Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago

Injury reinforces concerns about Broncos Tebow 

By Les Carpenter, Yahoo! Sports
Aug 19, 6:22 pm EDT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. There is something hypnotic about Tim Tebow(notes) that makes otherwise sensible football people grow weak. He stands poised, shaking hands with palms that could break granite. He smiles, never using first names. Its always Mister and Maam. It makes them want to believe.

And it lulls them into overlooking the barriers set by those who have evaluated his college game tapes; those who say his style of throwing the ball is too cumbersome to translate to the professional game and find his headfirst plunges into the chests of tacklers as a great way to get hurt rather than a heroic display of manhood.

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But the men dazzled by Tebow see what they want a player so determined to win that he will take a concussion to get a first down they forget such recklessness has a price.

Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is smitten by Tebow. In April Denver gave up second-, third- and fourth-round picks in this years NFL draft to move up into the first round to take him. In doing this, McDaniels essentially tied his entire Broncos legacy to the whim that Tebow, regardless of his football flaws, would find ways to win.

Then in his first exhibition game Sunday night, Tebow did the very thing Tebow did all those wonderful Saturdays at the University of Florida. He barreled into the end zone on the games final, useless play, knocking flat two Cincinnati Bengals one of whom rolled on the ground for several seconds. It was the kind of move those football men adore.

A mans play.

Only it appears Tebow may have gotten hurt on the play, injuring his side or lower ribs its hard to tell. On Tuesday, the first day of practices after the game, he threw passes but did not run sprints. On Wednesday he didnt last past the conditioning drills, clutching his side and eventually leaving the field. On Thursday he never came out for practice.

Its believed the injury is not severe, though the organization is saying very little. Still, even a mild injury to Tebow is big news. His history of brushing aside pain is legendary. In high school he played a game on a broken leg. At Florida he practiced a day after breaking his hand in the Florida State game. He even played, unwisely, two weeks after suffering a significant concussion. He does not miss practice.

And so a month into his NFL career, before a real game has been played, the worst fears about Tebow have been realized. The things that made him great at Florida wont work in the NFL. Professional football players arent as easy to run over as those in college. Theyre too big. Too strong. Like Vince Young(notes), Michael Vick(notes) and Steve McNair(notes) learned before, quarterbacks who rely too much on running will get beaten up.

On Thursday McDaniels was asked about this. The coach smiled.

He wasnt in position the other night to do anything other than what he did, McDaniels said. Had he not tried to get it in [the end zone] on the last play of the game Im sure that would have been a bigger story.

Later he added: I think what he did the other night I hope all our guys would have done no matter who it was.

When someone suggested that perhaps Tebow will be the target of defensive players looking to injure him, McDaniels shook his head.

They should probably be careful if they do that, he said. I think the other guy got knocked out. You know [Tebows] a big guy. Hes 245 pounds. He can take care of himself.

But there have already been a ton of questions about Tebow and his game, enough concerns in some observers minds to think hell never be much of an NFL quarterback. While he worked hard in the spring to correct the hitch in his delivery, he reverted to the old habit in the preseason game against Cincinnati. He seemed to be thinking too much instead of throwing and the Bengals defenders seized upon his hesitation, hitting him several times. And then on his one heroic, old college play (with the Broncos trailing by 16 points at the time), the very thing thats supposed to make him a winner in the NFL has put his second exhibition game in doubt.

And now what? Does he alter his style? Can he? Can Tim Tebow really become someone other than who he has been for most of his life up to the NFL? The short answer is probably not. Nor does it seem that McDaniels wants to change his quarterback too much. There is something about a player unafraid of anything that coaches crave.

Before the injury there was a sense around the Broncos that McDaniels was close to moving Tebow from the third string to second, passing Brady Quinn(notes). Then he would install plays similar to the Wildcat for his prodigy to run. McDaniels would not confirm this when asked about it earlier in the week, but the smirk on his lips was an answer enough.

Maybe this injury is an anomaly. Perhaps Tebow comes back in a day and never gets hurt again.

But until that happens he remains the college star whose game wont work in the NFL.


UserPostedImage
TheEngineer
14 years ago
Pretty tough article on Tebow. But I do think he's been thrown in the deep end a bit too soon. He isn't ready to be the primary backup yet. Though Quinn is pretty awful.
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Packers_Finland
14 years ago
Abdul Hodge kill this bitach.

Seriously though I hope the Broncos are smart enough to keep Tebow as a third stringer and let his injuries heal properly. I hope Tebow pans out and is a solid QB in the league.
This is a placeholder
14 years ago
I'll pray for his speedy recovery.
UserPostedImage
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packerfanoutwest (9h) : Jaire Alexander says he has a torn PCL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : Even with the context it's ... what?
Mucky Tundra (20-Nov) : Matt LaFleur without context: “I don’t wanna pat you on the butt and you poop in my hand.”
beast (20-Nov) : We brought in a former Packers OL coach to help evaluate OL as a scout
beast (20-Nov) : Jets have been pretty good at picking DL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He landed good players thanks to high draft slot. He isn't good.
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He can shove his knowledge up his ass. He knows nothing.
beast (20-Nov) : More knowledge, just like bring in the Jets head coach
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : What? Why? Huh?
beast (19-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers might to try to bring Douglas in through Milt Hendrickson/Ravens connections
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : The Jets fired Joe Douglas, per sources
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Jets are a mess......
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Pretty sure Jets fired their scouting staff and just pluck former Packers.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Jets sign Anders Carlson to their 53.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : When you cycle the weeks, the total over remains for season. But you get your W/L for that selected week. Confusing.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the totals are accurate..nrvrtmind
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : I don't follow what you are saying. The totals are not the same as last week.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : ok so then wht are the totals the same as last week?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : NFL Pick'em is auto updated when NFL Scores tab is clicked
Martha Careful (19-Nov) : The offense was OK. Let's not forget the Bear defense is very very good.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Who updates the leaderboard on NFLPickem?
beast (19-Nov) : Has the Packers offense been worse since the former Jets coach joined the Packers?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Offense gets his ass in gear, this could be good.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Backup QB helped with three wins. Special Teams contributed to three wins.
bboystyle (18-Nov) : Lions played outside thats why. They scored 16 and 17 in the only 2 outside games this year
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : The rest of the NFL is catching up to Packers ... kicking is an issue throughout league
packerfanoutwest (18-Nov) : Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew 'we were going to block' Bears' game-winning field goal attempt
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Lions seem to be throttling everyone, but only (only) got 24 lol maybe the rain is why
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Packers vs Lions game doesn't seem so bad.
beast (18-Nov) : Dennis Green "They are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook!"
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : comment of the day Z2Cool "Bears better than we want to admit. Packers worse than we think. It's facts."
Mucky Tundra (17-Nov) : my worst case scenario: Bears fix their oline and get a coach like Johnson from the Lions and his scheme
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Bears get OL fixed amd we might have a problem
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Pretty sure they already have scouting reports on guys who aren't even starting for their college team. The future is now for me.
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : I tend to let Gute and Co. Worry about the future.
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Jaire and Evans Williams are both ACTIVE! Good news.
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : The badgers really need to change the whole offensive scheme. No draws no screens plus the quarterback is marginal
Cheesey (17-Nov) : If the Badgers had a decent QB, they would have won. The guy can't hit a wide open receiver
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : chop block
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : there was a very questionable job Block call that upon viewing replay was very borderline
beast (17-Nov) : How so? (I didn't watch)
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Badgers got hosed vs Oregon
packerfanoutwest (16-Nov) : damn,he hasn't played since week 2
Mucky Tundra (15-Nov) : poor guy can't catch a break
wpr (15-Nov) : wow. That three different things for the kid.
Zero2Cool (15-Nov) : MarShawn Lloyd has appendicitis according to Matt LaFleur.
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