The Football Fan Spot

It was roughly halfway through the 4th quarter of yesterday’s Bears/Broncos game. I sat there wondering, was there any possible way to spin Tebow’s performance that didn’t make him look completely awful. It’s tough to do when a quarterback is 3 of 16 and losing 10-0 at home to a Caleb Hanie and Marion Barber led Bears team that just lost at home to the Chiefs.

Some of that good be blamed on his receivers. His receivers combined to drop about 5 easy passes, and a few more that would have been tough catches, but still hit their hands. Demaryius Thomas had at least 3 drops, including an easy, long touchdown go right through his hands. You could also chalk some of it up to good defense by the Bears. The Bears’ defensive scheme was one unlike anything Tebow has ever seen. You could also chalk it up to his youth. He was in his 11th start. He was allowed to have a bad game. But there was no way to spin it positively for Tebow. He was terrible. And then Tebow reminded me why I love him. I didn’t need to spin it positively. He did that for me.

What Tebow did in the last half of the 4th quarter and overtime yesterday was beyond words. There aren’t words to describe it. It was “Tebow.” Tebow was 18 of his last 24, to finish a modest 21 of 40 for 236 yards, 1 touchdown, and a pick, but what he did late in that game was anything but a modest performance.

Tebow led a touchdown drive down 10-0 with 4:34 left in the 4th quarter, going 7 for 7 and picking up all 63 yards by himself. Through the air. But with 2:08 left on the clock and no timeouts down 10-7, a win still seemed like a long shot as the Broncos would have to go for the onside kick. That drive was fun to watch, but Tebow would eventually lose. Or so it seemed.

It seemed even more like a long shot when the Broncos didn’t recover the onside kick. The ball hung in the air for a long time and a Bronco player was able to get a hand on it, but the Bears were able to recover. And it seemed like Tebow mania was over, ending the way it started, with an onside recovery in Miami. It was fun while it lasted, but it couldn’t be kept up. Everything regresses towards the mean. Everything becomes logical again.

Best case scenario, the Tebow would get the ball back on his own 20 with less than 20 seconds left needing to drive at least 40 yards and stop the clock to even give Matt Prater a shot at a ridiculously long field goal. Even Tebow couldn’t do that. And then it happened. Marion Barber ran out of bounds! The clock stopped!!! There was hope!!! The Broncos got the 3 and out they needed and gave Tebow the ball back with 53 seconds left on the clock at his own 20, needing to drive at least 40 yards and stop the clock to set Prater up for a prayer of a field goal.  It wouldn’t be easy, but it became possible.

And that was exactly what Tebow did. He led them 39 yards on 3 of 5 passing with a scramble out of bounds for 1 to stop the clock. But it would still take a career high 59 yard field goal by Matt Prater to even send it to overtime. At this point, however, there was no doubt in my mind. I was a believer again. I don’t think there was any doubt in Tebow’s mind, in Prater’s mind, in John Fox’s mind, heck (I would say hell, but that doesn’t seem fitting in an article about Tebow) I bet the Bears even knew it was going in. That’s the power of Tebow. He makes you believe in the unbelievable. And what everyone expecting happened, Prater drained it, down the middle. He probably could have made it from 65+ plus if he needed to.

There was still overtime, but that seemed like a formality after what had just happened. The Broncos had Tebow. They would surely win the coin toss and drive all the way down field to score and win their 3rd overtime game in 8 games (3-0). But the Bears got the ball on the coin toss.

They drove downfield and the way the Bears drove down the field was crazy. They were supposed to be flat coming into overtime. How could they not after what had just happened? They were on the plane home enjoying a win and an end to Tebowmania, at least mentally they were, and then all of a sudden they had to play overtime.  Instead, Caleb Hanie turned a near sack into a completion for a sizeable gain off his back foot, Marion Barber (the goat from regulation) made a sensational diving catch. Even Roy Williams made a catch. It was a miracle!

They drove all the way down into field goal range with one of the league’s best kickers, Robbie Gould warming up, after nailing a 57 yarder earlier in the game. At the Broncos’ 38, a field goal would have been 55 or 56 yards. But you know the Broncos kept believing. The next play was a Marion Barber run, he got 5 yards, which would have made it a very makeable field goal for Gould and he almost broke it for more. But that didn’t happen. He fumbled. Wesley Woodyard stripped it and the Broncos had the ball.  And Tebow took that ball and he drove it, all the way down to the Chicago 33 yard line, setting up Prater for a 51 yard field goal, right down the middle. Ball game.

It was insane. That win was literally impossible. In order for it to happen, Tebow, who was 3 of 16, had to lead 3 scoring drives, his defense had to get a 3 and out, and Marion Barber had to run out of bounds, stop the clock, and fumble in overtime. The odds of all that happening had to be even less than the Red Sox missing the playoffs in September (oh…forgot about that…damnit!). But it happened. It wasn’t logical. It was Tebow.

If you think the only thing Tebow had to do with the game was the 18 of 24 he was in the last 4 minutes of the 4th and overtime, you’re an idiot. I’m sorry. You are. That doesn’t just happen. I’m not saying it was divine intervention, but that doesn’t just happen, especially not after all the crazy ways Tebow has won already this season. A quarterback who completes less than 50% of his passes doesn’t just go 7-1 with a team that was 6-22 in their last 28 under the last quarterback. Marion Barber doesn’t just run out of bounds there. The Broncos don’t just win the way they did yesterday, unless they have a leader who possesses something that I’m not even sure we have a word for. It’s that thing we just refer to as “it.” Intangibles exist.

If you disagree, try to convince me that the Broncos win that game if Kyle Orton is the quarterback. Kyle Orton was on pace to break the single season passing yards record last year on a 3-10 team. There is absolutely nothing about Kyle Orton that inspires his teammates, that makes his teammates believe in the unbelievable. Because when you really get down to it, that is Tebow’s greatest skill. He makes people believe in the unbelievable. His teammates would run through a wall for him, and I don’t just mean his Bronco teammates. He did this at Florida too.

It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with religion, but at the end of the day, what “Tebowing” is is not going down on one knee and praying in unexpected situations, it’s about believing in the unbelievable and making everyone believe with you. And that’s something that so few people in the world can do, and even fewer in the National Football League and sports in general. That’s what Tebow is about.

"If you believe, sometimes unbelievable things can be possible." -Tim Tebow

Aside from that ability, my favorite thing about Tebow is how the Broncos put him at starting quarterback expecting him to fail. You can’t convince me otherwise. Neither John Fox nor John Elway drafted him and Fox had him as low as 4th string in training camp. They didn’t like him because he didn’t look good in practice and he didn’t look good in practice because it wasn’t the 4th quarter of a close game.

But they couldn’t just get rid of him, the fans would riot. So they let him play, but they made sure to sell his top receiver, Brandon Lloyd, for pennies on the dollar, a 5th rounder for the league’s leading receiver in 2010, even though they could have gotten probably at least a 4th rounder in the offseason as compensation had he left. And once he flopped, they would be free to draft their own guy.

It was like John Fox and John Elway were Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in The Producers and Tebow was “Springtime for Hitler.” For those unfamiliar with the plot of that movie, Bloom is an accountant who convince Bialystock, a Broadway producer, that he can actually make more money if he produces a complete flop that lasts one night, so the two of them hire a former Nazi screenwriter to right a play called “Springtime for Hitler,” glorifying Hitler, in hopes that the show would flop and they’d make their money.

But like Tebow, “Springtime for Hitler” didn’t flop. And I love Elway and Fox’s reactions after every single one of Tebow’s wins. It’s complete shock followed, by acceptance, a face of “I don’t know how this is working and I never expected it would work, but it’s working and I’ll take it.” I love it.

            Tim Tebow is college football’s golden boy. With 2 “National Championships” and a Heisman at the prestigious University of Florida, Tim Tebow is the model football player, and also a model citizen. He is one of the best leaders in the game and does so simply with his work ethic and his will to extend the play and fight for the extra yard. Despite the fact that he doesn’t play in a pro style offense, many scouts, including me, have high hopes for his NFL career because of his ability to extend the play, lead a team, fight for the extra yard, and all around will his team to victory.

            Any one who has ever seen Eric Berry play and can produce coherent thoughts has said that there is just something about him, that he’s a natural football player. Starting since week 1 of his freshman year, Berry has 12 picks, 3 returned for touchdowns, in just over 2 seasons at age 20 years old. He has that Ed Reed esque instinct and Ed Reed esque ability to make a play on the ball. He is only about 190 pounds, but he hits like a linebacker. There is simply nothing he does wrong. He has the ability to go in the top 5 in the 2010 NFL draft, something extremely rare for junior safety.

            When #1 Florida plays conference rival Tennessee this week, more of the focus will be on the growing feud between Florida coach Urban Meyer and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin. However, more of the focus should be on the matchup between safety Eric Berry and quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow and Berry are probably my two favorite college players. Berry gobbles up quarterback’s throws for breakfast with his natural football instincts. Tebow destroys defenses with his natural instincts. Both are incredibly talented and seem to be able to do no wrong. Something has to give. We’ll see what does. In my opinion, this is the best matchup in College Football this week. 

Tim Tebow has won a Heisman trophy and 2 national championships in his 3 seasons at Florida. He is the only player in NCAA football history to win the Heisman in his sophomore year. He is the only player in NCAA history to rush for and throw for 20 touchdowns in the same season, with 29 passing touchdowns and 22 rushing touchdowns. He holds the University of Florida's all-time for most rushing touchdowns in a career, despite the fact that he is a quarterback, he is still a junior, and the University of Florida was attended by Emmitt Smith, the man who holds the record for most touchdowns, as well as rushing yards, in NFL history. Smith is also the man who babbled on Monday Night Countdown every week, but that's beside the point. However, despite all of these things, Tebow did not declare for the NFL draft after his junior season because he was told by the NFL advisory committee that he would likely not be a first day pick. Whether it be his lack of a true position (is he a quarterback, running back, tight end, wildcat, linebacker, or, as some scouts fear, just a nice goal line back or fullback?) or the fact that he ran the same spread offense at Florida that famously inflated Alex Smith's stats at Utah, causing the Niners to take Smith #1 overall, only to see him benched 4 years later, for some reason scouts don't like Tim Tebow. I wouldn't call myself a scout, but I like Tim Tebow. I think he can play quarterback at the next level, in the mold of Ben Roethlisberger.

Both of them are big, Ben 6-5 244, Tebow 6-3 238, and both are tough to bring down. Both have big arms and make strong throws. Both of them can run with the ball, but don't have great speed. They can get by with their quickness, ability to break tackles, and ability to throw on the run. Both are incredibly tough and have that desire to win. They are great leaders who lead by example and action and both often play hurt. Both are incredibly versatile. Teams are looking at Tebow to play a lot of different positions in the pros, including quarterback, running back, full back, tight end, and linebacker. Roethlisberger played wide receiver in high school and also played punter in college. Both played in shotgun offenses in college. Roethlisberger played in a shotgun offense at Miami of Ohio, proving to be the exception to the rule that shotgun quarterbacks can't translate to the pros. Tebow should be able to do that too, as he often does not stay in the shotgun and thrives when he is moving around and improvising.

I'm not saying that Tebow is going to win 2 Super Bowls and 2 Super Bowl MVPs in his first 5 season like Ben Roethlisberger has. Big Ben has been fortunate enough to have an excellent supporting cast around him, from Hines Ward to Jerome Bettis to James Harrison and that has helped him tremendously. However, if Tebow were put into a similar situation as Pittsburgh, he could thrive. Minnesota is the most intriguing option. Even if they get Brett Favre, they still don't have a franchise quarterback of the future. They would be picking in the mid 20s next year likely and they would be a great fit for Tebow. They have a great running game with Adrian Peterson, an excellent offensive line, a great run defense, and an improving group of receivers. If they get Tebow late in the first next year, they could be setting themselves up to make multiple runs at the Super Bowl, possibly even winning a few.