Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow.
If you don't live under a rock or even pay remote attention to any of the major media outlets and blogs out there, you have surely had the name Tim Tebow bludgeoning you to death for nearly the past decade since he sprung onto the scene with the Florida Gators.
When he signed for the New England Patriots last week, the media once again lost their collective minds like a group of schoolgirls swooning over Justin Bieber in 2010.
It is weird seeing so many grown men in the media losing their mind over an athlete just because he said a few good speeches and is "a good leader," but ESPN and even TSN decided to dedicate a large portion of their newsday to Tim Tebow coverage, ignoring the fact that Tebow may be the Patriots third best passer behind future Hall of Famer Tom Brady and rocket armed Arkansas prospect Ryan Mallett.
Keep in mind this hype was given to Tebow during the beginning of the NBA and NHL Finals and that the NFL is currently in minicamp and Offseason Training Activity stage, a time where you get to see highlights of Tim Tebow throwing footballs wearing a red no contact jersey instead of extra analysis for the NBA and NHL's championship match ups really irked me as after three season in the NFL it is apparent that Tebow is nowhere near the level of quality to be warranting the attention he receives.
Even when CFL teams were clamoring for Tebow's services this winter as he couldn't find an NFL team I was questioning whether or not that was a good idea in the first place.
If a guy who is one of the most popular players in the NFL is a player I wouldn't want to see put on a Roughrider uniform, we have a problem. When that player takes over 10 per cent of the NFL's offseason and in season talking points every year it gets to be even more annoying.
At college, Tim Tebow's hype was all deserved. A dominant hybrid quarterback, Tebow and Urban Meyer laughed their way to a National and Tebow to the Heisman Trophy. At Florida Tebow was the most popular collegiate athlete and a perfect transition from Vince Young and Reggie Bush as the most explosive offensive player at a major program. He was good for the game, and as much as you hate him and thought of his potential as a pro, you feared him if you were a fan of any SEC school or national contender.
Now after one good, but statistically awful season in Denver and a nightmare of a 2012 with the New York Jets that saw Tebow suffer the humiliation of being a gimmick for the entire season in max coverage punt protection on special teams and as a Wildcat quarterback, he is back to haunt our news wires for another season as he moves to the New England Patriots Evil Empire.
All week the majority of the media coverage for the NFL was Tebow oriented despite many of the NFL's teams also being at minicamp. The NFL Network might as well have had a Tebow marathon where they showed his Top Ten Best Direct Punt Snaps of 2012. All of this attention for a player that lets all face it, can barely throw a football.
Tim Tebow is never going to be an elite player in the NFL as a passer. It is time that everyone stops lying to themselves. We knew it in college and some bought into his running back frame and thought he would progress once placed into the NFL talent and coaching pool, but it hasn't panned out yet and I don't think it will ever happen.
In his one good season in Denver when he led the Broncos to the playoffs he had an awful QB rating of 72.9 yet the majority of the media still drank the Tebow Kool-Aid. Everyone "Tebowed" and willingly forgot to bring up the fact they were watching a guy with six interceptions and a 46.5 completion percentage. It was fun and he was good at bringing his team back from the dead at the end of the game and in turn his teammates seemed to play better for him, establishing his reputation as a leader of men.
That didn't stop the Broncos from going and getting Peyton Manning and that didn't stop the Jets and Rex Ryan from starting Mark Sanchez as his career was imploding in front of our very eyes and much of the Jets fanbase and the New York media was clamoring for Tebow. There is a reason for that and the reason is that he just isn't very good despite the fact that everyone wants him to still be a superhero like he was playing against college kids in Florida.
Tebow's squeaky clean image and Christianity ensures that he is going to be a popular figure in the media until his career comes to an end, his highlight reel and winning record will ensure that there will also be a coach or GM that is willing to give him a chance. But it is time to stop paying this much attention to a guy with the talent of a backup to third string quarterback. Did Brad Smith get this much love?
There is always a place for a guy with a good personality and who serves as a positive role model for kids to get more publicity than he deserves because he is a nice guy and is great person, but there are countless examples of guys with high character and more talent in the NFL that get ignored each and every year as the Tebow circle jerk rolls on.
How is that fair? Should all of the positive media coverage in the NFL be directed to Tebow the majority of the time?
The media will keep pumping out the Tebow news, but you know I won't be buying it. Call me a hater, but that is just me.
