Reader Comments: Front and Center

I have been writing this blog for some time now and never had any visitors. I took this fact as simple proof that I am an awful writer that prefers pontificating about uninteresting topics. A couple Tebow articles later and I have more than just visitors; I have people making comments! How fantastic! Let’s see what people are saying:

Famous Last Words: "Continued Success." Comments:

Anonymous said...

Google Mike Ditka and Hoge and click blogs and your blog comes up. It is a good read. This is my first time reading and posting on your blog. I hope you do not mind me sharing a few of my own thoughts.

Tim Tebow is a polarizing figure and has grasped the attention of any that follows the NFL (as in most Americans). I do not know what to make of Tim Tebow, he wins and that is all that matters however, he is very much criticized as a quarterback. Besides winning, what other great attributes does he have as a quarterback? By the way I thought what Mike Ditka said was great! It is about time to shut up some of these analysts that do not know anything or have anything good to offer as an analyst.

I also read your article on Luck and have a few thoughts to share. I agree with you that Luck will never play for the Colts. I am from Pine Hill NY and I am a Bills fan. I would love it if the Bills were able to somehow get Luck. I have my own theories though. I actually do not think Tebow will play in Denver next year. I do not know if you have heard the comments Elway has made, but it appears that he is less an impressed with Tebew as a quarterback. Elway was a great QB and has the respect of many members of the NFL. I know that this is a bold statement but I want you to remember that I was the first that said it. I think Elway will trade Tebow to Colts for the first round pick in the 2012 draft and pick up Luck. Both Luck and Elway are/were superstar quarterbacks from Stanford. I also believe Elway will also give the Colts, Denver’s first round pick in the 2012 draft as well. I think it all makes sense; Elway will try to pick up real value for Tebow when Tebow’s stock is at its highest.

A side note, why do you blog about the NFL and other things? Most people just have a NFL blog or a blog about their thoughts on life. You seem to mix the 2 together? I do not care, and hope I worded that properly so that I do not offend you, I was just more curious than anything. What ever the reason is, I enjoyed reading your thoughts
on the NFL and I am happy I stumped upon it.

Thanks for reading. I write this blog primarily for my own amusement. I write about anything, but since I am a huge football fan I typically become focused on the writing about the NFL during the season itself. The primary reason that I have a blog at all is that I like to get my ideas and thoughts time stamped, because in the past I have found myself correct about a prediction but with no proof to back it up.

I appreciate any feedback and comments are welcome.

As an FYI, I loaded the video on Youtube on Dec 11, 2011. I got over 48,000 hits in three days. While I agree that Elway envisions a different quarterback leading his franchise, I cannot fathom him actually trading Tebow. Between the money the Bowlen family is making off of Tebow and the legend that grows with each win; it would be shocking to not see the Broncos franchise commit to him for next year if the Broncos make the playoffs. The fans have been waiting for a winning season for a long time and trading away the catalyst that got them back into the post season would not be easily explained by Elway; and should Elway actually trade Tebow and manage anything else but playoff runs from then on would likely cost him his job.



In my opinion, Elway at this point is just embarrassed about being wrong about Tebow. He has been adamant about Tebow not being the future of the franchise, and admitting he is wrong is evidence of poor judgment about the one thing that he should know about more than anyone. If he is wrong about Tebow, then what does is his opinion really worth?



Meanwhile, Tebow has shown the ability to play the quarterback position competently and competitively in the fourth quarter. In fact, he has the highest QBR in the league in the fourth quarter. While Tebow may struggle for a majority of the game, I believe that they are simply growing pains that he needs to overcome. No one simply has the ability to throw in the fourth quarter only…he is just highly inconsistent. But inconsistency has nothing to do with talent and ability. Building consistency is about practice and focus, and since Tebow is a highly motivated, try-hard guy, eventually he will even out his play.



Also realize that the Broncos run a very unusual offense that each opponent’s defense has a different way of defending. Each team has a base defense that emphasizes certain players and schemes. Then those defenses have to alter their weekly gameplan to defend against an option/spread attack. This means that Tebow is never seeing the same defensive schemes week to week, and any game film is of limited help. If the Raiders play the Chargers in the previous week, how many of those defensive looks can Tebow really expect to see? While their unique offensive scheme creates mismatches for the offense, the corresponding defensive changes make each week a brand new challenge for the young quarterback.

The most encouraging thing about Tebow success has been the point spreads. The Patriots are only favored by six points this week. THE PATRIOTS! The same 10-3 team that has outscored their opponent by 7 points or more in every win other than Dallas has been given only a 6 point cushion. When it comes to money, opinions go out the window and the numbers are the only thing that matters. It turns out that the number “7” in Tebow’s win column is most important to the number to the book makers.

NFL pundits flip flop on their Tim Tebow Comments:
2 comments:

Anonymous said...
I am a Tebow fan, the question is, can he win it all?
December 17, 2011 7:05 PM

Anonymous said...
NO HE CAN NOT
December 17, 2011 7:19 PM

Well, I think so. In fact, I said so months ago. I don’t think that he has a shot at the championship this year but a playoff appearance is a step in the right direction.

Mike Ditka Gone Wild! Comments:

Anonymous said...
I know there are a lot of Tebow haters out there and I want to be clear, I am not one of them. I just do not think Tebow is quarterback material.

I saw this, and think Ditka is wrong. Hoge made a great point about how Tebow's o-line is playing better than other offensive line in the NFL. Also Denver’s defense is playing really well and winning games for the Broncos.

I majored in Sports Management in college and know a lot about the NFL, I am sorry to break it to you but John Elway will probably draft another qb next year.
December 17, 2011 6:41 AM



Only 3-4 highly ranked quaterbacks projected and then there is a steep drop off.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Elway drafted another QB, but does he have the cajones to TRADE UP to draft an elite one? At the rate Tebow is winning, top QB prospects won’t be available when the Broncos get to pick and it would make little sense to take a project quarterback in the late first or early second round. They already have two developmental players in Tebow and Weber, so taking another one doesn’t really add value to the team in 2012. Moreover, take a gander at this list of almost-first round quarterbacks over the past decade:

Jimmy Clausen 2010
Pat White 2009
Brian Brohm 2008
Chad Henne 2008
Kevin Kolb 2007
John Beck 2007
Drew Stanton 2007
Kellen Clemens 2006
Tarvaris Jackson 2006
Drew Brees 2001 (1st pick in the second round)
Quincy Carter 2001
Marques Tuiasosopo 2001

Even Bress didn't really work out since he was drafted by the Chargers and then replaced by Philip Rivers. Drafting a non-elite QB isn’t a step forwards for the Broncos in 2012.

Also, just in case you are not aware, Ditka seemed upset at Hoge not for pointing out how well the offensive line is playing but how Hoge refuses to give Tebow any type of credit for winning games. If you watch the video closely, Ditka says: “…the offensive line is supposed to block, the receivers are supposed to catch the football…I can’t win [with Orton] but I put in [Tebow} and I win, what am I supposed to do?”

Hoge responds with as if he doesn’t understand Ditka’s point (which is possible all things considered) and Ditka says, “I’m trying to make sense out of what your say.” Hoge responds, “Your trying to make sense out of what I say, by highlighting the offensive line? You think it’s a flaw?” Any chance for Hoge making it out of this situation unscathed immediately goes down the drain. No one ever said the offensive line was a flaw; this is Hoge trying to confuse Ditka into a different conversation.

When Ditka says that Tebow deserves credit Hoge has NOTHING he can counter with, but he has done a lot of research on the o-line and can only hope to change conversation; and eventually decides to simply talk over Ditka. To be fair to Hoge - he was completely blindsided by Ditka. However, that doesn’t give him make him any less wrong or Ditka any less right.