Two days ago I alluded to a sea change coming to the Eyebrow. I may have been guilty of just a bit of hyperbole, yet what is happening is unprecedented.
There are now two authors on this blog!
Everyone welcome Thomas Chapman of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He likes long walks on the beach and puppies and tells me he plans to spend most of his time writing about the NFL. I expect that we’ll see other items of interest as well, occasionally.
The Eyebrow hasn’t been very sports themed to date ((Go Braves!)), and I think Thomas’ contributions will contribute to the diversity that we like to see. I already know he’ll raise the level of analysis around here.
The why and how of Tebow-time
If you are a football fan, or even reader of any type of news, you witnessed the phenomenon that is Tim Tebow. Recently, Tebow was traded to the New York Jets. This doesn’t add up, for two reasons. Why would you trade such a mesmerizing player, and why of all the teams did the Jets trade for him? Let me recap Tebow’s accomplishments before we dive into that.
The Denver Broncos were 1 and 4 heading into their bye week of the 2011 season. Coach John Fox made a change at quarterback, putting in the 2010 first round draft pick Tim Tebow. He was a star at Florida in his collegiate career where he won a Heisman and national championship, then week seven rolled around where he officially became a starter. Tebow went on to win 7 of the next 8 games in an unorthodox fashion. Tebow would play near awful football for three quarters and then magically become an all-star player in the fourth, winning most games right at end and catching everyone in the football world’s attention. He would make plenty of plays with his arm but what was so outstanding is what he did running the ball. He was like a fullback playing the quarterback position. It was amazing to everyone, except the Broncos GM John Elway. The Broncos won the division and hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card playoffs. Unbelievably, The Bronco quarterback lit up the Steelers defense and advanced to the next round on an amazing over time play. Tebow and the Broncos would later on lose to the eventual AFC champion Patriots. Denver’s great season came to an end, but they had accomplished so much, digging themselves out of the 1 and 4 hole and making it to the divisional round of the playoffs. And this was all thanks to Tim Tebow. He rejuvenated not only the offense with his leadership but also the defense, which played stellar football in that 8 game stretch. Tebow, in short, is awesome and puts fans in the seats.
Which brings us to Tim Tebow being traded this offseason. John Elway, the general manager, traded away last year’s starter after bringing in prized free agent Peyton Manning. Of course, Manning is an upgrade at the position. But Manning was also out all last year with a neck injury and is 36 years old. Manning may last 2 or 3 years at best. This obviously means the Broncos want to win now while the long time colt has some gas left in the tank. So why not keep young, up-and-coming Tebow around to learn under Manning? Well, here’s the thing: John Elway never liked the former Heisman winner. Every General manager wants his guy out there on Sundays, playing his kind of football, and Tim Tebow didn’t fit Elway’s mold. He wasn’t there when the organization drafted him and when he inherited Tim Tebow, he made sure he was a bench player. When John Fox decided to put Tebow in, Elway didn’t think it would work and was just as surprised as America when it did.
Now in this off season, Elway got his guy. He brought in Peyton and later draft Brock Oswieler out of Arizona State. Now Elway has his current QB and reassurance for the future. No more awful first three quarters, no more heart-retching football games, no more unconventional styles of winning, no more Tim Tebow for John Elway.
Now, why the Jets? Who knows? New York could have tons of excuses for bringing him in but really, I think it all comes down to popularity. The Jets had an awful season last year, missing the playoffs and having quarterback play that was below average. New York says there is no quarterback controversy, but come on, it’s the Jets. They love having the media talk about them. Rex Ryan predicting super bowl wins every press conference, Bart Scott’s famous “can’t wait!” line in the 2010 playoffs, the locker room drama, so on and so on.
Overall, Tebow is a rare player and person. Wherever he is, he will make an impact. People want to see him play; they don’t want him on the bench. I predict, at some point this season Tim Tebow will take the starting position form Mark Sanchez and wow us again, but this time for an organization that actually wants some Tebow time.
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