Is Tim Tebow’s Future A Victim Of Ignorance?

I respect people who voice their opinions. There’s something to be said for someone who is willing to stand up for what they believe. To that point, everyone seems to have something to say about Tim Tebow the NFL quarterback in recent weeks. The latest is former player and current analyst Merril Hoge.

Why is Hoge embarrassed? What is so personal to him that it embarrasses him that some might support the thought of Tebow being a winner in the NFL? And what exactly was the win-loss record last season of the quarterback Hoge thinks should play over Tebow?

I’m not sure if Tebow should be the Denver Broncos’ starter. I’m not sure he’s better than Kyle Orton. In fact, I’m not sure if Tebow will ever become a successful professional quarterback. What I am sure of is this: Tebow has only started three NFL games and has only attempted 82 passes as a professional. He has been intercepted three times, but has also thrown five touchdown passes while compiling an 82.1 efficiency rating. Add in his six rushing touchdowns and zero lost fumbles and you have someone who in his rookie year accounted for 11 scores and only three turnovers.

I’m not an expert of the ins and outs of the game of football. I watch plenty of it and read even more, but I’m sure that pales in comparison to the amount someone like Hoge takes in. Regardless, I can say one thing with certainty: no one has seen enough of Tebow to know what his future will bring. Being a “good guy” didn’t lead to those 11 scores. His “college speeches” didn’t help the Broncos put points on the board. Hard work and natural ability did. Whether either of those things will make Tebow a full-time starter in the NFL remains to be seen, but isn’t that exactly my point?

I’m not embarrassed that I can’t predict Tebow’s future. I’m not embarrassed to have cheered for him as a Gator for four years and as a Bronco for one. I’m not embarrassed to be pulling for him to succeed. And I’m not embarrassed to think he deserves more time before we classify him as a failure.

Hoge is embarrassed. Something about this entire situation offends him (his use of 16 exclamation points in five tweets about Tebow shows that). I’m sure he has his reasons and, again, he’s entitled to his opinion, but he would be better served to base it on a larger sample size. Hoge might classify former Denver great John Elway as a winner. The same Elway that completed less than 50% of his passes and threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns during his rookie year.  The same Elway that in 1992 – his 10th year in the NFL – threw 17 picks to go with only 10 scores. The same Elway who left the game after leading the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl victories and is in the Hall of Fame. The point is Hoge can’t predict the future any better than Miss Cleo. He should stop being embarrassed by a player that is simply trying to do his best. Tebow isn’t publicly stating he should be the starter. He isn’t saying he’s better than anyone. He’s doing what he has done his whole life; he’s working hard to try to succeed and help his team. That’s not embarrassing.