OT - Tebow reportedly to sign with the Patriots
http://tracking.si.com/2013/06/10/patriots-sign-tim-tebow/?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp
I know many people are sick of Tebow news (or just sick with ebola and whatnot), but this seems worth posting to me because it may affect our own Tom Brady. I don't mean to say that Tebow could take the team from Brady, of course, but he might come in as a wildcat QB at times and make the Pats that much more versatile and hard to prepare for.
will have to find another number.... 15 is already none other than our favorite, Ryan Mallet.
McDaniels I'm sure is helping his former first round pick.
The Patriots seem to like these multi-dimensional guys, which is why I thought they might draft Denard Robinson. I think this is a good move by the Patriots. And if I were Tebow, I would be open to the idea of playing an H-back type of role. He's near the end of his rope, and he should feel a little bit lucky to catch on with a championship-caliber team.
Tebow, Hernandez, and Gronk on the field at once would make a pretty fearsome match up for LBs.
right. tebow will do fine as an H-back and with beliceck around it wouldn't surprise me if he comes up with some mr. wizard gadget plays for tebow to run.
New England is reportedly moving to an 11 personnel package based offense next year -- they'll have 11 Tight Ends on the field. Experts expect that this will be very difficult for opposing linebackers to adjust to.
I hope that Tebow has been sufficiently humbled by his experience to consider the H-back/TE/FB/Slot/Wildcat role.
The Patriots are far better with Brady taking every snap and not running any wildcat than they would be if Tebow comes in for a few plays. Can't see this affecting Brady in the least.
If he wants to ever make any meaningful contributions on the football field he needs to face reality and move to H-back.
Belichick supposedly made comments a few weeks back about how he "hated" Tebow, according to various sources, but Bill has vehemently denied them in the past few weeks. Could make for some awkward moments even if there was never any truth to those reports.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/06/bill-belichick-hate-tim-tebow/
Tebow is good for nothing other than constant ESPN Soap Opera drama
Belichek thinks he's good that would be good enough for me.
Why? What about Tebow is so attractive (not hating on the guy, but he hasn't exactly been a world beater in the NFL)?
I think people who ask this as a "serious question" aren't open to the idea of a serious answer, because the topic has been discussed to no end The answer is pretty obvious:
He's a good leader. He can run the ball with some effectiveness. He's a positive role model. He's won games in college and in his only significant playing time in Denver. He sells merchandise. As a second- or third-string quarterback (or an H-back, Wildcat QB, etc.), he offers a lot more versatility and ability than your typical third-stringer or even some second-stringers.
Your reasoning seems to be that he "hasn't exactly been a world beater in the NFL." What backup quarterback in the NFL is a world beater?
"What backup quarterback in the NFL is a world beater?"
This is my point. The poster I responded to said that he "loved" the pick-up. From a strictly football perspective, the Jets cut their 3rd string QB and the Pats picked him up after a frosty free agency response from the rest of the league.
To your other points: being a winner in college doesn't necessarily translate to the NFL, especially if you're a running QB. And his wins in Denver (this we have argued about before) was more a function of kick-ass defense and lights out special teams. Tebow's days in Denver consisted of 3 quarters of offensive incompetence that was overcome in the 4th thanks to the rest of his team keeping the game close (plus a few lucky breaks, a la the Bears' late-game implosion and the Steelers being a walking "Never Forget" banner in the play-offs).
As to his versatility, the Jets tried to use him in various ways with not great results (caveat obviously being the fact that it's the Jets). And Tebow has previously stated that he doesn't want to change positions. Maybe the lack of interest from the rest of the NFL will make him a little more open to the idea. If he switches positions, then he becomes an intriguing question mark. For now, he's a 3rd string QB that makes national headlines when the most incompetent fanchise in the league cuts him.
But you fail to make an argument for what's NOT to love about it. Why shouldn't a fan of the Patriots love the pickup? You're getting a guy with good qualities to be your third-string QB. Virtually anything he can offer (a trick play here or there, some special teams help, etc.) is a significant step up from what you normally get out of your third-string QB.
You're basically dismissing all of his positive qualities and past achievements in favor of saying "He really sucked for that one year in New York."
Denard Robinson hasn't done jack squat in the NFL, and he was quite honestly a worse college QB than Tebow. If the Patriots - or any other team - had drafted him to be their third-string QB, I'm guessing there would be plenty of people who would have "loved" that pick. Why? Because he's not a starter-quality QB, but he adds a dimension that most third-string quarterbacks don't. If any team signed Tebow as a starter and people "loved" the signing, you might have a point. It's basically a no-risk situation with Brady and Mallett ahead of him.
Fair enough that I'm not addressing why I think it's a bad pick-up, and that's because I don't think it's a net negative. I think it's just not something to get excited about. The Pats basically, by your own description, picked up a guy that will be 3rd at his position and may or may not ever see the field as part of some trick play. That sounds like someone who may not even make the 53 man roster (let's face it, the Pats aren't exactly sentimental when it comes to cutting players).
While I don't think it's bad, I'm honestly wondering if Pats fans are thinking that he'll be a significant contributor in some way (I don't mean that in a snide way, I seriously mean it as a "do you expect him to contribute, if so, how?" question). Which is why I asked the guy who said "I'm a Pats fan and I love it" why. Granted, my post sounded more condescending than I meant it to.
As for Denard, I think you're wrong that non-Michigan fans would be really excited about him being signed as a 3rd string QB (he wasn't signed as a QB, isn't on the Jags roster as a QB, and most Michigan fans knew he shouldn't play QB in the NFL). That's like people being excited about Dennis Dixon. What excitement there is for Denard is in large part due to him playing something other than QB. If Tebow switches to RB or something, then that gets to my original question about if Pats fans think he'll contribute and how.
Yes, but at the same time, I'll give any team I'm a fan of a lot of slack when choosing a third-string QB. It's like a late-round baseball draft pick, you don't have a great supply of extremely quality QBs, so you might take a risk on potential or a single skill. The way I look at it is: if the team has to use a third-string QB for any length of time, the season's probably already shot anyways. I'd rather have a Tebow or Randle El type player who might actually play regularly, than some guy who doesn't move off the pine for 2 years and if he does, be ready for him to go 6/13 for 78 yards and a pick. I'd rather have Tebow, who even if forced into the same situation, maybe goes 5/13 with two picks, but contributes to the team otherwise.
This exchange has opened my eyes. I have turned into something I hate: I'm that guy (among many) who keeps Tebow in the news because I get in debates about him when really there's no reason to. You and Magnus are both right that as far as 3rd stringers go, he's a more interesting prospect than most.
The fervor over a 3rd stringer is what confused me. But, like I said, it's national news because people like me get in arguments with people like Magnus over it.
CBS Sports has their take here - LINK
"New England is the place where distractions go to die. With Belichick running that team, Tebow likely will sit quietly in the corner and try to be even more milquetoast than usual in interviews. If he's a third- or fourth-string tight end, there won't be much value in interviewing him anyway."
I admittedly laughed out loud at this portion, but it is actually probably true. Of all the teams in the NFL where Tebow might become less of a distraction, the Patriots would perhaps be the most capable at turning him into something resembling "just a guy". After all, he has no hope at being the starting QB (maybe situational....maybe), even though in interviews after his release from the Jets, I believe that he claimed not to be considering a future at other positions. If he has reconsidered that and is open to being a TE or HB, then this has upside for the Patroits.
Of course, then there is the Onion's take - Patriots Sign New Long Snapper.
Not sure what the chemistry would be like between him and Brady.
The only good thing out of this is that there is no way in hell that Tebow could ever wrestle the job away from Brady. Probably couldn't even take the backup job from Mallett, either.
But finding a way to put Tebow, Hernandez, Gronk, Amendola, and not to mention Brady himself, all on the field simultaneously? Wow, that offense would be lethal.
Why does everyone assume he can actually contribute as a non-QB? When has he ever demonstrated such skills?
I will never trust Tebow throwing the ball, but I do believe he can at least be a contributor on an NFL team, provided he was open to consider learning other positions.
Why don't you trust Tebow throwing the ball? Who throws a better jump pass?
College: 692 carries, 2947 yards, 4.3 yards/carry, 57 touchdowns
NFL: 197 carries, 989 yards, 5.0 yards/carry, 12 touchdowns
How many of those carries were handoffs? How many receptions did he have? If we're going to take rushing statistics completely out of context, why not throw in his 15 nfl fumbles?
All I'm saying is for those claiming he is going to be such a weapon, when has he actually demonstrated those skills? He's demonstrated that he can run from the QB position on scrambles or read-options. But he's never demonstrated that he can take a handoff, hit the right hole and gain positive yards. He's never demonstrated that he can run sharp routes and get open. He has tons of athleticism, there's no doubt about that, and I get bringing him in for a shot in camp to learn/demonstrate those skills. What I don't get is assuming that he's going to be a valuable weapon.
You asked when he has demonstrated non-QB skills. Considering he has basically always been a QB (except, I believe, a few snaps on punt coverage), then the technical answer is "Never" so it's a rhetorical question. From your viewpoint, any runs, passes, or catches he makes after lining up in the QB position are automatically disqualified.
The point is that he can run the ball. He has demonstrated that in college and the NFL. If you choose to disregard relevant examples to answer your question, then you didn't want an answer in the first place.
Think of it in terms of Denard. He has obviously shown he can run the ball as a QB and has all the athleticism you could ask for to be a contributor in the NFL. Yet, he was just a 5th round pick in the draft where teams are more drafting on hope that a guy can contribute not expectation of drafting a weapon. It's a question of whether Denard can contribute because it's tough to change positions once you're at the NFL level. I don't see why people are treating Tebow differently, after all Denard is a far better runner (as a QB) than Tebow ever was.
Tebow's running success as a QB demonstrates athleticism, it doesn't demonstrate the technical skills required to be successful at any other position. It just doesn't. Those stats aren't relevant. It doesn't show how he would run taking a handoff and running between the tackles, let alone how he would be as a receiver or a blocker. I would think you'd get that.
How is Tebow being treated differently? Most recently, Denard was a 5th round pick and Tebow was a free agent pickup that everyone else passed on. I certainly understand that blocking might be an issue, but Tebow has shown he can run the ball (I don't care about the "he's never taken a handoff" issue because that's a really weak argument) and most quarterbacks have great hands because they're handling the ball and catching the ball every day of their lives. Nobody's arguing that he's an NFL superstar waiting to explode, but he can be a contributor if used properly.
Don't see it as a wildcat but thinking that maybe Belicheck finally gets through to Tebow that he has zero future as a QB and if he wants to be a good teammate to switch positions which will help his team win
ESPN is having a collective Tebowgasm, and Skip Bayless has left his physical body, ascending to Sovngarde, where he shall feast forever amongst the heroes of old.
I wanna make bank, bro!
Belichick will spend the minicamps teaching Tebow how to block as a H-Back or TE. If Tebow complains, he will be cut. The Pats utilize the "no-guarantee" feature of NFL player contracts liberally.
If I'm reading Belichick's mind right, he won't teach him anything. He hasn't got the time, nor does he have the need.
He picked up Tebow after every other team passed on him. He wasn't going to pick up Tebow until the guy had both gotten the hint that he was unwanted AND had a chip on his shoulder. Why? Because then both sides approach camp knowing this is literally Timmeh's last chance to play. At that point, I imagine the conversation goes like this:
"Are you willing to do anything to see the field?"
"Sure, coach."
"Good. You're a TE/FB hybrid now; learn to block. Study fundamentals on YouTube or hire a coach; whatever, I don't care how you do it. Show up to camp ready to play. If you don't, you're cut. See you in X weeks."
I say this, because this is pretty much exactly what he did to Tom Brady when he was a rookie (told him to work on his quickness and forgot about him). The guy doesn't baby his players. He treats them like adults and expects them to act like it. The rest is up to Tebow.
It's the ultimate Moneyball bet -- take a guy with more talent than chances and let him put the pressure on himself to prove everyone wrong. If he fails, well, the Pats didn't give up much of anything to acquire him. If he succeeds, they get production for cheap.
/s
Not only this, but we also can look forward to every 1-2 plays he is in on playing on a continous loop during the commentary.
Brady can just remind him that his Wolverines whooped his ass in the Crapitol One Bowl game!
...or Brady could say "I beat you in the playoffs two seasons ago."