Jan 26th, 2010 | 1:57 pm |
JAN 25 2010: Tim Tebow (15) of the Gators prepares to take the snap of the ball as Jarrett Brown (16) of West Virginia and Zac Robinson (10) of Oklahoma State look on during the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl practice at Fairhope Municipal Stadium in Daphne, Alabama.
By Travis Duncan
Fumbling snaps from a center in practice for an exhibition game is not a determining factor for NFL scouts. It’s one day of practice.
Not being accurate on routes with wide receiver’s Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow has never practiced with, does not say anything about his accuracy as an NFL quarterback. It’s one day of practice. In fact it was reported Monday night Tebow has strep throat.
The entire country watching four days of NFL network coverage specifically to critique Tebow as an NFL prospect would make several guys in suits in New York city very happy. Criticism of Tebow as an asset for talking heads, internet writers and lazy producers has reached an all-time high, and look for it to continue until September.
“It’s hard to work on taking snaps from a center because you don’t know who your center is. Every center is a little bit different,” Tebow said Monday. Tebow won’t see NFL action until August, just in time for everyone to call off the dogs, whether he succeeds or not.
People in football are not concerned at all.
“Certainly he’s learning as a quarterback, working under center, which I think is going to help him this week,” Jaguars GM Gene Smith told the Florida Times-Union.
“He did some of that at Florida, too. In the NFL, I tell you there’s a lot of teams that are evolving more to what’s being done at Florida and around the country with more of the spread, shotgun-type offenses.”
“I don’t think it’s that big of a concern, personally. I just think he’s a guy that will put so much into learning how to do things at a better level that [snaps] will not be a major problem for him.”
The Jaguars will meet with Tebow this week, Smith said to get to know each other.
[...] Smith praised Tebow around the time of the NFL combine, saying he thinks he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. Getting that kind of praise from an NFL GM is helpful to Tebow, who has taken a beating in the media for what is perceived to be limited passing skills. Let’s just consider it a favor from Smith to a hometown hero. [...]