Bob Magaw
Footballguy
it sounds like you didn't intend this as too literal a comparison so fair enough, but since you brought it up...I am more referring to people ignoring holes in their game, because of intangibles. Merril Hoge made this point very well on ESPN this morning, debating Tebow with Bayless. The intangibles are nice, but you need tangibles to win titles.Confidence/self esteem and work ethic is a big difference too. Young never recovered from his personal issues.I just think it's Vince Young all over again. Except this Vince Young is white, and loves Jesus.
imo, you could more accurately characterize VY by inverting that statement... his horrible intanglibles (red flags on character, maturity, work ethic, professionalism, leadership, football IQ, etc) and admittedly hinky passing mechanics (though not as grotesque as tebow
) were overlooked largely due to his great success in college, and for that matter, as a pro (great W-L percentage, ROY, two time pro bowler despite being in and out of the lineup), WHEN he wasn't undermining his career with self-inflicted issues...tebow, if anything, is the anti-VY... in terms of intangibles such as all the ones cited immediately above... i would extend this comparison, and call tebow the anti-typical running QB... i'd leave out cam newton as i have heard a lot of positives about his passion for the game and desire to be great... but previous QBs like randall cunningham, pre-mean machine vick & VY were notorious for getting by on their duly noted freakish athleticism, which only got them so far (not only never won a super bowl, none of them ever played in one?)...
i am confident that we agree on one thing... if tebow fails, it won't be because he lacked in ANY way, shape or form related to a lack in intangibles (and that is precisely what VY failed on... i'm not certain he can't redeem himself, as he has done it before, but he will need to change some things about his approach to the game)...
tebow has dominated at every level, from prep to college, and has enjoyed success in limited time as a pro... naturally there is a massive jump in competition to pro level, but i find it odd that SOME people (and this part is addressed to the thread at large) have already written him off as doomed to ever be capable of improvement (or, lets say, enough to make a difference in his long term projection), when that was what he was able to pull off at previous levels, due to his intangibles, work ethic, etc... florida wasn't exactly the best training ground and finishing school for a pro style offense... so he has started four games now, despite this being his second year, didn't have an off-season... it isn't too hard a stretch for me to envision him becoming more adept at taking snaps from center, improving footwork in his drops, progressing in his ability to read defenses, gain better chemistry, rapport and timing with his receiving weapons...
one advantage he could have, as a passer, is that until he proves he can be more proficient as a passer, the opposition will dare him to pass, by stacking eight defenders in the box, spying him with a LB or safety, etc... he SHOULD have more space to work with in the passing game...
i would just add that a very young AND promising nucleus of receiving weapons (ie - decker, demaryius and julius thomas) are both reason to temper expectations for his passing potential in the short term, but also could be cause for longer term optimism (say, for dynasty purposes)...
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Tebow haters, call us when he stops putting up points.