Tim Tebow vs. Carson Palmer: Neither QB Should Be Starting in NFL

How much the Raiders gave up for Palmer is almost irrelevant at this point.

The bottom line is that judging by his recent history, Carson Palmer has not played at the level that a starting NFL quarterback needs to.

Palmer can no longer rely on his rocket arm to sling it all over the field. Changing the way you play the game at over 30 years old is very difficult to do, which is why you have seen Carson's interception numbers rise. 

Perhaps Palmer will learn to tune his game to the limitations of his arm, but at this point, Carson Palmer has not played anywhere close to an average NFL quarterback.

If you add the fact that he is learning an entirely new offense and is trying to develop a chemistry with a completely new group of receivers, it is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they don't have much of a choice at this point.

Palmer at least resembles an NFL quarterback. Tebow has no business being on an NFL football field at this point. He is simply not ready.

When I say that Tebow is not ready, I don't mean it's just that his mechanics are still wrong or he is still learning the offense. Tebow is not doing the most basic things a quarterback needs to do at the NFL level.

Tebow cannot pick up blitzes or recognize the most basic coverages. He does not know when to get rid of the football or move in the pocket. He cannot protect himself, as he has taken an alarming amount of hits. But the most frightening part of Tebow's game is his inability to throw with anticipation. 

If you go back to the Chris Houston pick-six last week, you saw a glaring example of how Tebow throws "at" receivers, not where they are going to be. Had he thrown that ball to where the receiver was going to be in his curl route, the ball probably would have been caught. Instead, it was six points the other way. 

Tebow would have gotten away with this kind of play in high school and college, but because of his inability to do the most basic things required of an NFL quarterback, he belongs on the bench.