Nobody here is talking about limiting Tebow to anything. Tebow limited himself. Again, those guys that you have mentioned such as Kaepernick and RGIII have shown that they are more capable of going through their progressions and delivering accurate throws from inside the pocket. Tebow has not shown an improvement in going through his progressions (look at that possession the either night if you want more proof of that) yet and his accuracy is spotty at the very best. Spread option or not, a quarterback needs to effectively go through his progressions from inside the pocket and find an open receiver if his primary is doubled or locked down. I haven't seen any evidence that remotely suggest that Tebow has improved.
As for the spread option, you might be right. But it's still a relatively new "phenomenon" in the NFL. There have been offensive systems that have come and gone before. We'll see what happens with it.
Ok I have to break this down..with gifs..because I thought that video was a pretty good example that goes against your nitpickings. Sorry for the size because I needed the length to make my points
I truly, truly believe there
IS a middle ground on Tebow if people would just start using some common sense. It really isn't as black and white as people are making it out to be. He's inconsistent. That's all. That's where these extremes come from. He's been both as good as some say he has been and as bad as you are saying he has been. That is the truth. He has been both.
Original video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnEuisuFFM8
First, progressions: 3:10. It's 3rd & 9 with Tebow in shotgun.
He snaps, play action fake, drops back, looks left, nobody open, scans the middle, doesn't have anything, finally scrambles to the right, makes a quick move to reset his feet(this is what I like about him cause he still steps into it) and completes a perfect pass outside along the right sidelines for a huge first down. And this was back in 2010. Is that not going through his progressions? To me, he's going through his progressions.
The spread option dual rush QB effect: Notice #30. He sticks with Lloyd as long as Tebow's scanning. The moment Tebow starts scrambling, he gives up on Lloyd to try and stop Tebow's rush and comes back towards the line of scrimmage, leaving Lloyd wide open to an easy, but still accurate, pass over the top and the Texans give up a 1st down on 3rd and 9. Easy money. This is the type of stuff these college kids are doing to earn their paychecks this year.
Deep Ball. At 1:29. 1st and 10. Tebow's under center.
Takes the snap, play action, drops back, steps into the throw and without hesitation places a 47 yard bomb over the top of 2 defenders, with the 3rd closing in. Ball has a nice spiral on it, it's a damn nice pass and a far cry from the "he can't throw" label that has been placed on him. How many times have we seen Sanchise underthrow or overthrow these?
In the pocket. At 2:20. 1st & 10. Tebow's under center.
Takes the snap, play action, steps up and into the pocket, steps into the throw and delivers a perfect pass to Lloyd over the linebacker and DB, but underneath the 2 DB's coming down to help. He stays in that pocket and takes a huge hit on the play. The ball's a bit high, which is something I have noticed he does, but in this situation, it was probably the right move to get it up and over the first 2 defenders. This to me is a beautiful play and another NFL caliber throw. Three out of 4 times Mark Sanchez would throw an interception on this play.
On the run. 3:48. It's 2nd and 10. Tebow's under center.
Takes the snap. Texans rush 3. He fakes the handoff, pocket is collapsing, he has pressure from 3 sides and with a defender in his face he makes a Tebow type throw that makes you go wow. You're right about this. He's
very good on the run. Not a lot of guys in the NFL can twist his body while running that fast to overcome momentum and deliver this throw. 100% of the time Sanchez throws a pick on this play
The point is if you understand the difference between a spread option QB, and a pocket passer, then having to complete passes from the pocket is not as big of a requirement for these guys. However, he can do this as well. But they make their money by being placed in the pistol/shotgun, extending plays and often scrambling to pass like in that first example. The most conservative anyone should ever try to be with Tebow is to let him play like Ben. But he still works much better in the spread option, cause he can run much better than Ben.
All I'm saying is I have seen this kid do everything that is required of him to be an NFL QB. He's just not been consistent with it and has yet to be placed in a full fledged spread option offense with an OC who can actually take advantage of him. Again, I'm not saying he can be elite, but I think I have seen enough of him doing things like above to know for a fact he's a far cry from the "can't throw" labels people love to throw at him. No pun intended.
The above is the difference in having an offensive coordinator like McDaniels in 2010 who can really mix in everything that you can do with Tebow and what he did with Fox and McCoy(mainly read option plays) or Rex and Sparano(wildcat only).
