NFL 2013 Season Thread

[Ming]

Hell... I'd take him over our back up QB

[snoopy369]

Tebow? Nah. The problem with using Tebow as a backup is he just can't play as a regular QB. Cutler to Tebow are two totally different offenses. I'd rather have someone who can play, even mediocrely, as a QB in our offense without making the rest of the team learn a new offense - in particular as with Cutler it's more likely he comes in mid-game.

[Sava]

I'm not really a Tebow fan, but I can't help but wonder what he did to fall so far, so fast.

uhm... he's bad at football

[Ben Kenobi]

I'd like to see someone who's good at QB development work with Tebow. IE, not the Jets and not Denver. Denver hasn't ever had a good QB since Elway, and Elway really wasn't all that good. Might be a good fit with Norv Turner. I'm not convinced that he can't pick up the skills. But knowing the NFL - the Bears will pick up Tebow.

[ColdWizard]

Bob O'Billovich is responsible for the greatest quarterback of all time, clearly he should take Tebow under his wing.

[snoopy369]

Strictly speaking the Bears have a QB development guru as head coach now, so that wouldn't be awful; but like I said, he's not a good backup unless you have another read-option guy. SF, WAS, CAR, maybe PHI would be good destinations, though.

I don't think that will happen, though; for better or (mostly) for worse, he's stuck with the press and whatnot that he got. That will likely keep him out of the NFL for a few years, not because he's blacklisted or has a stigma, but because teams just don't want a bunch of hype around their #2 or #3 QB.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ooh, a stealth Flutie dig. Well done.

[-Jrabbit]

I don't think it was a bad draft pick, and I don't think it's unreasonable that he's out of the league now. Lots of guys have leadership ability. I don't know that his 'leadership ability' is what won those games in DEN. He did have a team, after all, that was solid on both sides of the ball other than at QB, and still lucked into a few things (like facing CHI missing half their offense).

...

I don't think that was a bad idea. But he has clearly not improved, for whatever reason - either he just can't get better at it, or he's not found the right coach/situation/workout/etc. to improve.

...

I wonder, if Tebow had a better coach (say, drafted in the 3rd round by the Eagles) if he'd be in a better situation now. I don't know. But I don't think the draft choice was a bad idea. DEN was a fairly solid team just missing a few pieces; they didn't need a bunch of role players. Take that home run swing, and don't apologize if you miss.

This analysis is questionable in a couple ways, snoop.

1. Tebow was 7-4 with the same team that Kyle Orton (now a well-paid backup QB) went 1-4 with. Those wins can't all be circumstantial.
2. The development argument is speculative at best, since Tebow basically wasn't permitted to see the field in the one year since his run as a starter.

I just think it's more than a little odd that this guy, who has had some notable success in the league and has NOT had any behavioral/legal/work ethic issues -- and is still on his (not very expensive) rookie contract -- can't find an NFL gig.

[Ming]

Tebow? Nah.

While I agree with the theory of what you are saying, I was just making a point that he probably still would have played better than any back up QB the Bears have used in the last few years

[SlowwHand]

Tebow becoming successful would make for a good movie.

[snoopy369]

This analysis is questionable in a couple ways, snoop.

1. Tebow was 7-4 with the same team that Kyle Orton (now a well-paid backup QB) went 1-4 with. Those wins can't all be circumstantial.
2. The development argument is speculative at best, since Tebow basically wasn't permitted to see the field in the one year since his run as a starter.

I just think it's more than a little odd that this guy, who has had some notable success in the league and has NOT had any behavioral/legal/work ethic issues -- and is still on his (not very expensive) rookie contract -- can't find an NFL gig.

Sample size of 5 vs 11 is not interesting. Kyle Orton had a pretty good record as a Bear, after all... and look at the scores of the offense. Kyle Orton's offense averaged 21 points a game; Tebow's offense averaged 19. Orton faced at least the same quality of opponent. Tebow even lost to the (not very good) Chiefs 7-3 in the final game of the season. That's your 'winner'? I think you have, rather, a combination of a player teams didn't have much film on - thus some initial advantage - and some luck. I mean, are you giving Tebow credit for Marion Barber's fumble? Or for Nick Novak missing two field goals in the SDG game? I don't think anyone would say that Tebow didn't take every advantage he could in 2011, but I also don't think his record is something to judge him primarily by.

I think that it's pretty silly to say that any of us knows more than 32 NFL teams about evaluating someone's potential. You can find conspiracies if you wish, but I think it's likely a combination of lack of talent, the fact that he isn't a good fit for backup for most teams, and a wish to avoid a media circus.

[-Jrabbit]

Nice job basically ignoring my second point. All I'm saying is, teams take speculative developmental gambles on players all the time, including players with inferior combinations of upside/skills/baggage. So why not this one?

And again, I'm not a Tebow fan. Far from it. You could look it up.

[snoopy369]

I'm saying the fact that teams have not is indicative. Two teams already have (DEN, NYJ), and both rejected him quickly, even after as you note a 7-4 rookie season. It's a combination of lack of actual talent, and the fact that signing Tim Tebow to be your practice squad QB will be a little different from signing Caleb Hanie, or Random QB From Some Midwestern FBS School. If the identical QB were a random guy nobody cared about, then he'd probably be sitting deep on some bench somewhere. But because of the media attention, nobody's interested in him being a third string player. And he's just not suited to be backup for ~27 of the teams out there anyway, since he can't play pocket passer effectively. (I think that aspect is highly underrated, by the way - you just can't have an option QB playing backup QB for a pocket passer. That takes most of the potential jobs away from him.)

[-Jrabbit]

Smart decision...

Free agent MLB Brian Urlacher has retired from the NFL after 13 seasons.

Urlacher, 35 in three days, spent his entire career with the Bears. "Although I could continue playing, I'm not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that's up to my standards," Urlacher wrote in a statement. "When considering this, along with the fact that I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear."

It's hard to see Urlacher forced out of the game like this, but no team was willing to sign him after his skills declined sharply last season. An injury to a middle linebacker around the league could give Urlacher an opportunity, and he could change his mind. But at this moment, he finishes his career with 1,229 tackles, 41.5 sacks, 22 interceptions, and 12 forced fumbles. He's a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.

It would be cool to see him and Ray Lewis enter the HOF together.

[rah]

I'm not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that's up to my standards,

I'm sure his passion would have been up to his standards if someone had offered him enough money.
But I wish him well. I enjoyed watching him play and will miss him.