So, in case you haven't heard, Tim is going to try his hand at baseball.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
What Next?
If I were being honest with myself, I'd have to admit Tim Tebow is done with football. He got a fair shot with full OTAs and camp in a favorable system with a receptive coach, and couldn't beat out an unnamed replacement.
But I cannot accept that. Not yet. So until Tim himself says he is done, I'll keep looking for angles.
With that in mind, here are 3 scenarios for him to keep playing, with some key dates.
NFL - He only has one slim chance: a friendly coach like Urban Meyer, Adam Gase, or Josh McDaniels brings him in as a camp arm. Urban is very unlikely to be an NFL coach, but I won't rule it out until Cleveland hires someone else. Gase and McD have good shots, especially Gase because he is not in the playoffs, but are less likely to take a risk on Tim. We can't categorically rule this scenario out until early June, when teams plug the last holes in their 90 day rosters for camp, but Tim will probably know by early March whether there is a whiff of possibility there.
CFL - Camps start in late May. If he is not in camp, he ain't gonna play for the CFL.
AFL - Camps start in mid-Feb. The season starts on April 1 and runs through July.
Of the 3 scenarios, I like the AFL the best, for several reasons:
1. Popularity. 3 of the 8 current AFL teams are within 100 miles of Gainesville. In case you are wondering how popular Tim still is around here, last week I drove past Gainesville on I-75. There was a billboard for a local sports bar advertising a life sized Tebow mannequin with the tag line "come see Tim Tebow". Tim would be a huge draw for the Orlando, Tampa, or Jacksonville AFL franchises. For a struggling league, he would be as valuable as Steve Young and Hershel Walker were to the USFL, and would get wooed just as hard.
2. Playing style. The AFL would force Tim to work on his biggest weakness: quickness. The AFL field size demands quick decisions and short, quick, precise passes. Not Tim's strength, but a full season of that could fill in a significant hole in his game and make him more appealing to the NFL.
3. Flexibility. He could walk onto any team and get the starting job. He could start camp in Feb, walk away at any time if the NFL called, and get his old job back in a flash if he came back.
4. Game Time. Chip said Tim threw well enough, but he needed to play the game more. I think he meant that Tim's decisions and reactions were too slow because he was rusty from not playing for 2 years. No amount of playing catch can replicate game speed. Playing in the AFL would get him 20 live action starts in 4 months.
5. Me. Did I mention I live in a town with an AFL franchise? You can bet I'd be a regular at those games.
But I cannot accept that. Not yet. So until Tim himself says he is done, I'll keep looking for angles.
With that in mind, here are 3 scenarios for him to keep playing, with some key dates.
NFL - He only has one slim chance: a friendly coach like Urban Meyer, Adam Gase, or Josh McDaniels brings him in as a camp arm. Urban is very unlikely to be an NFL coach, but I won't rule it out until Cleveland hires someone else. Gase and McD have good shots, especially Gase because he is not in the playoffs, but are less likely to take a risk on Tim. We can't categorically rule this scenario out until early June, when teams plug the last holes in their 90 day rosters for camp, but Tim will probably know by early March whether there is a whiff of possibility there.
CFL - Camps start in late May. If he is not in camp, he ain't gonna play for the CFL.
AFL - Camps start in mid-Feb. The season starts on April 1 and runs through July.
Of the 3 scenarios, I like the AFL the best, for several reasons:
1. Popularity. 3 of the 8 current AFL teams are within 100 miles of Gainesville. In case you are wondering how popular Tim still is around here, last week I drove past Gainesville on I-75. There was a billboard for a local sports bar advertising a life sized Tebow mannequin with the tag line "come see Tim Tebow". Tim would be a huge draw for the Orlando, Tampa, or Jacksonville AFL franchises. For a struggling league, he would be as valuable as Steve Young and Hershel Walker were to the USFL, and would get wooed just as hard.
2. Playing style. The AFL would force Tim to work on his biggest weakness: quickness. The AFL field size demands quick decisions and short, quick, precise passes. Not Tim's strength, but a full season of that could fill in a significant hole in his game and make him more appealing to the NFL.
3. Flexibility. He could walk onto any team and get the starting job. He could start camp in Feb, walk away at any time if the NFL called, and get his old job back in a flash if he came back.
4. Game Time. Chip said Tim threw well enough, but he needed to play the game more. I think he meant that Tim's decisions and reactions were too slow because he was rusty from not playing for 2 years. No amount of playing catch can replicate game speed. Playing in the AFL would get him 20 live action starts in 4 months.
5. Me. Did I mention I live in a town with an AFL franchise? You can bet I'd be a regular at those games.
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