The story of Tebow

When I was at a Jags/Colts game at the tail end of the 2008 season, Peyton Manning, one of the greatest QBs to play the game was engineering a 4th quarter comeback. But the Jaguar fans kept mentioning one name: Tebow.


My girlfriend and I looked in our game day programmes and could not see this player on either team’s roster. “So is Tebow injured?” I asked. It turns out, that not only was not he not on either team, but he wasn’t even in the NFL yet.


Tebow was practically still a boy, who just so happened to be leading his University team, the Florida Gators, to a National Championship, and leading himself to a Heisman trophy.

That’s when I knew he must be something special. Fast -forward to April 2010. Tebow has left the Gators with every personal award, and smashed the NCAA record books. Not only was he a pure “winner” he loved to rush as much as pass. Yet despite claims that he is the best college player of all time, people adamant that he would be a late round pick and they had we would not succeed in the NFL.



I was confused. How could the greatest ever college player not even be touted as a first rounder, let alone first overall pick. The Jags were not selling out, needed a QB and needed some much needed good PR to sell tickets. Picking up local hero Tebow, would have helped them off and on the field.



In the off-season, every analyst and his son proclaimed that Tebow had a slow arm release, (which I guess he does) can’t throw accurately, can’t read complex defences and more worryingly has a penchant for tucking the ball and running towards linebackers with abandon.



So called “running” QB’s have not had that much success in the NFL. Randall Cunningham and Kordell Stewart were probably the best. Michael Vick was close to being great until he went to jail. Now he is an Eagle he has improved his arm and is much more a pocket passer, with a great “get of jail free” running card in his back pocket.



Yet despite all the negative press, I still couldn’t believe that just because the Gators ran a spread and option based offense, that Tebow would not flourish in the NFL. You simply do not lead the Gators to four winning seasons, be the youngest player to win a Heisman, get nominated for it twice more and then put it all down to a great system. Tim Tebow must be a good ball player and in my opinion, if you are good, you are good, despite the system or the fact he was playing in college.



Come draft time, Josh McDaniels, the then Head Coach of the Denver Broncos traded up in controversial ways to take Tebow in the first round with 25th overall pick. The 2008 Dolphins that had shocked the NFL by winning plenty of games with a “wildcard” system because of a lack of QB talent. Now more and more NFL teams were adopting the system and in step Tebow.

With three QB’s at the helm in Denver, there became a media circus surrounding Tebow. Despite not having a played an NFL game he had already been a Super Bowl half time advert. A local Broncos fan paid to have billboard in Denver to have Tebow start. With Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn above him in the pecking order he had to be patient for his start.

October 2010 and the Broncos were playing the 49ers in London at Wembley stadium. When Tebow finally graced the field he was used as a “gadget” player and rushed in for his second TD, of his first pro career.

Tebow played more towards the tail end of the season with critics watching his every throw. Meanwhile over in Philly, reformed jailbird, Michael Vick, was playing like a man possessed and took the Eagles to the playoffs, as a pass first, run second QB.

But by 2011, Josh McDaniels was fired and was then hired as an offensive co-ordinator for the Chiefs. Top dog and ex-Broncos legend John Elway was in charge of operations and I presume the QBs in Denver, and this resulted in Tebow not being the starter, because of lack of throwing mechanics. So he was still behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn again.

Vick was the starting QB over at Philly where the Eagles had traded away pocket passing Kyle Kolb to the Cardinals and put all their faith in Vick, the Broncos’ fans wanted their management to do the same with Tebow.

This season, after four games with Orton at the helm, the Broncos were 1-4, and that’s when they finally handed over the keys to Tebow. He beat off the Dolphins, but tried to do too much against the Lions, but then came the winning streak that can only be described as a hand of God.

Six straight wins all in miraculous ways. Tebow didn’t play well, but well enough when he had to make a string of comeback wins. Tebowing became a verb “to defeat someone in the last minute from behind” and also a famous pose. Tebow likes to bend down on one knee on the sidelines, which has gone global, the site tebowing.com is huge!

Those six wins was only broken by previous Cinderella story Tom Brady. After another two losses we all thought the magic had gone. But in the final regular season game, the Raider lost to the hapless Chargers giving the Broncos a playoff place and furthermore they were hosting the wild card game.

In came the Steelers, the best defense in the league. Last year’s runner’s up and although they were ageing and a little banged up this should have been a cake walk. The Broncos defense as they have done all season long kept Tebow and the Broncos in check. In fact in the second half Tebow went pass happy with long passes and were up by a considerable margin at the half.

They should have held on for a win, but that’s not Tebow and his team win. It seems like they HAVE to make it dramatic. At 23-23 the game was going into Over Time, with new overtime rules. Now the Broncos and Steelers are given at least one possession, unless the first team who gets the ball drives for a TD.

The Steelers came up to the line thinking it will be a Tebow run. A quick slant throw and the receiver was off to the races for an 80yd TD that made everyone stand up and go “Wow.” Like they had done for most of the season they kept it dramatic.

Now Tebow has to go back to Foxboro to face Brady again. If he wins there then that really would be something. But either way I’m sure the Hollywood moguls are already reading a script about his season alone.