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Tebow: Proven Nothing

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Rick Perry compared himself to Tim Tebow. One can see the analogy, in that neither is particularly competent. But it ultimately fails, because 1)nobody thinks Perry is good, and 2)I don’t think Marion Barber is going to take votes away from Gingrich, Romney and Paul in the Iowa primary.

Unlike some Tebow skeptics, I don’t really care about the bible-thumping. For me, it’s fun to make fun of his apologists for the same reason it’s fun to make fun of Murray Chass. The argument that Denver going on a winning streak against a cupcake schedule largely in spite of its offense proves that Tebow Knows How To Win is a quaint relic from the era that brought you Cy Young Awards for Steve Stone and Pete Vukovich because they “won” lots of games. Last week was particularly entertaining, as the evidence that He Just Wins involved eking out 13 points only with the help of two 50+ yard field goals and two massive blunders on the part of the opposition. It’s an epic overhype. Someone in the last thread compared him to Joba Chamberlain, which is pretty close although it’s unfair to Joba.

The main argument of Tebow apologists seems to be that whatever one can say he’s clearly established himself as at least a decent NFL QB. This is completely false. Looking at the numbers, as of last week he ranks 29th in value, 26th on a per-play basis. This puts him in a class with guys like Carson Palmer, Colt McCoy, Rex Grossman, Vince Young, Donovan McNab’s decomposing corpse — failed prospects, washed-up vets, or some combination of the two. Pretty much the definition of replacement level.

Now, one can point out that he’s not a complete farce like Tyler Palko or Curtis Painter. He’s young enough that one could see him taking a step up to the level of Alex Smith or (as of now) Mark Sanchez — mediocrities who can get you to the playoffs if you surround them with enough pieces. On the other hand, he’s been one of the worst QBs in the league despite an unsustainably low interception rate, so it’s likely to get worse rather than better. (For those who think that his lack of picks is likely to be a real skill, I have two words: David Garrard.) But the plausible ceiling and floor makes clear why his sycophants are amusing. I mean, Mark Sanchez has “won” four playoff games on the road, and even in New York he’s generally seen (correctly) as a sometimes good but frustrating and very uneven QB, not a guy who Just Wins. Being part of a largely ineffective offense that has gotten some close and in some cases outright fluky regular season wins against poor opposition is substantially less impressive than that.

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