Without Peyton Manning at quarterback last year, the Indianapolis Colts won two games. How many would they have won if Manning had been healthy and able to play? In the last ten years, Manning’s Colts won at least 12 games eight times. The two down years? They won 10 games.
If Tim Tebow had been the quarterback of the Colts last year, how many games would he have won? That’s the question LaVar Arrington should be asking. It looks like Manning will be a Denver Bronco soon, and Tebow may be traded. Regardless of whatever else Tebow can bring to the table, he can’t bring Manning’s skill-set.
It seems unlikely to me that Tebow can even find a team willing to make him their starting quarterback, but if he does we’ll hopefully see him matched up against Manning. And then we’ll find out whether the Broncos made the right choice.
The one thing I know for certain is that Peyton Manning is going to look weird in a Broncos uniform.
Tebow could definitely wind up a Dolphin, but I doubt it would get the Fins out of last place anytime in the next decade.
My friend in SF tells me the Niners have already lost Alex Smith to the ‘Fins.
So, apparently they’re looking for a new quarterback in San Fran. Tebow in the land of Satan? Might be fun.
I refuse to believe even the Dolphins could be that stupid.
Or if they signed him, it’d be purely in the interest of selling jerseys and — briefly, before fans figured out Tebow would never beat out Moore — selling tickets. The Gargoyle wants to recoup his investment, and the Ginger might do it to appease him. But in all likelihood, Moore will start next season.
And he should! The QB class is shit in this year’s draft once you get beyond Luck and maybe Griffin. So, since we’re not getting Manning, and given that Moore played quite well last year, it seems like a no-brainer.
I doubt we wind up in last place. Buffalo is still garbage, and as bad as we were last year, we put up a fight in nearly every game, and against some pretty damned good teams.
Tebow is not an NFL quarterback. He scored one playoff upset against a Yinzer team on which the median age is Deceased. He played in a garbage division that makes Buffalo look like Green Bay, and he did it thanks entirely to a good defense and running game.
The guy can’t hit the broad side of a barn.
All that said, surely Manning needs Secret Service protection more than Newt? When his arrival brings the end of St Douchebag, it’s gonna drive the religious nuts straight over the edge.
Buffalo is not garbage. Mario Williams is now there with Marcel Dareus. They’ll add either Michael Floyd or a hellacious pass rusher like Courtney Upshaw or Melvin Ingram with their 10th pick.
Buffalo will test the Jets for second place, especially if they upgrade their O-Line.
The Dolphins have nothing.
Floyd is laughably overrated. If he didn’t play for the Domers, and wasn’t thus subject to endless knob-polishing on tv, he’d be a second-rounder at best. You forget what garbage competition Notre Dame has been playing. Even the better opponents were middling defensively.
Upshaw and Ingram, too. You Northerners have bought the SEC’s bullshit hook line and sinker. Bama’s great, but it’s a team game, and the SEC east (in Ingram’s case is playing at Big East levels.
Williams was a good pickup, but it doesn’t change much.
All you’re telling me is they can put together a decent D-line. Their secondary left a lot to be desired, and their offense is pitiful. Not to mention they’re easily last in the division at QB.
Yes, “garbage” covers it quite well.
I am really, really curious to see what Tebow’s trade value turns out to be.
Maybe LaVar Arrington should have asked JoePa why the only decent QB he ever had in his last 25 years of coaching was Kerry Collins.
I would looove to be a fly on the wall at the first Broncos team gathering after (if) Tebow gets traded away. You know that squad has got to be sick to the teeth with him.
Oh, and one other thing:
Peyton Manning is going to look weird in a Broncos uniform.
Folks here in Denver think he’s going to look like a champion in a Broncos uni.
Tebow’s run with the Broncos was a fluke, in that he had a coach willing to retool an entire offense around his unique but limited skill set. Will any other team be willing to make a commitment like that? For the same reason (not to mention fan pressure), Tebow almost has to be brought in as a starter.
We saw in the playoffs what happened when a team had time to “solve” Tebow’s option approach. Now every team in Tebow’s new division will have access to that template. Also, too, Tebow’s strength is his performance in the clutch, which required a defense (like Denver’s) good enough to keep games close. How many teams have both a defense like that and a QB situation so anemic they’d be willing to take a flyer on Tebow? I can’t think of any.
I think Tebow’s trade value will be relatively poor. Any team willing to go all in on Tebow is a team that’s more concerned about selling merchandise than winning.
I agree, as does Bill Barnwell:
It’s an entertaining situation, that’s for sure.
Grantland is probably my favorite sports/culture site, mostly due to the quality of the writing.
In general, the truism at newspapers is that the most talented writers are the sportswriters. Every day, you’re asked to take the words of often semi-articulate young men and the results of yesterday’s game (i.e., one team won, the other one lost), and make it all interesting, entertaining, and different every day. The people who can do that well are really, really good writers.
Yeah, I love Grantland. Definitely on my daily must-read list.
I’ve been reading Bill Simmons for years. At first I thought Grantland was kind of gimmicky and just a way for him to get more personal exposure outside of his columns on ESPN.com. But the quality of the writers he’s gotten on board is so good that I don’t think I’d even list him in the top fiftieth percentile there. Now it’s him that seems gimmicky!
barnwell makes an interesting point when he writes:
ergo: tebow’s got to go, and l tend to agree with jim trotter at s.i. that, on paper, the best fit for tebows particular skill set would be the eagles as vicks back-up. l suspect they’d be able to get him pretty cheaply too.
stranger things have happened.
I agree, on paper that would be the best fit.
It’s going to be really interesting to see how things pan out. Coupled with Tebow’s unique skill set (or lack thereof, depending on your viewpoint) is all of the baggage that comes along with signing him. Namely, that he has a very dedicated and vocal fan base who make it very difficult to relegate Tebow to a bench role. So who is going to want to take that on?
I think this was a masterful move by Elway that both allows him to take on one of the best quarterbacks of all time while also extricating himself from having to employ a player he never really wanted to in the first place, all without pissing off the Denver fan base too much.
I don’t agree. Vick doesn’t get enough credit. He’s never going to be Manning, but he’s not solely a runner. Vick can throw. Tebow can’t.
Well, if Tebow doesn’t get a gazillion dollar deal somewhere, look for the GOP to decry it as an “assault on religious liberty”. And, or course, Obama is pulling the strings somewhere to further his war on Christianity.
…and then all that is undercut when someone asks Romney about Tebow’s new contract, and he replies that he doesn’t have time to watch basketball.
……And he says he has some good friends, though, who are basketball team owners and are very eager to get a shot at a good point guard like Tebow.
Elway’s a Republican. FYI. Doubt he voted for Obama. Not that that would stop stupid people from saying stupid things.
So Elway placed in the front office was supposed to turn the Broncos around?
They give away picks to trade up for Tebow, who no one was likely to pick high up anyway, and who just doesn’t have the basic skills and mechanics to be a pro QB. But he did take them to the playoffs but was might ugly doing it.
Then they overpay for an aging QB with very suspect nerve damage that could end is career in one blow.
Now they have to trade Tebow, because he sucks but also because they can’t install a system that will allow them to use Tebow as a back up to Manning. And they will likely get almost nothing for him.
I’m thinking Jax for Tebow where he could at least sell some tix. I guess maybe Miami too, but that would also still be stupid.
Jacksonville needs offensive tackles and wide receivers. Riley Reiff or Michael Floyd in the draft, and definitely too early to give up the QB they drafted in front of Tebow last year.
Maybe.
But Jax is effectively becoming a throwaway franchise that badly needs to sell tickets.
Tebow, and all those North FL Gater fans could do that.
Winning might be nice, but it is not very important to them right now. A lot like many Hockey franchises these days.
I see Jax in LA before too long.
As I understand it, the NFL wants LA to stay empty. As soon as an NFL franchise moves to LA, no other struggling NFL franchise can threaten to move to LA.
Ooh interesting theory. LA has never been a strong sports town. Fair weather fans and the tv market is strong with or without their own team
Elway didn’t draft Tebow. He became GM after McDaniels was fired, the guy who did draft Tebow in the 1st round (God knows why since he never played him). Elway has been looking to get out from under Tebowmania ever since he took over. Only a deal like this would work to allow that to happen.
you know, it’s certainly not a great fit with Manning, but Tebow is a great athlete. I don’t see why he has to play QB. He can run a few wildcat plays, but I can see him as an effective runner/receiver. He’d always be a threat to throw the option pass, and he can cause confusion for the defense by lining up in various places before the snap. I wouldn’t trade him. He’s valuable to the fan base and he can do a lot of things on a football field besides lining up under center.
Of course, if someone makes a nice offer, that’s different. But will anyone make a nice offer?
Meh. How well did it work in Pburgh to have Stewart play all over? And I think he was better. At least he was when he threw that pas to beat UofM 😉
Thanks for clearing that up… Even if I was never an Elway fan