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.
Not a rookie.
“Because Payton Manning is a 36 year old with chronic neck problems, and Tebow is a healthy rookie with a very promising future.”
With the number of hits he takes, Tebow is at least as big an injury risk as a 36-yr-old Manning. While I would agree that Tebow has a promising future, I would say that his future as a starting NFL quarterback is “questionable” or “to be determined” rather than “promising.” The odds of Manning being a great QB again for the next 2 years are better than the odds of Tebow being even an average one.
Those are completely different situations. Th Colts let him go, as well as the GM and coaching staff. They decided to go in a different direction as a long term project, accepting short term loss with the potential of long term success. They also got real lucky that a spectacular prospect came along for them to snag up. But I would bet their new coach would rather have Peyton suit up game 1 than Luck.
The Broncos, with a stout defense, emrging WR and a pretty good OL with All Pro potential are in a win now mode. Manning helps you do that. The NFL is a win now league. This is not a personal decision because of Tebow’s lifestyle. That is just what people want it to be, because otherwise they have to admit that Peyton is better than Tebow.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of sports. Could turn out that Peyton really is only fit for a dome team. Could be that this off season Tebow puts all the pieces together to become the best scrambling QB since Elway. But the stats we have so far say they made the right move.
Dummies, that's who!
Don’t forget to apologize at the end of this coming season when you’re lamenting ever having signed Manning. Cause I’ll be looking for it!
What, so Manning can teach him how to throw a wobbly duck, or how NOT to throw, or how to work those happy feet in the backfield, or how NOT to scramble? Yeh, that should teach Tebow really well!
It makes me sick. Tebow worked so hard to take the team to the playoffs and he got stabbed in the back by my hero John Benedict Arnold Elway. Yes Payton is a hall of famer but Tebow made us all believe maybe god did love the good guy for once. Bronco fan for 28 yrs and now a sad fan.. God Speed Tim!
I think Tebow would make a good NFL tight end.
It was a business decision and Denver knows what it knows. It is a big decision for them to go for Manning. It could blow up big time in their face. As for Tebow, he will manage, I assume, because of his deep faith. He can handle the unexpected and being unwanted. I figure he also knows football is a business. I doubt if Tebow’s support will wane, because it is based on more than football. Manning needs our prayers, because I think he is putting himself way out there on the limb.
Sorry but you’re missing half the equation.
The Colts situation was strictly business as Manning was due a $28 million bonus merely for being on the roster. Jim Irsay, Manning et al knew the team wouldn’t be rebuilt and competitive within the time window Manning had left so they parted by mutual agreement.
‘Tebow made the playoffs’ is the favored cry in many quarters but many mediocre or worse teams have done the same e.g. San Diego Chargers. The divisional alignments and the wild card system produce some marginal playoff qualifiers and anyone who watched the Broncos ride their luck into the postseason can’t - or shouldn’t - credit Tebow with opponents mismanaging clock etc.
How can Elway have made a lousy business decision if he gets a top-flight quarterback for a relative bargain? There’s a reason multiple teams wanted Manning and why a flurry of trades will follow this signing. All of Tebow’s liabilities have not disappeared, with or without a playoff game under his belt. It’s a passing league now and any QB with attempts in the single digits per game is not going to experience sustained success.
Probably, if he’d make the change. Being a Steelers fan I’ve unfortunately seen this play before, a solid multipurpose player with enough QB skills for a handful of gadget plays a game but should primarily be a TE/ slot receiver/ receiving RB but just won’t give up his dreams of being a QB. Stewart did some time with your Bears after we got sick of him as I recall.
Whatever.
apologize?! I’m not following you. Why would I apologize for an NFL team making an easy call? Tebow was horrible this year as an NFL QB. It was brutally painful to watch him(and I WAS pulling for him). The Colts couldn’t afford their risk, they made the right financial call as well. Should I apologize for them as well? I have no way to know if Manning is 100%, but either way I can’t fault the Broncos for making an easy decision. He’s being replaced by an incredible player, what else should the Broncos try to do? If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out...but it is a no-brainer from a football standpoint. I’d like to see Tebow sit and watch, then get another shot... not likely to happen, I’ll admit. Either way, a religious bias decision this was not.
The average NFL career is 3 years, so he’s 2/3 of the way through a standard career. And most Heisman winners don’t succeed in the NFL.
Other people who seem to have an strange investment of some kind in his failure.
I don’t have any investment in anybody’s failure. My investment is was and always will be the truth, and the current truth on Tebow is nice guy, bad QB; the stats are there, I’ve linked you to them, you can pretend they aren’t all you want but they don’t change. That doesn’t mean it’s the future truth, guys have turned it around before, a change of scenery might do him some good, might give him the same transformation it gave Jerome Bettis, or it might not. The future is an unknown, the current is well defined though, which is why they replaced him at their best opportunity to get quality, and they’ll wind up trading him away relatively cheap, and we’ll see what his new team does with him.
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