How will Tim Tebow's career be?

[Megatron]

News outta Denver...

One of the larger storylines of the first week of training camp in the AFC West has been the plummeting stock of Tim Tebow in Denver.

It appeared Tebow would be given the opportunity to start when the Broncos tried to trade Kyle Orton to Miami. That deal died during the weekend when Orton couldn’t come to a contract accord with the Dolphins.

Days later, it seems like Orton is fully entrenched as Denver’s starter in 2011 (the final year of his contract) and Tebow will likely only get his chance to play if the Broncos struggle badly like last year when he took over for the final three games.

Orton has outplayed Tebow in camp thus far. On “SportsCenter” Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Orton is Denver’s starter and he will not be dealt this year. Reports out of Denver back that up. There’s even a chance Tebow could lose the backup job to Brady Quinn.

It’s been a tough time for Tebow. ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge has made it a lot tougher. Hoge has some extremely harsh words for Tebow’s play while on “SportsCenter” on Wednesday.

Hoge said he has studied film of Tebow’s play last year and he is not impressed. Actually, he’s alarmed. Hoge, who never has a problem telling it like it is, said Tebow has the skill set of a player drafted in the sixth or seventh round. Former Denver coach Josh McDaniels drafted Tebow in the first round (No. 25 overall) in 2010.

Hoge said Tebow’s accuracy is “awful” and there is no way he is ready to start in the NFL. Hoge equated it to a Clydesdale running in the Kentucky Derby.

It’s early but all signs point to Tebow not being an impact player in 2011 and one has to wonder when he’ll ever be. Tebow has said he thrives on being counted out. Well, he has a lot of motivation. At this point, it might be the only thing he has going for him.

I swear, I've not seen a guy more criticized in his two years, despite playing sparsely in his rookie season, then Tim Tebow. Look, this kid doesn't have the most fluid of motion and he's not Tom Brady-type accurate, but I do think that he will soon become a very good QB in the NFL. He just have some of the intangibles that you love in a QB - never gives up on a play, will be a leader, isn't gonna fall into the hype/hate, and wins. Will he ever put up 4000 yards and a 95 rating? Doubtful. But I never thought that was his game anyways. He's a guy who can change the game by more then just his passing ability. He can run pretty well (especially in the red zone) and will always bring his best effort.

I think there is 4 tiers to the QB position, and they are as follows:

Tier 1 - Top guys. Guys who can lead teams with lesser talents around them (Brady and Manning are the two best examples of this spot).

Tier 2 - Guys who are more then capable of starting and can lead a team to a playoff run every once in a while (Carson Palmer and Matt Hasselbeck are types of guys here).

Tier 3 - Guys who are best off being a strong backup and giving 3-4 starts a year (Shaun Hill and Bruce Gradkowski spring to mind).

Tier 4 - Busts. Guys who are lucky to be holding a clipboard (JaMarcus Russell and Matt Leinart are examples here).

So when it comes to Tebow, where does he land in this tier system in his prime years? I think he can be a successful QB for sure. Not necessarily Tier 1, but definitely a starting QB talent. There's just something about Tebow that makes me think this guy will succeed. I just think he won't allow himself to fail like people are thinking he will. I see somewhat of a middle of 2/3, but closer to 2 then 3.

So if you guys can understand what I'm going at here, what do you think Tim Tebow's career will be remembered as?

 

[Big Sexy]

I've never thought Tebow would be a successful starter in the NFL. Intangibles can only take you so far especially when it comes to the pro game. Going by your tiers I'd definitely say tier 3. He won't be a complete bust because he does work hard and he has the mobility factor going for him but in terms of throwing ability it just isn't there.

His accuracy is just average at best and while he has a decent arm it isn't anything special by NFL standards. He can be an ok backup and make the occasional start because of injury but nothing more then that.

 

[klunderbunker]

First and foremost, there was a guy that was supposed to be horrible because his throwing motion was all messed up. His name is Phillip Rivers and he's doing fine with that weird angle of his.

More importantly though, Tebow has started 3 games in his NFL career with a HORRIBLE defense playing with him. In short, there's not enough information to determine what he'll be. Orton has been in the NFL what, 5-6 years while Tebow has been in it for a season spent mostly on the bench. Why is it so shocking that Orton is better than Tebow right now? I mean, this is news to some people? Orton has experience and hasn't been horrible in the time he's played. he's been adequate I think is a good word for him. It makes perfect sense that he's better than a second year player with limited game time.

As for where Tebow will be, it's hard to say right now. The mechanics could come or they might not. In short, you can't really know until he's had more time to adjust and more experience, even as a backup. There's this weird mentality over the last few years that if you're not great IMMEDIATELY you're a failure that isn't worth the time. I've never gotten that but it seems to be a growing mentality, which isn't a good thing. Not enough information on Tebow yet though.

 

[Davi323]

I would say tier 2, based on your definitions. I like Tim Tebow, he may not be the most mechanically sound QB, but he has a knack for winning. If QB arm mechanics are all it takes to win, when is the Pro Football Hall of Fame going to be inducting Todd Marinovich? We have seen all kinds of "pure passers", QBs with all the physical skills, be complete failures in the NFL. Some guys are just winners, others aren't. I think Tebow is most likely a born winner. For whatever reason, he wins despite shortcomings in his throwing motion.

It's kind of funny, considering Tom Brady was a 6th rounder. The NFL scouts completely missed him. There were too many holes in his game to ever be an NFL starter. He wasn't big enough, didn't have any arm strength. He was never going to supplant Drew Bledsoe. Then fate intervened, and a HOF career was born. Does that mean I think Tebow is a future HOF'er? Hell no. But I do think it's a bit premature to write him off. He hasn't had a real chance to show what he can do.

 

[The Bearded One]

I would say tier three to tier four. I just watched a highlight video of his rookie season and all the passes shown were either to wide open receivers or dump off passes. I didn't see once where he had to show any kind of ability to thread the needle. Sure, he can run the ball, but if that's all he can really do then he should be moved to another position.

I watched him all four years at Florida. His accuracy is suspect at best. He seemed to always underthrow the receivers on deep passes and they had to wait stop and wait on the ball, which often meant a big gain instead of a touchdown. Intangibles don't mean nowhere near as much as people claim they do. Tebow was a good leader in college, but why would a 34-year-old, for example, look up to a young quarterback who has yet to prove anything? He wouldn't, I can guarantee it.

Tebow just does not have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and the Broncos are realizing it right now.

 

[JWGunslinger]

2nd tier, I think Tebow will do just fine in the NFL and have a good career. The only problem is his college career was so amazing that I fear it will always outshine whatever he does in the big show.

 

[The Crock]

I'll say 2nd tier. Look, we haven't seen nearly enough of Tebow as a pro to really make a solid assessment, but the kid has some great tools. He may not be great with mechanics, but he has great size and he can make plays. You don't have to a cookie cutter player to be a success, hell, if it was like that then he wouldn't have made it in college. People love to sit down and over-analyze things, he can't do this, he can't do that... Yeah, but what about what he can do? What Tebow does, he does well. He can run the ball and play very physically, not many other quarterbacks can say that.

Given some more time to develop and some hard work, there's nothing to say Tebow won't be a great quarterback.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

too early to tell i say but i think ill go with 3rd right now but based off the way the rest of his career goes things could easily change but then again i dont really know too much about this guy