If there's one guy in the NFL who will get maximum credit for anything he does well, it's Tim Tebow. However, on the flip side, Tebow is a guy who is also likely to not get the blame for a play that goes wrong. It happened in Denver repeatedly, and it's happening again in New York. Watching tonight's preseason game between the New York Jets and the New York Giants, the announcers repeatedly let Tebow slide when he made a mistake.
It happened to a certain extent in Denver in 2011, especially after he started having all those fourth quarter comebacks that would "win" the games. What always seemed to slide under the radar was terribly underthrown or overthrown balls, staring down receivers, and never keeping his eyes up the field towards potentially open receivers when he started to scramble.
I will say, watching him tonight, he did do some things well. Just like in Denver, in preseason the Jets seemed (at least tonight) to want him to stay in the pocket more. It's possible, with starter Mark Sanchez looking really bad right now, they may see a need for Tebow to try and be the starter later in the season (c'mon, we all know this is happening no matter what). Tebow had some nice completions, especially in in the third quarter on his first few drives.
However, let's understand that he was facing the backups on the Giants defense. Sanchez, against that very scary front four of the Giants, was virtually running for his life throughout much of the first half. Tebow usually had more far more to throw than Sanchez. Plays were able to develop in front of him and he was able, at times, to take advantage of that. However, there were more than a few times when he did something wrong that was either completely overlooked by the announcers or simply blamed on someone else. Let's take a look at the most glaring examples.
* On Tebow's quarterback run in the 3rd quarter on 3rd and 6 on the Giants 36-yard line, Tebow had a guy open (looked like No. 29 Bilal Powell) in the flat to his right. I would assume that was his outlet receiver. The defensive back covering Powell was slow to get over there because he looked like he was waiting to see if Tebow would run (ironically, the Giants player finally committing to covering Powell was what enabled Tebow to run the ball in the first place). Had Tebow seen that developing, a quick pass to Powell would most likely have resulted in an easy first down instead of Tebow playing the hero and running the ball again.
* Possibly the biggest mistake Tebow made was later in the 3rd quarter on that 30-yard incomplete pass to wide receiver Stephen Hill. Hill was wide open starting at the 15-yard line (again because his defensive player stopped to cover a potential Tebow run) and began to wave fruitlessly at Tebow like he was trying to flag down a taxi. When Tebow finally saw him as he he was standing at the goal line and threw him the ball, it landed a yard short despite how much Hill had slowed waiting for the pass. While the announcers gave credit for Tebow for scrambling and "making it happen," it was 100% Tebow's fault for the incompletion. His feet weren't set, he performed a little hop just prior to the throw which didn't help his mechanics, and he didn't square his body properly to make that throw with the velocity that was needed. No matter how big his biceps are, he couldn't make that throw and then amazingly tried to blame the receiver for not coming back to the ball. Tebow had plenty of time to stop, set his feet,and then gun it down there for the touchdown. THAT would have been impressive.
* By the way, on at least three of his completions where I could see the replay he completely stares down his receiver until the guy comes open. That's not going to work when he's playing against a starting defense in the AFC East.
* Lastly, on that 2nd and 10 play around 12:55 mark of the fourth quarter, Tebow threw a slant to Joe McKnight who caught the ball but then fumbled it. While the fumble was ultimately ruled an incomplete pass after a challenge, Tebow was given sympathy yet again for somehow getting the pass off despite getting hit by a defensive lineman at the same time. If I were McKnight, I'd be pissed at Tebow for not rifling that ball in there. It's a slant pass. It has to come in very fast with very specific timing so the receiver has a chance to catch the ball and protect himself from an inevitable hit. While the pass was accurate, Tebow's delivery was slow. I still think Mcknight should have kept ahold of the ball, but Tebow's gotta do a better job with the speed of his delivery.
*By the way, Tebow finished the game 5-14 for 69 yards passing. Could have easily been 9-14 for 120 yards or more.
Argue with me if you want. I'm watching every game Tebow plays in this year because everyone in Denver (including me) is still following the guy. Half root for him, and half root against him. Some still think, despite Peyton Manning starting for the Denver Broncos, that Tebow should have stayed here in Colorado. I hope the guy succeeds, but I hope he does it legitimately with quality quarterback play. Getting patronized and falsely complimented by local announcers only serves to build a reputation that Tebow doesn't actually deserve (yet.)
Julie is a featured NFL contributor for the Yahoo Contributor Network. She endured the Tebowmania that overtook Denver for the past two years and tried to give the guy the benefit of the doubt as a quarterback.
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