Fox and McCoy took a guy that no one else wants and designed an offense that got them to the playoffs. It was an amazing coaching job and the fact that no other team wants Tebow and only two teams wanted him immediately after the playoff run (neither of which want him now) suggests that the majority of the NFL thinks so as well. As for USC comment, I challenge you to find a single post where I've called Sanchez anything nicer than terrible. I think that's probably the biggest compliment I've given him. Some people are capable of making observations beyond their college loyalty. Quick condition: Saying Sanchez is much, much better than Tebow doesn't qualify as a compliment.
Did you watch all of the Denver games in 2011 or are you basing you statements on hearsay from ESPN and Nay-sayers that bounced over from the Denver forums. Unlike this forum the Denver fans pretty much shut these guys off when Denver started winning. As far as that amazing coaching goes, the play calling was like watching doting parents refusing to let go of the handlebars of their kid's first bicycle solo for over three quarters. The last word I heard from the Jets FO was that he was still a Jet. I have heard of no trading discussions for him with any other team. You can want all you like, but it would be foolish for a team to make a wish list for Tim if he's not going to be traded or released. I repeat, I have heard nothing from the Jets FO about a trade or release.
I watched nearly every Denver game in 2011. Was your last paragraph an attempt to say that the Jets still want him?
No, that statement was in response to all who were saying that nobody wants him. Until an official statement comes out of the Jets FO, they own him lock, stock, and barrel. If you haven't noticed, there has been a massive musical chairs with the QB corps this year. Not once have I heard a team state that they wanted someone before that player was released. Salary caps have been playing a major role and nobody wants to tip their hand in fear of the price going up. So far it's working as a lot of contracts are being re-negotiated in a southern direction. By the same token, look at who is being released, a lot of failures and "over the hill gang" members. With a lack of talent coming from the college ranks this year and add to that the move towards dual threat QBs, the show is not over. So why haven't the Jets traded or released him? There are teams that would pick Tim up as a backup if for no other reason than to get their defense practiced in competing against a spread offense QB like RGIII, Wilson, or Kaepernick. Heck, someone in the Jets FO, besides the Rexinator might have already thought about that.
I did notice.... and I also can't help but notice the Jets were looking for a trading partner and can't find one. I also couldn't help but notice he doesn't have a really steep price tag, yet teams like Kansas City, Arizona, and Oakland all made trades for a QB while giving up more draft picks IMO than it would have taken to get Tebow. You'd think with a relatively small price tag, a "winner" would have no problem finding a new home. Even Matt Flynn who has one good game on his resume and his huge contract found a new home. Buffalo went and got Kolb and gave him almost 6 million a year. If Tebow were a quarter what you think he is, you'd think Buffalo or Cleveland, or one of those others would have given up a late pick and offered to take Tebow's really comparitively small contract. If there were a lot of talks with the Jets, the media would have eventually gotten a hold of it since anything with Tebow's name on it becomes BIG NEWS. I'm not left with the impression that the Jets' phone is ringing off the hook. So, what am I missing here if the idea that nobody (or very few) want Tebow is false?
I think he's fine as a 2nd or 3rd QB, Special Teams Player, and if they could work him in at FB/TE. We don't know how well he can catch, I do know I was rewatching a few plays from last year when Sanchez and Tebow were both in on the field and the defense was over committing to Tebow's side. If we had a more inventive coaching staff, or Tebow were willing to not just be a "regular Quarterback" he would be fine. I think he's going to end up with a job if he wants one on a minimum salary contract, but whatever team he goes to will likely want him to play special teams and a bit of FB/TE. Even with the blown coverage on the one punt, Tebow is enough of a threat there that teams will expect him to perform that duty now that it's "on tape".
Tebow's contract isn't all that small if he ends up playing. He has escalator clauses that are based on playing time. Last year, hitting those playing time incentives would have increased his contract by $11.25 million. He needs to play at least 55% of the snaps in 2012 or 70% of the snaps in 2013 to potentially reach this increase, from what I can find based on last year. The 55% of the snaps thing became an issue at some point when people were assuming the Jets wouldn't start him because he could exceed that number and further blow up the cap for this year. Also Flynn and Kolb are probably better QB's, so it's not a good comparison.
That's pretty much what he has become, more of a utility player. ...which is why he went to Rex about being a "normal QB." Wasn't aware that it would have gone THAT high, but I knew taking a certain number of snaps escalated that quite a bit. But Tebow was in no danger of reaching that many snaps even with a couple of starts. He would have needed both those games to have something like 250 offensive plays each. not gonna happen with three and outs... (heh sorry, couldn't resist.) Kolb, maybe is better. Never was sold on Flynn. Really only has one good game on his resume, and that was with one of the more potent offenses in the league, one who just came off a Superbowl win. All he had to do is not wreck the Ferrari. Matt Cassell benefitted from that a couple years earlier and got a really expensive contract as a result too. I see them as similar. NOTE: The Broncos damn near traded for Cassell. Thankfully it was done late and Kansas City beat them to him. That is what started the whole McDaniels/Jay cutler debacle. But Cassel was older, more expensive, and not as good. Amazing the chain of events that transpired after. Had it not happened, cutler may have stayed on the team longer, probably wouldn't have screwed around with Tebow in the first round thinking he might be the next franchise guy... and therefore likely never landing Manning. Especially with the rediculous contracts Broncos were bogged down by during the McDaniels era.
The problem could have been, if they played him too much early on he could have hit the 55% if they wanted him to start later on. By the time they were ready to bench Mark, Tebow was hurt. No idea if it played into it, but it was something the Jets wouldn't have wanted part of because of our current cap issues and no other team would want part of (never mind the 2.5 mil base pay). Also, assuming the offense is more plodding under Tebow, you could end up with a lot of long drives (even if they don't end up with field goals/tds) where he gets too many snaps. No idea if it really was a factor, but I think the contract is a big reason nobody will trade for him. It's basically a lose-lose...Hey take this developmental QB, at a salary that is high for a developmental QB, and if he pans out you can pay him 11 million....I think his contract has actually hurt his career. I think if you want to run a conventional offense both are better. I would consider Tebow on a team like the Jets last year that had a good defense (on paper) going into the season and a poor offense. I think Kolb is a bit underrated because of what happened in Arizona and heightened expectations. He had some good games when he was healthy. Cassell had one great year with the Chiefs too. He wasn't all that bad. I never really understood getting rid of Cutler, I think he's pretty good. I don't remember the circumstances involved. I'd take Cutler over Cassell and Tebow easily, but not over Manning of course.
McDaniel's accidentally got into a pissing match with Cutler after he lied about fielding trade calls regarding Cutler. It was a an ego thing that got way out of control. Tebow fans note, better QBs than Tim have been shown the door. No one is out to get poor Timmy, he is a player commodity like 1,700 players in the league. Stop taking the lack of interest in him as a personal slight or character flaw on their end...
What can one do? It was Josh McDaniels. He wanted the guy he knew from his stint with the Patriots. Plain and simple. Here are some of his greatest hits: He traded a lot of talent away and signed several Patriot cast offs. Dude traded Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn. Traded a first round pick for the following season to the Seahawks in his first draft to pick up a smallish Corner named Alphonso Smith, which amounted to nothing and was traded to the Lions a year later for a half loaded baked potato. Traded up and drafted Tight end Richard Quinn 4 rounds earlier than projected to take in the second round too. The next year he traded a couple of second rounders and a third rounder to get back into the first round Tebow, when he likely would have been available with that third rounder. He did that AFTER taking an injured WR, who surprise surprise, spent most of his first two seasons injured. ..and just to be fair, I won;t even bring up some of his free agent signings. Jay Cutler? Wasn't a fan of him. dude was quickly getting a reputation around the league as sort of a punk. But skillwise, he was better than anything whe had since then for sure, aside from Manning of course. Cassell was not better than Cutler. He was older and FAR more expensive thanks to that franchise tag the Pats put on him prior to trading. That was a pretty slick move by the Pats, cuz they fleeced the Chiefs with that deal and handicapped them with the salary for a few years.... ....that could have been us.... ...and would have been had McDaniels not been a day or so late.
It isn't lost on me that just as much of this is on Cutler too. Cutler was indeed lied to. But the whole thing started with Cutler getting his feelings hurt that he was mentioned in the trade at all. Look at the initial articles, his agent Bus Cook, had said talking trade was a "vote of no confidence." They flat out said "nobody calls the Patriots or Colts about trading for their star QB, cuz teams know better than to bother to ask. Yet the Broncos actually entertained trades?" Cutler's agent found out about it when a rep from one of the teams involved (Tampa I think) contacted Bus Cook. The "lie" didn't happen until a couple days later after their "meeting." Then cutler got cute and refused to return calls even from owner Pat Bowlen himself. It was a battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Neither ego was going to back down and as a result... Bronco fans wre sentenced to three years of Orton, and a couple of them served concurrently with Orton vs. Tebow vs. Quinn. Ughhhh... Yup. There are actually some that think the NFL is somehow obligated to force feed Tebow onto some lineup because of his popularity.
Tim being treated like everyone else appears to have been a rude awakening to him, his family, his handlers and his fans. The idea that he has been held to a "double standard" has more to do with his fans following amateur football more than they followed the NFL before draft day 2010. If they honestly did follow the NFL for any length of time (they say they did but their posts say otherwise) they would see Tim is Matt Leinhart/Vince Young/Rex Grossman/Chad Pennington/Kordell Stewart/Colt McCoy 2.0; people don't hate these guys, they just don't get to play because they don't consistently display the skills necessary for the pro game.
