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.
I travel to Gainesville regularly & drove by that billboard today. I have seen the statue in front of that sports bar. Which coincidentally is very near to a restaurant Tim Co owns called PDQ.
ReplyDeleteLets hope a favorable scenario presents itself for Tim. While it may be true that Tim may have been rusty & in need of reps. I don't consider what happened in Philly to have been a fair shot. We heard reports of his challenging Sanchez for the #2 spot. Who knows if Tim had actually made the team & been able to play the Eagles season may have turned out much different than it was. I guess we will never know.
I believe Urban would be his best bet for a whole host of reasons. The most important one being the successful history they have had together would make it harder for the critics to justify themselves.
I generally agree with this. I'd rather see him in the CFL as it's got a shade more gravitas and I prefer the outdoor atmosphere and so on, but I have absolutely no dispute with your points about Arena. It's just a personal preference. And at this point, like I said in an earlier post, I'd be content to see him quarterback for the lingerie league.
ReplyDeleteBut I relate the most with your opening statement confessing that Tim is probably done with football. Right now it's hard to make the case otherwise, not because of his chances and odds with this coach or that team or whatever, but because of the fact that he presently isn't acting like a guy that's trying to get back on the field. If that bears out to be true - and we'll know soon enough - then it might be worth examining what happened. In the meantime all we can do is wait and see if he starts training again.
What next!? Live the good life. He does not need to think about earning money the rest of his life, he's a serviceable studio guy and a decent color analyst to work on SEC Network until he decides to tackle something else outside the football playing life and be decent at it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I completely think that he has a place in the NFL as a backup, and any rational person thinks that way as well, his baggage is too big to get considered after this year, even after the Jets stint. If there was greater talent in the eyes of the football people, he would get a sniff every year at least as a camp arm or a third stringer, but heh we all know the story there...
In the Schadenfreude department...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/1/13/10760052/adam-schefter-chip-kelly-nfl-head-coaching-job-eagles-49ers-college-tom-gamble
Interesting summary of Manziel's prospects now that he's all but out in Cleveland. Evidently when Hue Jackson was in discussions for the HC job he told them specifically he wanted Manziel gone. Oy.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/195819/interest-in-cleveland-browns-qb-johnny-manziel-would-be-low-for-31-of-32-teams
Tim defeated one of Hue's teams in his rookie season. Hue at the time called Tim a winner. Of course that probably doesn't matter now.
DeleteNot anticipating anything happening but the Browns don't have anything to lose by giving Tim a look.
For now though I am hoping the Steelers beat the Broncos on Sun.
Tim also defeated Rex Ryan, who also called him a winner. Everyone in the NFL called him a winner when he was playing. That's what is so infuriating.
DeletePity about Johnny F and the Browns. Not that I have any wish for him to do well. In fact, the opposite is the case. Poor character should not be reinforced or rewarded. His best role now is as a warning to others. "Don't be that guy, son."
However, I was really, really hoping some crazy coach got the job at the Browns and went full unconventional, with an emphasis on mobile QBs. Put JF, Tim, and RG3 on the same team and let 'em duke it out for the starting position. Run the heck out of them, and when one gets hurt just pop in another one.
Alas, it was not to be.
Tim should have gone to Canada.
Sure feels like we are done here, doesn't it?
It has felt that way for a while quite frankly. If that is the case I sure wish we could get some finality to it.
DeleteAll we have to go on are comments Tim made to a fan only a few weeks ago about wanting to play in the NFL or "maybe" Canada.
I guess we will just have to see if he resumes any training & what kind of comments he makes now that his SEC gig is finished for this year.
So with this upcoming appearance on Lip Sync Battle I'm going to go ahead and call it rock bottom. At least I think we've hit rock bottom. Dear God, please let this be rock bottom!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing at first. Then it dawned on me. What the hell is the guy supposed to do. He can't crawl under a rock. Besides in that lip Sync he sure showed he still knows how to play to a crowd. My take then became if they won't let him play let him have some harmless fun.
DeleteRock bottom is reserved for a lot of other football players.
He chose this instead of going to the CFL, much like he chose a contract with ESPN over going to the CFL. If this is what he wants it's his life, but it's time to stop blaming his lack of playing time on everyone and everything else but him. He has somewhere to play, and has chosen for three straight seasons not to play there.
DeleteExcept for one thing: this episode was recorded months ago. So he hasn't necessarily ruled out going to the CFL, AFL, etc this year.
DeleteWe've discussed before my opinion of why he seemingly jumps at the chance to do stuff like this, so I doubt this is rock bottom for him anyway, unfortunately.
I know when it was recorded and my point remains. He's spent the last three seasons turning down playing time in the CFL. The first season made sense. He spent that year with Tom House. The second and third seasons were missed opportunities. This spring begins season four. CFL teams are presently signing free agents and he has yet to resume training. I could extrapolate all of this to include Arena League. Either way he's had plenty of opportunity to play and has chosen not to.
Delete"CFL teams are presently signing free agents and he has yet to resume training."
DeleteThat's not actually true. Recently he's been to AZ multiple times and was photographed throwing at USC again w/in about the past 2 weeks (that evil site can be useful :D).
However, I wasn't really disagreeing w/you, Kathryn. It's 100% been his choice to not play in other leagues-there's no one else to blame but Tim. But, going back to my earlier comment's 2nd point, I think the reason for this is that his 'Plan B' of going into the non-sport side of the entertainment world is preferable to him than his 'Plan A' of football if it involves any league other than the NFL. I've believed that for years and this ridiculous LSB appearance is further confirmation of that to me. Do you agree?
Yes I agree with you, but first on the training: He's got friends and family in Arizona so just because he's going there doesn't mean he's been training. It doesn't rule it out either but usually when he's training at PEP or wherever people post all over social media about it. Aside from one or two stops at USC in five months we've had none of that at a level that comes close to the maintenance he kept up last year when he made time to throw whenever and wherever he could, even if it meant throwing to a group of local high school or junior college receivers at a SECN stop. Will that resume? Maybe. But as of now it hasn't.
DeleteAs to your Plan A / Plan B points I couldn't agree more, and I think that's part of the problem. He thought he could pursue Plan A and Plan B at the same time, resulting in very damaging consequences for Plan A. Hindsight is 20/20, I know, but he is ostensibly surrounded by - and in some cases paying - agents and advisers to view the landscape with 20/20 foresight. Sometimes I wonder what they're saying and whether he's listening.
He also was throwing the ball to some guys in FL recently. Again, not the same as the intense work w/House, but at least it's something.
DeleteTotally agree w/your point about Plan A/Plan B &, given Tim's track record of stubbornness, I'm guessing that he's not listening.
I suspect you're right. I vaguely recall an obscure mention in the press (someone with loose connections passing along info) that his close friends were urging him to go to the CFL after Chip released him; and then a day later SEC Network announced his return to SEC Nation. I supported the decision at the time, but even then I knew the rationale I was coming up with was flimsy at best. More wishful thinking. We've gone from wishing the NFL would get its head out of its ass to wishing Tim would get his head out of his ass.
DeleteNo big surprise he told Ellen DeGeneres in his appearance that aired today that playing in the league again depends on whether the right opportunity comes along. In other news water is wet.
DeleteIn case you need any more reason to roll your eyes at these teams. It appears as though the Browns lied about Manziel's late December concussion to cover up that he showed to work drunk.
ReplyDeletehttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/09/report-browns-lied-about-manziel-concussion-to-cover-up-his-drinking/
The team denied this via a spokesman:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/09/browns-we-did-not-lie-about-johnny-manziel-concussion/
However Mike Silver is sticking to his guns:
https://twitter.com/MikeSilver/status/697148552762425344
So TTF's Night to Shine event this weekend was a resounding success. Check out Tim's Twitter page and TTF's Facebook page if you aren't familiar with it. In short it's a nationwide prom (plus seven other international locations) for special needs individuals that this year held proms at over 200 churches with over 70,000 volunteers and 32,000 guests. Tim went from Haiti to NYC to Atlanta and a bunch of places in between to make personal appearances at them, and the work that the hosts, volunteers and TTF put into everything was evident. Happy for Tim and everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteAnd while you're at Tim's Twitter feed note that he's back on his hospital visit rounds. The man is gradually becoming America's Princess Diana when it comes to philanthropy. And I don't mean that to disparage either of them.
TTF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimTebowFoundation/
On the football side...who knows? He still doesn't appear to be doing any meaningful training and the clock is ticking. The CFL is deep into free agency by now and nothing on that end, so any development in that direction would at this point come as a surprise. Arena I'm not sure. I haven't kept up with their calendar. NFL seems more than unlikely, but I guess we'll cling to the impossible dream until it becomes materially impossible at some point this season.
I miss our days of long, thought-out (albeit wrong but so what?) analysis and look forward to the day we have something to yap about. Cheers.
It's amazing how much popularity he has maintained despite not having played football for a few years. He is doing the lord's work which he has always maintained is more important to him than football.
DeleteJudging by his most recent interviews it doesn't seem like he is ready to close the book on football just yet. He says he is in the best shape of his life & wants to play under the right circumstances (whatever that means I don't know). He must be doing some sort of training out of sight if as he says he is in the best shape of his life. He still maintains his optimism about himself & his magnanimity towards others regardless of how unfairly he has been treated. This leads me to believe he will get another opportunity.
It's great that some in the media although never having been supportive of Tim's game while he was playing continue to ask if he still wants to play. To me it indicates the question of whether Tim could play or not has never been settled on the field of play. Both his supporters & possibly even some of his detractors would like to see this question settled on the field (in real games) once & for all.
Hopefully we will have alot more to discuss this season.
I agree Bob, his cagey refusal to officially retire is definitely interesting. He could be stuck in a wishful thinking loop of his own (or just doesn't see the sense in formally closing the door), or in a more positive spin he could be waiting on developments that we in the public just aren't privy to. As always we have to wait to find out, but at least at this juncture we know that there's not much waiting left to do.
DeleteI've also noticed as you have that some in the media are either realizing, or admitting to themselves, that Tim got royally screwed. They see guys like Manziel et al - who were supposed to have all of Tim's great attributes "but can throw" - fail by a longshot to match Tim's NFL production; and it just becomes more and more difficult to write Tim off as a fluke. Mind you we're generally not talking about talking heads with enormous platforms and ego on the line - I'm seeing it more in lower tier commentary on Twitter: David Thorpe, Chris Broussard, and so on. But at least it's there.
Re his popularity: it's remarkably durable, and he's done a good job cultivating it around his philanthropy as opposed to his football status. It's apparent from time to time that some are annoyed that he's still as popular as he is. Good. Suck it, haters.
Interesting remarks on CFL from Urban. It's not entirely clear but if I'm interpreting correctly Urban was referring to the last CFL offer Tim got when he said it wasn't "the right situation".
ReplyDeletehttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/27/tim-tebow-would-consider-the-cfl-urban-meyer-says/
If that's the case I have to believe the reservations were about coaches and personnel. Things have changed for both sides since 2014. I wonder if this was a signal from Tim's side to Jim Popp & co.
Anyhow, your mileage may vary.
As long as Urban is not speaking in the past tense about Tim's pro football career, it's a good thing.
DeleteIf Tim is going to do the CFL, he has to do it right. If he struggles at all, then he is well and truly done. That means no going up there in the middle of the season and trying to jump into a system on the fly. He has to sign with a team in time to study the playbook and fully participate in training camp.
Timing wise, CFL camps are in late May. The NFL draft is the last 3 days of April. I could see him holding out until after the draft to see if an NFL opening comes up, then signing with a CFL team in mid-May.
AFL camps start next week, and rosters are largely set, so he is obviously not going that route. I read a few comments to the effect that a quick release was critical for the indoor game, so perhaps it would have been a dumb idea for him anyways.
Play somewhere, anywhere, Tim.
This is 2 years overdue and I got really annoyed by the right opportunity crap. Playing football is the right opportunity. If you're good enough, you'll play. If you doubt yourself, then don't go there. After all these years he's still searching for the "right opportunity"!?
DeleteTalking about clueless...
Not sure where this guy is getting this, but good sign of any truth to it.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/colinhebert614/status/704349761017610241
LOL the Eagles are such idiots. $36 million, 2-year extension for Sam Bradford, $26 million of it guaranteed. I could live two hundred years and still never understand what goes on in these guys' minds.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/704779154189897730
Peyton retired, here comes Tebow back to Denver!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHis football career may be in the gutter but any day Tim doesn't show up on the Dancing With The Stars cast list is a good day.
ReplyDeleteReally good article at:
ReplyDeleteForbes.com/sites/jonathandelozier/2016/03/08/tim-tebow-should-be-in-the-NFL-and-Cam-Newton-could-help-him
So what do the Broncos do now that Manning & Oswieller are no longer there?
ReplyDeleteSounds like they may look at Kaepernick or RGIII but who knows? Osweiller's an idiot for leaving (not financially obviously but in terms of team quality and championship prospects); but at the same time there's a certain satisfaction in watching Elway's 'quarterback of the future' bail on him.
DeleteThings concerning Tim have been awfully quiet since those comments from Urban Meyer a few weeks ago. He should be the one going back to Denver.
DeleteHe should never have been pushed out of Denver in the first place, but that ship sailed four years ago - and in the interim his reputation as a player has been clobbered in every possible way - so it's a moot point now. As far as Tim is concerned my gut says it's over. I mean, there's a possibility that Urban's CFL remark was designed to test interest, but at the end of the day Tim just isn't training aside from daily forays to the weight room. I suppose there's still time to get back in the groove but that window is rapidly closing. Pretty astonishing, IMO, the whole thing.
DeleteJust when you think you have seen it all. Sanchez to Denver. Truth really is stranger than fiction.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I haven't been paying much attention, because there's really just not even a hint of hope right now. Even so, the Broncos move was especially insulting.
DeleteI did find some comments about Tim that Adam Gase made back in January. If you want to listen, download the PFT Live podcast from Jan 22.
Nothing earth shattering, but interesting. Mike Florio asked why Tim had not been successful since he left the Broncos. Gase basically said that Tim needs to play the whole game to be effective. He said the Broncos offense was successful because two big guys (Tebow and McGahee) wore down the defense. By the 4th quarter, the defense was too tired to stop the run, and the offense was able to make long throws down the field to playmakers. He said that spot-playing Tim did not work.
He also mentioned Tim briefly again when mentioning his general coaching philosophy, which is to find the things that players do well and put them in a position to do that. In his mind, that was the common thread of his success with Tim, Payton Manning, and Cutler.
Nothing to inspire any hope he might give Tim a shot; in fact, the opposite is probably the case. But he did speak respectfully of Tim and talked about the things that Tim did well, as opposed to his deficiencies or shortcomings.
It was good to hear an interview that stuck to the analysis of games & not the usual reasons/excuses we normally hear not to sign Tim.
ReplyDeleteWith the improvement's Tim has made they probably would not have to play him the whole game now for him to be effective. I hope he gets a chance to update that part of his resume.
See link below for fairly extensive comments by Jim Popp on Tim's prospects in the CFL. It's in French, so use Google to translate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rds.ca/football/alouettes/tebow-a-montreal-le-ballon-est-dans-son-camp-1.3130774
See link below for fairly extensive comments by Jim Popp on Tim's prospects in the CFL. It's in French, so use Google to translate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rds.ca/football/alouettes/tebow-a-montreal-le-ballon-est-dans-son-camp-1.3130774
The translation was a bit choppy but encouraging to me. If we take the 20,000-foot-view we have Tebow's camp testing the waters with Meyer's remark, and a receptive response from Jim Popp via ESPN. IMO the message Popp put out there was fourfold: take high $$ out of the equation because we can't compete with your TV contract in that regard; yes you can be successful in the CFL; no, you won't be a publicity gimmick and, lastly, the ball's in your court.
DeleteReading between the lines it sounds to me like back in 2014 Sexton persuaded Tim to go with the TV money instead of CFL (maybe with insistence that he could get him NFL tryouts?). Conjecture based on a translation so maybe not. Still...disappointing.
Very good piece this morning on Fox & Friends on Tim. It was vintage Tim being positive promoting his foundation & the kids that he helps.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen it it's worth a look. I especially loved this quote from Urban Meyer "He is a once in a generation person & he was a once in a generation player too".
I just saw the interview that spawned all the "running for office" nonsense that exploded on Twitter yesterday and, as always, much ado about nothing. He gave a vague, noncommittal response to a series of leading questions, explicitly stating 'not at this time in my life', and of course the internet takes that and runs with it because even as a certified has-been he's a pageclick magnet for those looking to exploit a cheap joke.
DeleteAt any rate he was also asked, of course, about whether he sees a chance to return to the NFL and his response was something to the effect of not knowing what door God's going to open for him. At a certain point you've got to wonder if God is tired of being Tim's excuse for not swallowing some pride and doing what objective advisers have been telling him to do for the last four years. God swung a door named Jim Popp wide open two years ago and Tim and his agent walked away because the TV money was better and there was a 0.0000000001% chance that the NFL might call him. And it's likely now that he's dragging his feet again because there's still a 0.0000000000000000000001% chance the NFL might call him. Honestly after four years of supporting the guy I've had it with that act. He needs to either suck it up and go to the CFL or give it up and retire. Jimmy Sexton isn't a miracle worker and Urban Meyer ran out of NFL coach friends to call for favors. End of story.
Four years ago I had some business dealings with a person who is very prominent in the SEC and knows Tim well. I'm being deliberately vague so you'll have to trust me that he is legit. He stated flat out that Tim's career goal is to be President, and that he fully intends to enter politics when he is done with football.
DeleteWas on my phone so I kept it short. More commentary on the politics thing: it doesn't surprise me, but I have misgivings. First, the obvious reason, I still want to watch him play football. Second, I have never really trusted people who want to be politicians at a young age. It's just such a fundamentally narcissistic viewpoint to think that you haven't done anything in life but you ought to be in charge of everyone else.
DeleteThat brings me to an aspect of Tim that I've never really been comfortable with. He is by all accounts incredibly humble and giving, but I suspect he likes being famous just a bit too much. The guy has been a celebrity for practically his whole life, and was signing autographs while he was still in high school, so I'm not sure he knows any other way to be. However, at every team he has produced grumblings that he was just a bit too eager for the spotlight. I've generally dismissed it as sour grapes, Brady Quinn being the prime example, but after a while it makes me wonder. The political angle plays right into that.
>>Was on my phone so I kept it short. More commentary on the politics thing: it doesn't surprise me, but I have misgivings. First, the obvious reason, I still want to watch him play football. Second, I have never really trusted people who want to be politicians at a young age. It's just such a fundamentally narcissistic viewpoint to think that you haven't done anything in life but you ought to be in charge of everyone else. <<
DeleteI couldn't agree more with both points. To Tim's credit he appeared to kick that can down the road with the "Not at this time in my life" remark, so while he's clearly got the ego necessary to imagine that he can master statecraft, he at least appears realistic enough to acknowledge that years of groundwork and experience need be laid before jumping into that arena.
>>I've generally dismissed it as sour grapes, Brady Quinn being the prime example...<<
Easy to understand dismissal because Brady Quinn is indeed a walking, passive-aggressive, backstabbing, cheek-puckering sour grape - a soap opera villain of the first order. But...
>>...but after a while it makes me wonder.<<
Yep. It's hard to put your finger on it because Tim always *says* the right things, espousing humility and so on. But his actions aren't backing up his words, at least not when it comes to the football career and "perseverance" image. I have to wonder if he can't see how his message isn't lining up with his choices. It's been his dream to play in the NFL since he was a little kid, so instead of getting some reps in the CFL when all the momentum was at his back he instead took a TV gig with a fat paycheck. That's not the kind of "Plan B" that regular Joes can identify with.
The eponymous charitable initiatives get a pass, though. He has to attach his name and personal to all of that to raise funds and publicity. IMO, anyway.
I truly believe his charitable efforts are borne of a deeply felt drive to help and comfort others. There is no doubt his faith is genuine and his compassion not just for public consumption. I will never criticize that aspect of his life. His name is the most valuable public commodity he has, and I think he gives that willingly and without expectation of return, unlike many athletes who lend their name to foundations just to get the credit for "giving back".
DeleteI suppose I could be wrong and he is the most calculating son of a bitch that ever walked the earth, building a bulletproof image that he will cash in later for fortune and power. But I don't see it.
Anyone who has & continues to be put through the ringer like he has sure as heck better be genuine. It would be hard to imagine anything else sustaining his efforts other than genuine conviction.
DeleteI agree with what was said earlier. The possibility exists that he might crave the limelight a little too much but does he crave it so much that he would risk his playing career over it?? Or subject himself to ridicule or the humiliation of being cut last season?
I think Urban had it right he is a once in a generation person & player. He has shattered all the existing dogma of how to play the quarterback position. Unfortunately it has not been accepted. Going to Canada may or may not be the right thing. If I were him I would go only if all NFL options were exhausted & under certain conditions of playing time etc..
I would argue that he already has risked his playing career over it. Again, he chose a television career over grinding it out in a relatively low-profile league. And after so many years of literally next to no serious overtures from the NFL (the benefit of hindsight characterizes his stint with the Eagles as a coach's favor - I'm not convinced at all that Sexton drove that deal) it's safe to say the notion that he can be picky or make substantial demands about the terms by which he plays anywhere else are all but dispelled. The Alouettes were desperate for a quarterback two years ago, but now they are not. As Jim Popp said it's Tim's call to make, meaning they aren't necessarily disinterested but they're not going to jump through flaming hoops to get him either.
DeleteIn the meantime here's what we know: Tim hasn't seriously trained since the Eagles cut him seven months ago, and for the next eight weeks he's going to be taping a home improvement competition reality show that he has signed on to co-host. He's essentially made himself unavailable in any sort of pre-OTA NFL offseason workout scenario and will only have given himself roughly a week between the end of production and the start of training camp in a CFL scenario. Any way you look at it he's not acting like someone working to resurrect his football career. Make of it what you will but that's all we can go by at this time.
Just wow. Just when you think the NFL couldn't slap Tim in the face any harder you open up Twitter and discover that Gary Kubiak has reached out to Johnny Manziel. I harbor absolutely zero delusions that Tim has even the slightest chance of getting a call from the Broncos or any NFL team this season, but that's beside the point. If Denver signs that scumbag I hope they go down in flames together. Pathetic.
ReplyDelete>>>INCOMING RANT<<<<
ReplyDeleteWell guys, the writing has been on the wall for months. He stopped training, his speaking appearance schedule tramples all over the training camp calendar, the Alouettes have added two more quarterbacks to a stable already crowded with five of them, and now he's releasing a book that purportedly offers advice to the rest of us about how to handle life's disappointments, or, as the publisher's press release put it "what it means to maintain a sense of self when your dreams do not go as planned". Hard to think of a more obvious metaphor for moving on to the next chapter.
It pains me to say it but if this is his idea of "finishing strong" then, I'm sorry, he's lost me. For one thing he couches the rejection he faced in the NFL in terms of adversity, language with which cancer survivors, refugees, soldiers, drug addicts, first responders, the poor and homeless, abused spouses and children, and just about anybody that hasn't been sheltered their entire life might take exception. I can understand 'disappointment' and 'frustration', but 'adversity' is not an adjective that applies to his circumstances; and that he evidently thinks it does makes me wonder just how nearsighted his perspective is.
Secondly, when faced with 'adversity' he could have lived up to his talk of humility and taken the earnest advice given to him by a considerable number of coaches, analysts, players, former players and even fans to go get reps in the CFL. Any other player in his position - minus the enormous advantages of fame - would have taken that opportunity to keep their dreams alive. He could have done the same, but instead cashed in on a TV career while training on his own terms, as one analyst put it, "throwing footballs through a tire". And when that didn't work out he took his football and went home to cash in again on a book about dealing with 'adversity'.
The cognitive dissonance is mind-boggling.
Look, this isn't about telling some guy how to live his life. If happiness to him now means giving up on football to pursue the television, writing, speaking opportunities then hey good luck. I'm sorry the NFL screwed him over, but I'm also done coddling a guy that refused to swallow some pride to play in the CFL. If he surprises us down the road by signing with a team then count me back on the bandwagon, but right now all I can see is a guy whose biggest 'adversity' is the weight of his ego.
Well it's been quite a while since those of us who hope to see Tebow play in the NFL again have had anything to talk about. Most of us have have given up any hope on the possibility of this happening. However based on an interview he gave Larry King recently it seems like Tim himself is not yet ready to close the door on his returning to the NFL.
ReplyDeleteOr course the cynical view would be to dismiss this as happy talk to promote his new TV show. The admirable view is that Tim lives his convictions & will do things on his terms. I am just glad the question continues to be asked.
The article is 247sports.com/Bolt/Tim-Tebow-not-closing-the-door-to-nfl-return
In the article there is a link to the Larry King interviews.
I couldn't agree more with this article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/tebow-hate-reaches-new-low/ar-AAhNiOV?ocid=st
It said he was on a flight to Phoenix. Is he training or is he there to visit relatives???
DeleteNo he wasn't training. His brother lives there and he visits him often. I think they're both now en route to the Philippines on a mission trip.
DeleteOK: I don't want to but I need to ask this. Does New England have a backup to Garrapolo?
ReplyDeleteCould it be possible Tim gets another chance in New England??
No, I don't think so. They have a 3rd stringer and even if they didn't would dip into the usual pool of available journeymen not named Tebow.
DeleteTim is still not ready to say he won't play anymore!
ReplyDeletesportsnaut.com/2016/07/tim-tebow-talks-nfl-future
msn.com doug gottlieb interview.
I am glad Tim has decided to change sports instead of changing positions. He is & should have been a quarterback. MLB's gain is NFL's loss.
ReplyDeleteWell...at least we have something to talk about now. This came out of nowhere, didn't it? My immediate reaction was WTF??!!?
ReplyDeleteScary. He could fall flat on his face. But that makes it kind of exciting, too. No one could ever accuse the guy of not having guts.
This warrants a new thread!
ReplyDeleteHe's aliiiiiiiive!
DeleteI'll repost this on your new thread, but this is looking positive. He's been working with Gary Sheffield, who thinks all he needs is a year or year and a half in the minors to nail down the nuances. And already some minor league teams are expressing interest, including the Mariners' minor league club.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tmz.com/2016/08/09/tim-tebow-bakersfield-blaze/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tmz%2FUhde+%28TMZ.com%29