Tebow is very physically gifted -- extremely good size and quickness. Great NFL arm in terms of the velocity he can put on it when he loads up. And great "gamer" clutchness -- he's really good at instinctive football, going for the jugular at the right time, making big plays with the game on the line, whatever that "cool under pressure" gene is, he's got it.
Let’s take a closer look at that; this is Tebow’s basic measurable(s) against the other QB’s who are considered excellent athletes at the QB position.
Code:
Tebow Kaepernick R. Wilson Griffin III Vick Newton G. Smith Manuel Luck
Height 6'3 6'5 5'11 6'2 6'1 6'5 6'3 6'5 6'4
Weight 236 233 204 223 210 248 218 237 234
40 Dash 4.71 4.53 4.53 4.33 4.33 4.56 4.56 4.59 4.59
As you can see Tebow is not that special in terms of size or speed, if you’d like to look at all of their metrics from the combine you can go to nfldraftscout.com and you will see he does not stand out in any areas against these players. It is not possible to measure it but I can assure you his arm strength is not better than a single one of these players either.
So the point is -- he's a "fixer's" dream. If you believe (like I think Josh does) that quarterbacks can be taught -- that is, taught good footwork, timing, accuracy, and decision-making -- then you'd start with a rough draft like Tebow.
I do not think you can fix the fact that he has dyslexia unfortunately; it is a serious learning disability that affects comprehension and decision making. Mental aptitude is the most important attribute that a NFL QB must possess, without it there is not an athletic talent in the world that can make you a successful. A fixers dream is someone who is responsive to fixing, Tebow has never been responsive to the attempts to fix him, he is either incapable of maintaining the changes over an extended period of time or he doesn’t have a true interest in being fixed.
Because say what you want about all of the things he lacks, the things he's got tend to be the things you can't teach.
That is a drastic overstatement; Tebow has slightly above average athletic ability for a QB, a decent arm, terrible mechanics and the worst decision making skills of any QB in the NFL. The only thing he has that you cannot teach is heart and his fan base, the heart aspect you can find in just about every amateur football player who plays for free on a local team.
And so he may not have "enough" of the passing talent for Josh to be able to to do it. But I can at least understand why he's the product you would start with. And Josh may see him right now as a QB with voices in his head, no confidence, and totally re-inventing his throwing technique. If that's the case, some terrible performances might be expected.
I don't know. I do know I don't care answer any responses along the lines of "Yeah but he's terrible did you see . . . ." I'm only talking about why a player like Tebow would be a good choice for a starting point on a "from the ground up" project.
26 year old players are not a good choice for a ground up player, especially if you’re talking about the development of a running QB, Tebow is entering the 4th year of his NFL career, I’m not sure if you knew this but NFL careers are on average 6 years total, so the suggestion that a player who has already played 50% of an average NFL career is an excellent candidate for a rebuilding project is downright foolish.
I cannot imagine Bill and Josh screaming at a 21 year old Aaron Dobson to get his act together if he makes a bad play, or Patricia flipping out on a 22 year old Jamie Collins when he misses a tackle while the 2010 first round draft pick who is now 26 years old in over in the corner receiving all the patience and understanding he needs as he is being developed, and it is not just those 2 players I named there are 63 players on the current roster that are younger and have less NFL experience than Tim Tebow.
