Is there a Tebow double standard, and if so what is it?

[Donoghus]

The thing I saw about last night was that besides the final drive (which I admit was pretty impressive), the Broncos offense was pretty abyssmal.  Its not the first time during this winning streak, either.

The Broncos defense has been astounding lately.  They've been carrying that team.  Dumervill is regaining the form he showed 2 years ago and Von Miller is a lock for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.  You have a veteran laden secondary that knows what its doing and you have yourself a defense that has been getting better and better especially in the past month or so (Lions game aside).

[Fafnir]

Von Miller might be the DPOY, he's been that good the last 4 games.

He won't win as a rookie, but his talent and performance are of that caliber. He's dominated two straight Denver games I've watched, been the best player on the field.

[MBunge]

I think NFL guys are very invested in him failing.

I think this is pretty much it.  They see other people clamoring for a guy they know has all sorts of flaws in his game and their egos get involved.  It's almost like they felt personally insulted anyone could believe Tebow could be a starting QB in the NFL, so they went overboard with their criticism.  Now that Denver is reminding the NFL that there's more than one way to win, like the Ravens did, they can't bring themselves to admit they were wrong.

Mike

[PosImpos]

No, similar things were said about Vince Young and the way he played the game.

Tebow's glorification at Florida (for his play and his outspoken religous/social views) merely makes him higher profile.

That's a very interesting point.  I forgot all about Young.  If I remember correctly the debate that year was Young vs Leinart and Young won out based on intangibles.

And then Jay Cutler ended up being the best QB in of the high picks. (Though even he hasn't been elite)

in fairness to cutler, at this point he's pretty close to an elite QB as long as he has an O-line that doesn't allow him to be sacked 5 times a game.

I'm a huge Bears fan and I like Cutler an awful lot both in Denver and in Chicago. But he still makes too many mistakes (ie bad decisions) for me to put him into the elite category. In the NFL where there are only 3-5 truly elite QBs out there he's still a franchise level QB based on what he does/can do.

Physically he's as talented as Newton/Rodgers/Anyone you'd like to name. But he just makes awful decisions too often....

perhaps, but at least in the past i think it's fair to attribute that to the terrible o-line.  even top QBs make bad decisions when they're getting hurried, hit, sacked, or are worried about being hurried, hit, or sacked on every play.  just look at how Tom Brady has played in the last three Patriots playoff games.

Cutler may or may not be "elite" depending on your definition, but he's certainly a top 10 QB in the league right now, behind only guys like Rodgers, Brady, Brees, and Roethlisberger.  I think he's on the same level as E. Manning, Romo, Schaub, and pre-2011 Rivers, and ahead of guys like Newton, Ryan, Flacco, Palmer etc.

[Finkelskyhook]

I think Tebow picks up a lot of fans due to his outspoken Christianity, and he turns off an equal number of fans.  Additionally, there are a lot of fans and analysts who think he was picked too high, and that his game won't translate, and those fans and analysts have a rooting interest in seeing him fail.

So, overall, I'd say there's a slight negative bias.  However, I think people are starting to root for him, in a Rudy sort of way.  Tebow lacks arm strength, technique, and accuracy, but he's got heart.  People will gravitate toward that.

I was rooting for Tebow and the Broncos because of who they were playing last night...But the reality is I root for Tebow because his enthusiasm is contagious. 

Fox is looking like a genius here.  Building an offense around Tebow's strengths and taking a defense that was abysmal last season and transforming it into dominating.  MBunge had a great post...Fox is proving his point.

[Eja117]

Ok. So I was listening to some sports radio yesterday and I'm getting ticked.

A couple things.

Tebow is not "shoving Jesus in people's face".  Rather it's microphones being shoved in his face and then he is himself. It's who he actually is. If you don't like it don't put a mike in his face. You now exactly what he's going to say. Change the channel. Tebow isn't shoving anything in people's face any more than Howard Stern shoves filth in our faces. Ever have a Witness or a Mormon come to your house? Nice, brave, and hard working people. If you ask them to leave they do.

I remember when guys like Michael Irvin were saying Jesus every 2 seconds and nobody ever accused them of shoving it in people's faces. Cause a week later he got caught with hookers and coke.

There was Evander Holyfield. Then Lennox Lewis said "He keeps saying Jesus this and that, but if he loved Jesus he would keep His commandments. He has like 9 kids with 8 women. I am going to end his career." And then he did and nobody said Evander was shoving anything

Tim always credits the Broncos. Last week he said his WRs were making him look better than he was after multiple critical drops. Nobody says he's shoving Broncos WRs in people's face.

Then there is the ultimate example.....Muhammed Ali.   He would scream in people's face "I am the greatest! I am the greatest of all time!" Nobody ever said he was shoving himself in people's faces, even though he was.  By the way. Ever get an Ali autograph?  He likes to hand them out with thick packets praising Allah. I'm serious. Nobody ever says he's shoving Islam in people's faces.

The reason there's a Tebow/Jesus double standard is because there are people with their own Jesus issues.

And when you think about it in theory since the majority of players are nominally Christian and since a Christian is theoretically supposed to spread the news the real question should be why don't more players do this? In theory Tebow isn't supposed to be the only one.

I'm also getting very tired of this whole "He can't do it long term thing". He is actually doing it. When Ali beat Liston that first time nobody said "He can't do it long term" because he had actually done it.

If Tebow can't do it long term then just about nobody in the league can do it long term. There's like 4 guys that can. Not the people that lose. Philip Rivers can't get it done long term. Never has. No reason to think he can. 

[rayallen1934]

i don't see the double standard . . . when quarterbacks win, people are willing to overlook their weaknesses despite the winning (see: Sanchez, Mark).  when they lose, the scrutiny goes up.  

i think people had every reason to be skeptical of tebow coming into the league, given that he hasn't shown any ability to succeed as a passing quarterback and the league is currently so pass-oriented.  now that he's finding ways to win games, the criticism has been replaced by amused astonishment and reserved praise.  

tebow may be winning games right now, but he's doing so in an unsustainable way.  if teams led by michael vick and vince young can't sustain success with a scrambling qb with questionable throwing mechanics, i don't see how Tebow, who is a shorter, less athletic, poorer-throwing version of those QBs, can expect to sustain his team's success.

tebow may have elite intangibles, but that's the only thing elite about him.  if he develops into a credible passer (i.e. mark sanchez / matt cassell / alex smith level), then he could be a starting QB in the league for a while.  so far, though, he hasn't shown much signs that he'll even get there.  as long as his teams keep playing him in an option offense, there's not much hope that he'll develop that passing ability, either.

No, similar things were said about Vince Young and the way he played the game.

Tebow's glorification at Florida (for his play and his outspoken religous/social views) merely makes him higher profile.

That's a very interesting point.  I forgot all about Young.  If I remember correctly the debate that year was Young vs Leinart and Young won out based on intangibles.

And then Jay Cutler ended up being the best QB in of the high picks. (Though even he hasn't been elite)

in fairness to cutler, at this point he's pretty close to an elite QB as long as he has an O-line that doesn't allow him to be sacked 5 times a game.

Tebow is a beast at 6'2 , 6'3, solid, Micheal Vick is about 6 feet, so definently not shorter than Vick, Vince young is 6'4.

Tebow is fine as physical stature goes, he's not excessively tall but its not bad height.

[RebusRankin]

I think its a double standard when people attack him on/bring up his faith all the time. But imo in North America, Christians are the last group you can freely attack.

I also think that it is experts eating crow. As the OP said, nobody comes out and says, I touted Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, Eric Crouch, Matt Leinart, Cade McNown, David Carr, Joey Harrington etc.

[incoherent]

Many of the experts are wrong about Tebow because they all have bias they can't overcome.

Much like how all the 'experts' were completely wrong to bash the NBA when they vetoed the CP3 to Lakers trade. 

They are all ex-players with built in bias and lack of objectivity.

I don't understand why ESPN banks its opinions so much on ex players who have agendas.

[SamuelAdams]

Ok. So I was listening to some sports radio yesterday and I'm getting ticked.

A couple things......

Tebow is not "shoving Jesus in people's face".  ... 

Tommy point mate!

[Donoghus]

Anybody catch the Tebow skit on SNL last night?

Pretty hilarious stuff. 

[ianboyextreme]

Ok. So I was listening to some sports radio yesterday and I'm getting ticked.

A couple things.

Tebow is not "shoving Jesus in people's face".  Rather it's microphones being shoved in his face and then he is himself. It's who he actually is. If you don't like it don't put a mike in his face. You now exactly what he's going to say. Change the channel. Tebow isn't shoving anything in people's face any more than Howard Stern shoves filth in our faces. Ever have a Witness or a Mormon come to your house? Nice, brave, and hard working people. If you ask them to leave they do.

I remember when guys like Michael Irvin were saying Jesus every 2 seconds and nobody ever accused them of shoving it in people's faces. Cause a week later he got caught with hookers and coke.

There was Evander Holyfield. Then Lennox Lewis said "He keeps saying Jesus this and that, but if he loved Jesus he would keep His commandments. He has like 9 kids with 8 women. I am going to end his career." And then he did and nobody said Evander was shoving anything

Tim always credits the Broncos. Last week he said his WRs were making him look better than he was after multiple critical drops. Nobody says he's shoving Broncos WRs in people's face.

Then there is the ultimate example.....Muhammed Ali.   He would scream in people's face "I am the greatest! I am the greatest of all time!" Nobody ever said he was shoving himself in people's faces, even though he was.  By the way. Ever get an Ali autograph?  He likes to hand them out with thick packets praising Allah. I'm serious. Nobody ever says he's shoving Islam in people's faces.

The reason there's a Tebow/Jesus double standard is because there are people with their own Jesus issues.

And when you think about it in theory since the majority of players are nominally Christian and since a Christian is theoretically supposed to spread the news the real question should be why don't more players do this? In theory Tebow isn't supposed to be the only one.

I'm also getting very tired of this whole "He can't do it long term thing". He is actually doing it. When Ali beat Liston that first time nobody said "He can't do it long term" because he had actually done it.

If Tebow can't do it long term then just about nobody in the league can do it long term. There's like 4 guys that can. Not the people that lose. Philip Rivers can't get it done long term. Never has. No reason to think he can. 

Man, amen for real (no pun intended). People in america have serious Jesus issues. As soon as his name is uttered, many people cringe. Completely agree with your whole post.

[kozlodoev]

Man, amen for real (no pun intended). People in america have serious Jesus issues. As soon as his name is uttered, many people cringe. Completely agree with your whole post.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain; for the lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

One case where it seems following the commandments will make everyone happy.

[BostonArizona]

I have nothing but good things to say about Tim Tebow. I personally root for him because he's incredible to watch and has breaks all the modern conventions we have of the quarterback position.

I think of him purely as a winner. I somewhat relate it to Michael Vicks first few successful seasons with the Falcons in that he is met with TONS of criticism basically saying he wont last/isnt a real qb but he just continues to win.

[kozlodoev]

I think of him purely as a winner. I somewhat relate it to Michael Vicks first few successful seasons with the Falcons in that he is met with TONS of criticism basically saying he wont last/isnt a real qb but he just continues to win.

27-25 over the last 4 seasons is not exactly lights-out.