QB or not QB: With Peyton’s pick, Tebow should start packing
"Glad to meet you, Tim. Would you mind if I came out here and took your job?" (AP photo)
OK, we knew this Peyton Manning thing would be a huge deal: One of the greatest quarterbacks ever hits the open market and auditions new employers. (Usually it’s the prospective employee who’s subject to the audition, but when you’re as illustrious as Peyton you call your own tune.) That was big enough. Somehow it got bigger. Somehow it also affects Tim Tebow, who became to the NFL last fall what Jeremy Lin briefly was to the NBA — either the greatest story in memory or the biggest slice of hype since ESPN invented Brett Favre.
Peyton picked Denver, which surely means the Broncos, who were never quite sure what to make of Tebow anyway, will seek to trade the guy who just took them to Round 2 of the playoffs. Which means Timmy T. is now on the market, which means …
The NFL has officially become the real March Madness.
It was a given that Manning wasn’t going to land anywhere that didn’t give him a chance to win big now. (Then again, he’s so good he could make just about any team win big. Check the Colts’ record with and without him.) But Denver fit his needs better than, say, the Titans. Having spent a bit of time in the Volunteer State, he had to know that Tennessee’s NFL franchise will always be viewed as the after-dinner-mint to the Saturday doings in Knoxville.
And San Francisco? Good team, good coach, good defense. And it’s not as if the 49ers have never won anything. (Five Super Bowls at last count.) But Denver offered the prospect of playing for an NFL team that is always the talk of its town and for an organization overseen by John Elway. If you’re the NFL, you couldn’t be happier about Peyton’s second marriage: A glamour quarterback for a glamour team. Except …
What was Tebow if not that?
So now football-watchers get to do it all again. We get to watch as Tebow goes shopping. We get to re-warm the discussions we’ve been having the past five months: Is he really an NFL quarterback and, if not, why was he winning games at a rate most NFL quarterbacks would love to claim? Is there a team out there that fits the Tebow skill-set? If not, is there an NFL team willing to hire Urban Meyer away from Ohio State before he coaches a Buckeye game?
It used to be that baseball was the sport, with its Hot Stove League, that never shut down. But here it is March and Opening Day is around the corner and the Sweet 16 is upon us and the NBA just sailed past its trade deadline, and what are we discussing? The NFL, which won’t stage another game that matters until September.
For the NFL, this comes at a providential moment. Two weeks ago we were all in a tizzy about the Saints and their bounties — and no, we haven’t heard the end of that sordid story — but now we’re back to teams paying for quarterbacks, as opposed to one team paying for the maiming of quarterbacks. (Speaking of quarterbacks: Seattle’s signing of the famous understudy Matt Flynn would have been the story of any other offseason. Just not this one.)
Peyton Manning choosing to stay in the AFC lends balance to a conference in danger of being marginalized. NFC teams have won the past three Super Bowls, and adding P. Manning to a roster of NFC quarterbacks that already includes Rodgers, Brees and E. Manning would have been a bit unfair. (Local angle: Peyton in San Fran wouldn’t have helped the Falcons’ chances, either.)
Peyton in Denver mightn’t make the Broncos the clear AFC frontrunner — New England, Pittsburgh and Baltimore are pretty good — but let’s face it: Denver just won its division with a quarterback who completed 46.5 percent of his passes. The guess is that the new man will do a bit better.
And it’s anybody’s guess where the incumbent Denver quarterback will land. Just when you thought there was nothing more to say about Tim Tebow, we’ve been handed a new Talking Point. NFL football — it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Oh, and one thing more. Peyton Manning’s new team? It’s scheduled to play in the Georgia Dome next season.
By Mark Bradley
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161 comments Add your comment
St Simons - we're on Island time
March 19th, 2012
8:37 pm
yeah, Tebow is better than Manning like MRyan is better than Flacco
ok, here we go
like I typed a month ago, Manning to Denver
Flynn to Seattle
Henne & Tebow to Jacksonville
Gabbert to Miami
Alex Smith stays put
Flacco goes farther than Ryan forevah
Flacons have no cap room & no draft picks, yeah whatta genius
…and my granny’s knitting circle is STILL wide open in that secondary
BigTimeTECHFan
March 19th, 2012
8:44 pm
Tebow won more then payton his 1st eight games or so
Denver was in last place before Tebow started, Tebow started they had winning record, including win over Steelers in playoffs.
Big mistake signing Manning
ga gator
March 19th, 2012
9:15 pm
Beast stole what I was going to say; Manning was a thorough in checking out the franchises as though he was bying a horse; guess Elway was the only one with teeth that looked like a thoroughbred.
BravesFan79
March 19th, 2012
9:28 pm
Denver will be awful once again after Mannings carreer ends in the next 2 or so years, and Tebow will thrive with another team. I was never a fan of Tebows at Florida, but he won me over in Denver. I hope he goes to the Titans or Jags and dominates!
BravesFan79
March 19th, 2012
9:29 pm
One thing for sure, if they trade Tebow.. and Manning ends up hurt and not contributing much….. Brocos mngment is gonna catch hell!
Mash
March 19th, 2012
9:31 pm
MB, Should the Falcons go after Tebow? I think they should. Ryan’s a nice QB in no pressure situations, but shrinks away when it matters. Tebow is the opposite. We need to go after him, I would definitely go after him if I were TD.
Tdawg
March 19th, 2012
9:43 pm
Percy Harvin that could be said of any QB. Manning included. His last season that the QB helm was not all that historic for the Colts either. They were barely a playoff team and now here Manning is after not playing for over a year and with an injury that could end his career with one hit, replacing a QB who is younger, stronger, faster and is a winner. In case you are wondering, you should know by my user name that I am not a big Tebow fan, but people please. What does the kid have to do? He will only get better. Bet ya you can’t say the same for Peyton.
Oh yea, one more thing to John Elway. Liar, Liar pants on fire. If you don’t win and win big, that seat will get mighty hot for you as it should.
Tdawg
March 19th, 2012
9:51 pm
BravesFan79 there ya go. Exactlly right. Thing is though I don’t think Elway really cares what the Denver fans think of him as long as Tebow is gone. He never liked the man and most likely, can’t wait to see him get the heck out of Dodge City, I mean Denver. I very well remember what Elway looked like his first 2 or 3 years in the leauge. He stunk the place up as bad as any QB I have ever seen. The Bronco organization gane him the benifit of a doubt though and stuck with him, It’s a shame Elway couldn’t do the same for Tebow.
captguitarman
March 19th, 2012
10:10 pm
I’m not so sure Tebow has to leave. Is that written in stone some where? True, he may want to leave and find a place to start on a regular basis, or the Broncos may want to trade and see what they can get for him, and we’ll soon know the answer to that. But if Tebow is willing to stay and play back up (for a highly experienced, big game winning, super talented, Hall of Fame bound . . . 36 year old quarterback with a bad neck . . . it might not be the worst thing to happen for Tebow, Manning, and the Broncos.
Tebow is electric in Denver. He proved himself (unorthodox, but proven), won his position, won some big games, looked fantastic sometimes and sometimes really bad, proving he is a young NFL quarterback, hindered by a style of college play hard for him to put behind him, but clearly physically able and mentally tough enough and smart enough to learn — especially having not one, but now two all time great quarterbacks as his mentors/teachers. And he has the one thing all great NFL quarterbacks have that you can’t teach — leadership and the will to win and the ability to convey that to his team.
They should all sit down and make a deal. Manning doesn’t need the pure numbers any more, he wants another Super Bowl ring. How do you get there if you getting a little long in the tooth and have a re-occurring and nagging neck injury? In one sense, Manning’s appearance here could be the key to Denver having a great quarterback in the position for the next 10 to 12 years, or longer. Manning starts every game. Tebow gets some snaps in every game. If the game is pretty much won or lost, in comes Tebow. The less Manning plays in meaningless situations, the less chance of re-injuring his neck in a meaningless cause. If a special play is needed, if you want to keep the defense guessing, if they have a containment problem, then in comes Tebow for a few snaps. Or run them in an out in the same series and make the defense crazy. This kind of thing has been done before. The magic of it is that you have the chance of an all time great leading you to a Super Bowl win, while he is teaching and mentoring the next all time great to take his spot in the not too far off future. Plus, if Manning gets shaken up, has to sit down for a half, or just needs to get hit a few less times today, or a rest, it’s not a disaster, in comes Tebow.
They are all smart guys, and I have to believe that they at least discussed the possibility of this scenario. The disaster would occur if Tebow is traded, and Manning gets his neck re-injured in the exhibition season. Now THAT would be a disaster for the Broncos.
Ken Stallings
March 19th, 2012
10:12 pm
I’m afraid Tim Tebow just lost his best chance for a long NFL career. The Broncos were desperate enough to revamp their offense to fit Tebow. I seriously doubt another team out there is that desperate with enough of a running attack to handle the necessary changes.
Actually, make that enough of a defense to withstand the necessary changes!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
March 19th, 2012
10:52 pm
At least Tebow knows how to win at least one playoff game.
CHOKE…..Not so much
Hmmmm?
March 19th, 2012
11:36 pm
Really “Choke”? Your act is tried and your a$$. I think you need help. Your 4 year obsession with Matt Ryan is NOT healthy.
packup
March 20th, 2012
1:19 am
elway can get a couple of mid-round picks from some team that needs a backup QB.
North Ga. Dawg
March 20th, 2012
7:11 am
The New Orleans Saints will put a wheel chair bounty on Manning.
Why does Peyton play? Get smart Peyton, leave on top like Troy A. @ Dallas did. Millions of dollars in the bank and already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
CHARLIE TEBOW
March 20th, 2012
7:47 am
MANNING HASNT TAKEN A NFL HIT IN HOW LONG
WHO KNOWS IF HE CAN TAKE A HIT AND KEEP TICKING
MR TEBOW HAS ALWAYS BEEN TOLD HE CANT
WELL HE HAS PROVEN EVERYBODY WRONG AND HE WILL AGAIN
MANNING COULDNT BEAT FLA AT UT AND HE WONT IN N F L
GO TEBOW GO
Sid
March 20th, 2012
7:58 am
I will say this, Tebow can play multiple positions. For the right money I would be happy for him to be a Falcon, a back up QB to Ryan. Put him on special teams, running back, tight end, etc…..”for the right money”. You could cut Redman in that scenerio. But I am certain the sideline circus would be detrimental to the team.
On another note, ain’t it great, Saints are gonna pull up on the bottom rung of the NFC South ladder with no chance (as in zero, nada, 零, zéro, μηδέν, null, ゼロ) of going to the big dance Feb 3rd, 2013 in the Superdome.
Sid
March 20th, 2012
8:00 am
CHARLIE TEBOW
March 20th, 2012
7:47 am
MANNING HASNT TAKEN A NFL HIT IN HOW LONG
*************************************************************************
No doubt he will bail out of a blitz a little quicker than before. Hell, I don’t blame him.
JJ
March 20th, 2012
8:38 am
3 neck surgeries and they get rid of a qb who just took them to round 2 of the playoffs? lol
3 neck surgeries in a sport where the job of the defense is to take down the qb and that often means grabbing around the neck. Will be fun to watch this idiotic plan implode on elway. Manning may hold all these passing records but he won only 1 sb and that’s where he will finish his career. The colts know more than anyone he is done. Tebow will only get better. This will be looked at in 3 years as the boneheaded move of the decade.
Bub
March 20th, 2012
8:49 am
Tebows arm is twice the size of mannings and 3 times the size of ryans.
TC
March 20th, 2012
9:03 am
BG
March 19th, 2012
@ 6:53 pm
“Tebow is the most overrated QB to play in the NFL.”
Absolutely.
Matt Leinart knows something
March 20th, 2012
9:43 am
TampaGator
Most, not all, of the Tebow bashers are pathetic loser dawg fans who are still upset because Tebow made their 3rd rate SEC team look like the crap that they really are.
Tebow is better than ANYTHING that ever came out of that craphole called Athens.
Matt Leinart knows something
March 20th, 2012
9:44 am
Prediction for Manning:
“And Manning leaves the game with a sore neck.”
Manning is past his prime. Too bad Elway is a hack. Then again, he never could beat a real QB named Montana.
Herm
March 20th, 2012
9:58 am
I hope Tebow comes to Atlanta….. then we could have the polar opposite of Vick.
BIGDAWGFAN
March 20th, 2012
10:11 am
hey if the Falcons had Tebow at least he would
slide down after he passed the 1st down marker!
Chris
March 20th, 2012
10:20 am
Everyone keeps saying they hope so-and-so team signs Tebow… He’s not a free agent. He would have to be released by the Broncos for that to happen. If a team wants him, they will have to trade for him. Now is the time for Denver to do it too. His stock is still high from his play-off run last year. Eventually he’ll come back down to Earth though so the return won’t even be as long as it is right now. No one, not even Tebow, can keep winning games and play QB in the NFL if they only complete 46% of their passes. That’s going to catch up to him at some point. Heck, even Mike Vick when he was in Atlanta was over 50%.
BG
March 20th, 2012
10:27 am
Bye Bye Timmy. LMAO
harold
March 20th, 2012
1:03 pm
PEYTON MANNING WILL VERY LIKELY BE THE GREATEST QB TO EVER PLAY THE GAME!
HE WILL BE THE HEAD COACH AT TENNESSEE ONE DAY!
Tim Tebow
March 20th, 2012
1:15 pm
Darn! What the heck happened?
Terrible Truth
March 20th, 2012
1:16 pm
I’d take Tebow as a backup over Redman any day. Tebow has a chance to prove he can, Redman has already proved he can’t.
Kyle
March 20th, 2012
1:29 pm
Maybe he can go back to Florida……they need one
Ryan Leaf
March 20th, 2012
1:29 pm
I predict that Timbow will follow in my greatness.
Btw, I have some old jerseys for sale…..cheap…..cough……I mean inexpensive.
Thanks for stopping by.
Ryan
Phil McCrackin
March 20th, 2012
1:39 pm
Jaysus Chraast will watch out over him… even if he is a third string QB and eventually out of the league… blind followers will say – - well, god opened new doors for Tebow… when in truth he just couldn’t make it at as a QB at the NFL level. But still.. those who want to believe it’s not as much about Tebow not making it as “new and better” opportunities. After all, god does guide his every move and he would never guide him in a negative direction. lol These folks really do need to read sompin other than da baable.
Phil McCrackin
March 20th, 2012
1:44 pm
Harold, hopefully for you and other mountain hicks he will be your coach and he may actually win the big one for the ugly orange…
ab initio
March 20th, 2012
2:04 pm
Apparently, the Bronco’s owner is as nutty as Bud Adams. Why people keep giving money to see this idiocy known as the NFL never ceases to amaze me.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
March 20th, 2012
2:35 pm
Bub
March 20th, 2012
8:49 am
Tebows arm is twice the size of mannings and 3 times the size of ryans.
_____________________________________________
And his football IQ is 3 times higher than CHOKE
Tebow can’t even pass and he leads his team to a playoff win on his first crack.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
March 20th, 2012
2:37 pm
TC
March 20th, 2012
9:03 am
BG
March 19th, 2012
@ 6:53 pm
“Tebow is the most overrated QB to play in the NFL.”
Absolutely.
_________________________________________________
Then what do you call a CHOKE with an 0-3 record in the playoffs? Tebow is 1-1
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
March 20th, 2012
2:39 pm
BIGDAWGFAN
March 20th, 2012
10:11 am
hey if the Falcons had Tebow at least he would
slide down after he passed the 1st down marker!
_____________________________________
Come on don’t be so hard on CHOKE its not his fault he is gutless, weak and a coward
gdawginkalamazoo
March 20th, 2012
3:27 pm
I would love to know the details on that deal. How much upfront, how much guaranteed, any incentives? Otherwise they could be wasting a ton of money for a guy to come in, play a few snaps get hurt and leave.
Producer
March 20th, 2012
3:42 pm
Revenge can be sweet. I hope Tebow comes back and screws them mightily!!
WS
March 20th, 2012
4:40 pm
If I could get Tebow for same money as Redman, Redman would be packing his bags. But when you but him on roster, Fans would be wanting hin in game. Blanks and Comapany will not have that.
New England would be a good place for him. They will use him.
If I were having a QB throwing a deep pass, I take my changes with Tebow over Ryan. Ryan throwing forty yards out of bounds. With time he would win more games than Ryan, and more play off games. He has been a winner and he still is. After this season, and TD and MS is fired by the owner for a bad season. They would wish they have picked up Tebow.
TGAD
March 20th, 2012
4:42 pm
I’ve been a Bronco fan for years and was never sold on Tebow as a starting QB in the NFL. Sure, he’s a great guy and I applaud him for the job he did last year and wish him luck with his new team.
Well-Armed Lamb
March 20th, 2012
4:59 pm
I bet they offered Peyton a condo in the bunker under Denver Airport.
Panem et Circenses
tyler
March 20th, 2012
5:11 pm
Who cares??
Tim Tebow
March 20th, 2012
6:18 pm
Just what in the heck happened?
Ueeediot
March 20th, 2012
6:34 pm
Tebow is terrible. But he is still better than Redman 8 days a week.
Why does Mike Smith keep resigning this loser who cant throw the ball more than 15 yards twice a game?
Cant wait until these no brain morons who think they know about the game of football see what can be done when you have an OC who isnt a 3 year old whining and crying all season and refusing to use the players *he* didnt draft (J Jones, J Rodgers)
At the same time, Im starting to see a problem with Arthur Blank. His stated support for Mike Smith has got to be a farce. Mike needs to show some progression in his abilities as “game manager” on the sidelines and as a “talent evaluator”.
I, for one, am sick of seeing guys on our roster who are not getting any playing time or who are not pushing the starter out of his job.
Antoine Smith comes to mind….guy is all over the place in the pre season, but as soon as the season starts he is regulated to STs and the bench. Another dead roster spot is Redman. The guy was a loser pick by the Ravens and was sitting on the couch when the Falcons decide to throw him a few million a year. Redman must have some really clear color pictures of someone high up in the franchise….
RiffRaff
March 20th, 2012
6:43 pm
Peyton Manning really should have retired. He’s one hit away from a career ending injury. What else is there to prove? He’s one of the best. I think Denver will be hurting this time next year.
RiffRaff
March 20th, 2012
6:48 pm
Maybe if we got Tebow we could get past the 1st round of the playoffs. Nah, still wouldn’t matter.
hbcuclassics
March 20th, 2012
7:41 pm
HBCU Classic Sports
2012 Draft Board (1-64)
http://hbcuclassics.com/hbcu_draft_board
Sharkman
March 20th, 2012
9:47 pm
Bradley you’re a real genius aren’t you? Did you pass second grade math. Okay, let’s break this down Barney style. Manning is a 36 year old in the N.F.L., with a neck that could be broken at any second. Teabow is a healthy 25 year old. Hmmmm. I could say so much, but I’ll stop there.
Georgia Dawg
March 20th, 2012
10:10 pm
Me thinks Denver is going to get a horseshoe imprint in the butt on this one. Manning too big a risk!!!