Tim Tebow: How He Will Succeed in the NFL

I want Tim Tebow to succeed.

This is coming from a writer who has no connection to the Denver Broncos and who also thinks that Denver is made every wrong move possible since the firing of Mike Shanahan (after the completion of the 2008 season) and who believes, with conviction, that Denver will be picking in the top eight of the 2011 NFL draft.

I never liked Tebow much in college, mostly because I despise the University of Florida and every one of its fans. The Tebow mania was nauseating to watch, and the media, more or less, forced this kid onto college football fans to the point that most of the country was sickened by him.

The good thing about watching UF losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship game was the relief that the media could now stop talking about this kid and all the supposed greatness he brought to college football.

His religious beliefs were annoying to hear, his so-called heart was duplicated by mostly every other quarterback in the NCAA level, and he came off as an egotistical little bastard (for instance, who in the hell would ever air a commercial with their mother and put it on during the Super Bowl?).

That being said, I want Tebow to survive in the NFL, because I do think that he's a good role model. 

There were good and bad things about Tebow being picked by the Broncos in April's draft.

The good thing: Tebow was picked by one of the better quarterback coaches in the NFL in Josh McDaniels. McD's human relations could use some work, but he is a good coach that turned Matt Cassel into a near-Pro Bowler and resurrected Kyle Orton to the point where he didn't resemble a 6'5" heap of dog shit.

The bad thing: Tebow shouldn't be a quarterback in the NFL, and he shouldn't be trained to be one.

My original hope for Tebow before the draft started was to get picked (probably in the second or third round) by an already superior team with a good coach and good foundation: New England, Indianapolis, New York Giants...maybe even a lesser good team like Green Bay or Miami. 

Said team would turn him into an H-back-type player. He would be able to contribute out of the backfield through runs or lining up as a split end. He would have an already good quarterback throwing to him so he didn't have to do a lot of work. He could contribute immediately. He could run in goal-line packages...basically he could do everything that he had already been doing at Florida the previous four seasons.

He would be a semi-star for a team like this. He could touch the ball 10 to 15 times a day and basically live out his career giving inspired speeches and continuing his winning streak.

The worst place he could possibly go is to somewhere like Denver. 

I understand that McD could somehow figure this whole mess out and send the Broncos into the playoffs. But the unfortunate thing is that it probably wasn't going to happen.

The Broncos look to be in semi-rebuilding mode. They have some good pieces, but they don't have it all together. They did have a Pro Bowl quarterback (Jay Cutler; he throws a lot of INTs, but he did make the Pro Bowl) and one of the top five AFC wide receivers in Brandon Marshall...but both those guys are off the team now.

Now there is Orton and Brady Quinn, an average running back in Knowshon Moreno, and a couple rookie wideouts.

And everybody is looking at Tebow now.

Tebow isn't a pro QB. He's an accelerated running back that Denver is trying to turn into a drop-back guy. Look how well that went for Mike Vick and Vince Young—two guys who are both much, much better athletes than Tebow but who could never learn the drop-back style.

It's very hard to teach a run-first QB how to be a pass-first one. The best quarterbacks in the NFL had been dropping back since they were in middle school: Manning brothers, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees...none of these guys are run-first quarterbacks.

It's nearly impossible to teach Tebow how to play like Brady and Manning in, what, eight months? A year? However long until Denver fans are throwing rocks at the owner's house and begging coaches to start him.

At Florida, Tebow relied on heart, strength, and the fact that the UF offense was loaded like a goddamn shotgun. "Heart" and "passion" don't exist in the NFL. Those traits are replaced with things like speed, strength, and mechanics.

What's the solution here?

The solution is for them to change Tebow around. Broncos coaches need to stop trying, right now, to make Tebow into a quarterback. It will be a complete waste if they do. He will never be a natural quarterback in this league.

Tebow will be effective only if they get him out in the open. He would be terrific out in the open, with the ball in his hands, with one man left between him in the end zone. Remember that terrific play during his first preseason game in the fourth quarter: He runs out of the pocket, meets two defenders at the goal line, and plows them over for the score. 

That's how he will make his mark in the NFL.