Tebow to Jaguars

 

Tebow and the FAA

Just in case there is ANY doubt about how wildly popular Tim Tebow is in North Florida ...

The FAA designates reference waypoints for aircraft and air traffic control to use for navigation.  These are known locations which are available on all FAA maps, charts, and electronic databases such as GPS.  All reference points are designated with 5 letter names which can be pronounced as two syllable words.   Examples: HILIS, FARES, WILON.

So take a look at the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) map screenshot below for the Jacksonville approach and see in anything jumps out at you.

Tebow in Class A

Open Thread.

Tim Tebow plays baseball

So, in case you haven't heard, Tim is going to try his hand at baseball.

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.

Game Changer

Dunno if there is anything to this rumor. If there is, can you say "Vitamin Tebow"?

http://www.chatsports.com/cleveland-browns/a/exclusive-browns-preparing-offer-urban-meyer-biggest-coaching-contract-nfl-history-24607

Hope, Math, and Attrition

The NFL trade deadline is now past.  That is significant for the quarterback situation.  All replacement quarterbacks for the rest of the season must come from the pool of free agent QB's.

Below is a list of free agent QB's on the market. A few QB's have already been signed from the list.  Those names are in blue strikethrough font.

Every time a starting QB or backup goes down to injury, one of the players on this list will be signed. It is attrition warfare, a numbers game.

EDIT:  I cleaned up the table.  No team is going to sign someone without some recent tape to evaluate, so I removed anyone who did not play in the preseason.

The remaining free agents are sorted by QBR.  That's an eye opener.

If you are wondering what is different this year from last year, it's simple.  Last year Tim did not play in the preseason.  He was not even on the list.  This year he is.  And he is pretty high up, if you go by objective standards.

Name	Last	Current	Camp	NFL Exp	Preseason QBR
Michael Vick	NYJ	PIT	1 week	Yes	113.5
Thaddeus Lewis	CLE	PHI	full	Yes	56.8
Josh Johnson	NYJ	IND	full	Yes	80.5
T.J. Yates	ATL	HOU	full	Yes	64.6
Matt Flynn	NYG	NO	full	Yes	111.9
Kellen Moore	DET	DAL	full	Yes	?
Ryan Mallett	HOU	BAL	full	Yes
Keith Wenning	CIN	CIN	full	No	22.6
Stephen Morris	JAX	IND	full	No	79.7
BJ Daniels	SEA	HOU	as WR	No	6/14
Alex Tanney	TEN	TEN	full	No	125.6
Josh Freeman	MIA	IND	full	Yes	43.1
Ryan Lindley	NE	IND	partial	Yes	57.0
Stephen Morris	JAX	IND	full	No
Christian Ponder	DEN		full	Yes	81.3
Tim Tebow	PHI		full	Yes	90.7
Phillip Sims	ARI		full		88.8
Jeff Tuel	JAC	JAC ps	full	Yes	71.4
McLeod Bethel-Thompson	MIA	SF ps	full	Yes	43.9
Mike Kafka	MIN		full	limited	109.5 (9/13)
Bryn Renner	BAL	TEN ps	full		91.1
Jake Heaps	NYJ		partial		39.6
Bryan Bennett	IND		full		15.4
Cody Fajardo	OAK		full		4.2

Disgust

Also self explanatory.  

Feel free to discuss.

WTF?

Title is self explanatory.  Please discuss.

The Tebow effect, in 4 pictures.

This series of pictures perfectly captures the hidden benefit of Tim Tebow to the rushing game ... even when he does not run.

2nd and goal from the 1 yard line.  Tim Tebow (3) has just handed off to Kevin Monongai.  Ravens OLB #45 Brennan Beyer (1) charges into the backfield unblocked.  Kevin Monongai (2) is directly in front of him with the ball (arrow).

Beyer (1) runs right past Monongai (2) and the ball (arrow), and makes a beeline for Tim Tebow (3).

Eagles Practice Schedule

Ok, training camp is almost here.  I'll be traveling for next few days, so I wanted to get the practice schedule up.  Below are the first 3 weeks of preseason.  All practices are open to the media.  After the second game, they go to their normal season practice schedule and media access is limited.

• Saturday, Aug. 1: Report day
• Sunday, Aug. 2: 11:30 a.m.
• Monday, Aug. 3: 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 4: Noon
• Wednesday, Aug. 5: Day off
• Thursday, Aug. 6: 11:30 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 7: 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 8: 11:30 a.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 9: Noon
• Monday, Aug. 10: Day off
• Tuesday, Aug. 11: 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 12: 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 13: 11:30 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 14: 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 15: Walk-through, TBA
• Sunday, Aug. 16: Preseason game vs. Colts, 1 p.m.
• Monday, Aug. 17: Day off
• Tuesday, Aug. 18: 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 19: Joint practice with Ravens, noon.
• Thursday, Aug. 20: Joint practice with Ravens, noon.
• Friday, Aug. 21: Joint practice with Ravens, noon.
• Saturday, Aug. 22: Preseason game vs. Ravens, 7 p.m.

OTA coverage

Well, after 2 years in hiding, today we saw the new Tebow released into the wild for public view.

Eagles offseason

Here is a pretty good summary of the Eagles OTA schedule:

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2015/4/2/8336865/philadelphia-eagles-offseason-schedule-2015-otas-minicamp-training-camp-dates-april-20

A couple of observations:

A Plea for Sanity on Tim Tebow

Unless you are marooned on a desert island, or refuse to join Twitter on moral grounds, you know that Tim Tebow will sign with the Philadelphia Eagles today. If you did not know, you soon will. ESPN will broadcast Tebow footage on continuous loop, airplanes will tow banners over urban areas, and horseback riders will crisscross the countryside shouting the news to the last few digital holdouts. Even the Unabomber could not avoid this news.

The news media refers to Tebow as "polarizing", which translates as "some people cannot stand that others admire him".  That probably telegraphs my point of view here. But I think Tebow fans and Tebow haters can all agree on one thing: the constant, intense scrutiny of all things Tebow has been by far the most infuriating thing about his career. Meanwhile NFL media insiders solemnly inform us that no team wants to deal with "the circus", by which they mean all reportage except for their own.

So here is a plea to everyone involved: turn the volume down. Place all electronic devices on mute. Let the man play football and succeed or fail on his own merits.

Tebow to Eagles Discussion

First of all:

People have been talking since about a year before Chip Kelly even joined the NFL what a great fit Tim would be for his system.  It's such a no brainer, it's amazing that it took this long to happen.  But looking back, it could be that Tim's forced hiatus was the best thing that could have happened to him.

The best thing about this, besides the fact that it happened, is the timing.  Tim will be on board for the full offseason. That gives him a fair shot to learn the offense and compete. It was critically important that he get on a roster and start studying the playbook.  

I'm of the opinion that his late start with the Pats (June 12th) was a major factor in his struggles.  He clearly did not look comfortable with the plays.  We all know he has dyslexia so studying is a challenge.  The more time he has to find ways to visualize plays and get reps, the better chance he has.

Discuss!

Perseverance!

Since Tim may be sending hidden messages, here's a reminder of the one he sent last year at this time.  Still working with Tom House, so I think he means what he says:

Tebow 2015 discussion thread

Nothing profound to say, just a new thread to talk about the new season.  Bob, start us off with your great news about the Antonio Brown interview, please.

Why Tim Tebow can't get a Job as a Backup QB

Being a Tebow fan is an exercise in frustration. Two years and seven months ago, we were riding high. Tim had just completed one of the most exciting NFL seasons ever, John Elway declared he had earned the starting QB job, and fans everywhere eagerly anticipated watching him play again. Three seasons later, we are still waiting to watch him play again.

The most maddening aspect of the experience has been watching quarterbacks who are clearly worse than Tebow get signed to backup roster spots. Take Blaine Gabbert. By any objective measure Gabbert is worse than Tebow. His career QB Rating is 66.4, while Tebow's QBR is 75.3. Yet the 49ers traded for Gabbert to be their backup QB. That is just one example.

Tebow team tracker: end of preseason

A few weeks ago I tried to itemize possible Teams for Tebow headed into training camp.  With preseason games over and the regular season about to start, let's see where things stand, and how some of my predictions played out.

Tebow to the Rams?

By now you probably know that the Rams lost starting QB Sam Bradford to a season-ending knee injury.  The news just leaked out a few hours ago, and speculation has already started about a replacement.  Predictably, "sign Tebow" tweets and blog posts have started to appear, along with the usual scornful responses.

I have held back from getting excited at previous openings, but this might be the right time to watch closely.  The Rams' circumstances offer 4 good reasons to make a Tebow redemption shot possible: