Posted on 03/20/2012 7:47:26 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Tom Brady got his actress girlfriend pregnant out of wedlock, then promptly dumped her for a new model girlfriend – whom the New England Patriots quarterback married instead of the mother of his child.
Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assault by a 20-year-old college student who said the Pittsburgh Steelers QB followed her into the ladies room of a Georgia night club and had his way with her. That followed a previous accusation that “Big Ben” sexually assualted a 31-year-old casino host at a Lake Tahoe hotel.
As reprehensible the behavior of both Brady and Roethlisberger, neither pro footballer experienced the kind of hateration directed at Tim Tebow because the second-year Denver Broncos QB dared to publicly profess his Christian faith.
Well, now the Tebow haters have something to slap high fives about. The Broncos have decided to replace their gritty young quarterback with former Indiana Colts signal caller Peyton Manning.
Never mind that Tebow took the Broncos from worst to first in the AFC West this past season, orchestrating six improbable late-game comeback victories in the process. Never mind that No. 15 – who had the second-best selling NFL jersey last year – led Denver to the second round of the playoffs, after besting Roethlisberger’s Steelers in the opening round.
Broncos management said it just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to acquire free agent Manning, who had a Hall of Fame career with the Colts, but who is attempting to come back from a neck injury that required four surgeries, and which kept him sidelined all of last season.
Of course, it’s the Broncos prerogative to sign or deal players as management sees fit. But the duplicity with which the club has dealt with Tebow leaves a lasting stain upon the franchise.
Back in November, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said of Tebow, “I believe he’ll be a great one.
In January, Broncos Executive Vice President John Elway said, “I think Tim has earned the right to be the starting quarterback going into training camp.”
And, just last month, Broncos Head Coach John Fox said of Tebow, “He is going to be a great quarterback in this league.”
I’m sure Bowlen, Elway and Fox will maintain that they meant what they said (when they said it). But the actions of the NFL club reveal what truly was in the hearts of the three men.
So there will be no Tebowing in Denver next football season. If Broncos management reaps what it has sown, the team will return to worst from first in its division.
Actually I don’t understand why this is necessarily a good business deal on the end. I understand completely that Peyton will make the Broncos contenders -—— but for about maybe 2 years —— and then after that the Broncos will have to find a future starting QB and fit a team around whomever. So while I understand the “win now” idea of management, the Broncos could be “one hard sack” on Peyton away from total disaster and many more years of being in the cellar of the NFL
There’s a salary cap and because the previous management of the Broncos drafted Tebow too early he’s a first rounder (late first round but still first round) making a good chunk of money, add that to what they have to pay Peyton and you’re talking tying up about 1/5 of their cap on those 2. Not good math, hard to stock the other 51 members of the roster with quality with that much money tied up on players that won’t even be on the field at the same time, that’s why the Colts released Manning. And given that the two players have completely opposite styles any mentoring would be haphazard at best, pure pocket passer just don’t see or interact with the game the way scramblers do, might as well have the defensive line mentor him.
Ditto.
But they’re already in a situation where they probably need to find a new QB in a couple of years. Unless Tebow finds a way to truly grow past his late season performance he wasn’t going to be their QB of the future. So really they’re picking the path of be good now while hoping for a solid QB to show up in the 2014 draft, vs not be good now while hoping for a solid QB to show up in the 2013 or 2014 draft. Might as well be good.
Tim Tebow is a class act and I’m sure he’s got a good perspective through all this - I like Tim because he has stood up for his faith and I even cheered for the Broncos over my Raiders. Now, I can go back to cheering for Tim without having to cheer for the Broncos. And I will predict that Peyton won’t see the success he’s had in the past because no matter how great he was, having had that kind of injury will change his future play...Look at all the other guys who were traded late in their careers - none of them got a superbowl ring AFTER their trades!
I think it’s all been overhyped.
And I sure wish The AZ Cardinals would opt Tim in and let him vie for the starting spot alongside Colb and Skelton!
Except Tebow doesn’t have a very promising future. He needs to take his game up 3 or 4 steps to have a promising future, and even during the win streak when he was improving he wasn’t improving that much. He still generally stank for the first 3 quarters of every game, 4th quarter comebacks are nice, but like Madden always said the key to a 4th quarter comeback is losing after 3, and you’d rather be winning after 3.
Then there was the Kansas City game, last game of the regular season, Broncos are win and you’re in, they’re going up against a terrible team that fired their coach a few weeks ago. This is the time when a QB with a promising future shine, this is the time to lay a beat down against a clearly inferior opponent. Tim completes 6 passes for a total of 60 yards. That’s not a QB with a very promising future. That’s a Rex Grossman who happens to be a nice enough guy to be popular with the fans in spite of his performance.
Lets get some perspective folks. Broncs were 8-8. In other words, absolutely mind-numbingly mediocre. If they were in any other division (besides AFCW or NFCW) nobody would be having this conversation because at best they would be second and most likely third.
If he had taken a team such as the Browns to the playoffs in one season, there would be something substantial to talk about. As it stands, even 3/4 through the season most sports prognosticators were ho-hum on his talent. After mostly one season he is 19-9 TD/INT ratio with a completion % of about 47. Jay Cutler for comparison is 115-85 TD/INT and a completion % of about 61. Kyle Orton is 80-57 and a 58%. Manning is 399-198 and 65%. Manning is money right now.
He’s not being traded to remove his outspoken faith from Denver - he’s just not that good yet and Denver wants a shot at a SB right now. Probably a few season’s worth of maturation may prove his talent but right now he’s too raw. I hope his faith can last through that process.
Like I said, it all comes down to personal opinion.
I wonder how many will do the same for Manning?”
Our society seems to have disintegrated to the point that I would suspect there are already some bets being made about how many games he will play before he is permanently disabled. Those sickos will be sure to watch to see if they won.
It’s NOT personal opinion, it’s STATISTICS. Here look at his stats:
http://www.nfl.com/player/timtebow/497135/gamelogs
Now ignore the praying and the kneeling and the cross JUST look at the stats. Is that your QB of the future if you have any real choice? Just based on the stats is THAT the guy you keep? Without even looking at Peyton Manning as your replacement. Even in his wins his stats are horrible. He’s just plain not a good QB, he’s got to dramatically improve his game to have a promising future, those are the plainly obvious facts, not opinion.
But this Hall of Famer has a very chancey neck injury, is 36 and sat out the last season...
so you throw over a QB who got you to the play-offs, however inconsistently ????
It would be great to have Tim in Miami, except the Dolphin's organization is incompetent, and they just hired a coach from Green Bay to run a West Coast offense and get Matt Flynn, who has already signed with Seattle.
Only reason Tebow got them to the playoffs is the AFCW is horrible. He finished them in an 8-8 three way tie that got them in on tie-breakers. Faced with a win and you’re in week 17 against a KC team so bad they’d already fired the coach he completed 6 passes. And let’s not forget the defense, they greatly reduced their points allowed per game, which had a lot more to do with those wins than Tebow. Keep that defense get a real QB and they could beat the good teams in the league, not just their AFCW rivals and Minnesota.
Are the Broncos getting rid of Tebow? I didn’t hear that. Plus, Manning is far from a sure thing given his neck problems. I think they brought him in as a mentor for the young guy. If they did that, it was a smart thing to do.
On the other hand does ANYONE think that opposing players are not going to try and take him out?"
I think the answer to your first question should come from the Broncos offensive line, what with their offensive tackles' high vulnerability to giving up sacks.
Looking at the Broncos 2012 schedule, I think the answer to your second question might be answered by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
Peyton Manning historically hasn't taken many sacks because he gets rid of the ball pretty darn fast and because the Colts built a team around doing little else but protecting him while he throws (partly explaining why they went 2-14 when Peyton sat out last season), but I think that's about to change. He's about to experience something he's never had to deal with.
Second year quarter back.
I see your logic...
and will be interested to see if your theory plays out...
but will no longer be rooting for the Broncs...
and *sniff* Peyton.
Cool numbers, now mention the fact he helped get his team into the second round of the playoffs.
Don’t forget that defense. They reduced their average points allowed by 15 points a game. It’s a 53 man roster, no one guy wins the game.
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