It goes beyond being called a bromance. The media's infatuation with Florida QB Tim Tebow qualifies as straight up man love.
Unfortunately, it's not going to stop anytime soon. There's even an entire blog devoted to all things Tebow.
What's not to love, right? He is the leader of the indisputable preseason favorite to win a third national championship in four years. The media voted the Gators No. 1 in the AP poll with a record 96.7 percent of first-place votes.
The bullish Tebow has already amassed 110 career touchdowns (running, passing and jump-passing), a pair of SEC titles, two national championships, one Heisman award and one post-game speech immortalized outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. That's quite the list.
And now, everyone is fawning over Tebow accomplishments. They say he's going to be the best ever.
CFN's Pete Fiutak writes "if Tebow leads the Gators to the national title, and/or if he wins a second Heisman, the question won't be whether or not he's the greatest college quarterback of all-time; the question will be how wide the gap is between him and the No. 2 guy on the list."
Blogger Dan Shanoff writes "Tim Tebow is already in the conversation for 'Greatest Ever,' even before this season starts. Layer in another national title and another Heisman, and I don't think it's close."
Even the more skeptical SI.com writer Stewart Mandel seemed to heed the hype after developing a greatest score.
I just can't buy into it. Tim Tebow's "greatness" is unequivocally tied to Florida coach Urban Meyer and his offensive system. Which makes Tebow a "system guy." Just look at this comparison:
PASSING STATS
--Alex Smith ('04): 2,952 yards, 9.3 yds/att, 32 TDs, 4 Ints, 176.5 Rating
--Tim Tebow ('07, Heisman winner): 3,286 yards, 9.3 yds/att, 32 TDs, 6 Ints, 172.5 Rating
RUSHING STATS
--Smith: 802 yards, 14 TDs, 4. 9 yds/carry*
--Tebow: 895 yards, 23 TDs, 4.3 yds/carry
Eerily similar?
OK, I fudged on Smith's rushing stats. He actually rushed for 631 yards and a mere 10 touchdowns. But the Utes leading rusher from '04, Marty Johnson, actually put up those near *matching numbers.
It was Meyer's gimmicky spread offense turned in an undefeated season for Utah in 2004 and made then QB Alex Smith into a No. 1 pick. So shouldn't this really be a discussion about him?
Tim Tebow is reaping the benefits of playing under one of the most destructive offensive schemes in college football history. He's been more productive than previous quarterbacks Smith and Omar Jacobs. But that doesn't make him great.
Greatness envelops talent. You could see it in the likes of Archie Griffin, Jim Brown, Herschel Walker and even Peyton Manning. That's where the media is missing in the love-fest. Tebow's true talent has yet to be measured.
Where will Tebow measure up? Only time will tell. But for now get the antacids ready, because it's Tebow's world and we're living in it.
3 comments:
Great piece, Pete. I think true talent is measured at the next level, where gimmicky systems are far less effective.
Tebow can take a hit. So he's Alex Smith with the ability to run like a fullback. Isn't that enough to account for the statistical differences? And, just as an aside, Tebow has less of an ability to pass than Smith even though the stats say otherwise. In my book three yard screens to Percy Harvin that turn into TDs don't demonstrate passing ability.
If empty stats is all you care about then Tebow is your guy. Statistically speaking, there might never have been a better performer than Tebow, especially if he's able to win another national champtionship (he won't) or Heisman Trophy (he won't). If you actually care about what the numbers mean, like an analyst should (not these empty-headed suits at ESPN and SI), then you would know better than to declare Tebow the greatest ever. This guy is the Timmy Chang of the SEC, if not an Alex Smith or Jason White.
I agree that the system was very helpful to Smith and is helpful for Tebow. However, let's not sneeze at the national title. Tebow was the best player in the game, bar none. He also has something Smith never had and probably won't ever have: Leadership ability. I believe greatness in a quarterback comes not only from the physical tools, but the mental make-up and leadership ability. A perfect example of this is Michael Vick. All the physical tools, but a screw loose up in the old noggin. Alex Smith has never been a playmaker or a vocal leader, and Tebow is both.
Where does the man love come from? Well, he's too good to be true, that's where it comes from. This is what the media and the American people always do. He's a star athlete who wins and is a Christian man doing mission work and speaking for God. Too good to be true. I believe his personality and leadership ability have raised his stock above his actual ability. That being said, if he can inspire his own teammates, he's going to be a winner, no matter what level he plays at. I don't see any reason why he can't start in the NFL. He won't be able to run with the same abandon, but with the emergence of the Wildcat type offenses, he can probably become the start of the "next generation" of QB's who can run with power and also throw. It's going to be interesting to see what he does this year and then into the future.
I truly dislike Tim Teabow. I'm sure he's a good guy but when you have commentators saying that they're a better person for spending 5 mins with a 20 year old college football player, it's cult-worship creepy.
I also disagree with anyone calling anyone the "best to ever play the game," especially in football. Football is the quintessential team sport. No quarterback has a great season without great receivers and an amazing offensive line.
I also disagree that Tebow was the reason that Florida won the national championship. He was picked off twice! TWO TIMES! and the "leadership" he brings to the team is something we've only heard from sports announcers. I'm sure he's a fine person, but he's being blown up by the media to demi-god like status.
No college quarterback is anything without the rest of his offensive team. Like Matt Leinert was amazing at USC because he threw in a good system and had Reggie Bush, so is Tebow amazing at Florida because he had Percy Harvin and a great system to play in.
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