guy in this year's game.

Rushing

Category	Tim Tebow	Mark Sanchez
Speed	81	69
Agility	88	70
Trucking	86	53
Stiff Arm	82	28
Spin Move	77	60
Juke Move	79	62

I mean, if you're looking for someone on the Jets roster to move to fullback, Tebow might just be your guy.

Unsurprisingly, Tebow dwarfs Sanchez in every single running category by a wide margin and could come into play as a dangerous online quarterback.

Despite Sanchez's better overall statistics, most will find Tebow's rushing prowess makes him the better video-game quarterback. When a play breaks down and all your receivers are covered, it's an amazing tool to be able to scramble with your QB.

If you can harness Tebow's throwing game and manage it well, he could easily become one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in Madden 13.