Don't Buy The Hype

I'll put this out there right now: I'm not a Tim Tebow fan. I don't like him as a pro quarterback, and I certainly hate his holier-than-thou, good two-shoes personality. For his entire college career, every NFL expert agreed with me. Well, the part about him not making it as a pro, anyways.

In the few months between the end of his reign at Florida and the NFL draft, something changed. The conversation regarding Tebow's NFL future went from a 3rd to 5th round prospect to a possible 1st round threat. How did this happen?

An endless amount of publicity surely helped. You couldn't hear any talk about the draft without Tim Tebow's name coming up. Everyone wanted to know what round he'd go, what team what take that flier, if his throwing motion had changed, etc. The simple act of his name being heard surely advanced his status. But that's not the main reason.

There is this notion out there that Tebow is the ultimate warrior. He practices harder, plays harder and cares more than anybody else. For the sake of argument, I'll concede that. Let's say he really is the one guy who gives 110% every play. So what?

Remember Byron Leftwich? Click on this video. Forget the picture of Tebow with blood running down his face, Leftwich couldn't even walk down the field. You could say that nobody was tougher or cared more than Leftwich did. Very few people think that Tebow will be as successful as Leftwich was in the NFL, and he's currently the backup for the Pittsburgh Philanderer, Big Ben, traded for a mere 7th round draft pick.

Toughness means something, sure, but it isn't everything. You still need the tools. NFL teams will take the lazy Brandon Marshall over the hard-working Doug Flutie every day. And guess what, Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy aren't exactly bums. They too work their asses off and deeply care about the game. But they have one thing that Tim Tebow doesn't - a style of play that translates into the NFL.

Maybe Tebow will make it as an NFL quarterback. Nobody knows. But he doesn't have a monopoly on heart. Other guys have just as much desire as he does. They just have other qualities that shine brighter, while that's the only thing Tebow has to lean on. Good luck, Denver.