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

[nickagneta]

I'm not so sure there's a double standard. Its just that QBs with limited passing skills and a run at first sign of trouble or even QB's that have severe passing limitations to the point where you have to run an option style offense isn't going to succeed to the SuperBowl in this league.

Its because the offense tends to be dominated by running and eating lots of time off the clock and they end up averaging very little in points per game. Denver is averaging barely over 20 PPG. Can anyone even think of a SuperBowl team that averaged only 20 PPG, even 25-20 years ago when the offenses weren't scoring as much as they do now.

Tebow is a warrior and a helluva football player. He's just not a very good NFL QB and certainly not one you build a franchise's playoff hopes around. McDaniels made a mistake drafting Tebow in the first round and I think that will be shown to be true when Elway does everything he can to nab a more pocket passing, NFL style QB in this year's draft.

[Lord of Mikawa]

I'm not a fan of his basically because of the low scoring offense. I think it showed today against the Pats that Tebow isn't ready for primetime.

[action781]

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. 

Great post, eja.  I particularly agree with your first point.

I'm a huge fan of Tebow.  I can't understand why anybody dislikes him or roots against him.  He is the best role model that professional sports has seen in my entire life (I'm 27).  He's an incredibly hard worker (see the documentary on him leading up to the NFL draft), he is a leader, he is always selflessly giving credit to his teammates after every win, he is completely faithful to his religion, he graduated college, he does good things off the field (like volunteering) instead of doing bad/illegal things... the list goes on.  Oh, and he wins football games.

I don't see how anybody can root against this guy.  I'm hoping that I have kids that look up to him and want to be like him some day.

[Eja117]

The Tebow double standard is that you can't say anything negative about other QBs that is just par for the course with Tebow.  You can't even do it in the exact same manner.

The Tebow criticisms are

The defense is carrying him
His success is unsustainable
He has a bad throwing motion
He's a good football player, but not QB (that one doesn't even make sense. It's a little like saying Obama is a good politician, but a bad president)
He pushes his religion in people's faces
His coach is making him look good
He's only popular because he's a golden boy
etc

People have been saying those things for months about Tim. Remove the I and insert O and within about half a dozen posts you get labeled.  That's a double standard. Criticism that is par for the course for Tim is off limits for Tom.  Double standard. 

They play the same position.

They both win

They both win in dramatic fashion

One is very outwardly Christian.

It's fashionable to bash one and make not very funny SNL skits about him.

It's not so fashionable to say the same exact things about the other.

Well I think Tom is overrated these days and Tim is underrated.  And I think all the things you can say about Tim you can say about Tom and vice versa.

What's more funny is when they try to compare Cam Newton to Tim and Skip says "Oh come on. Cam is 2-6. That's an insult to Tim".  That's a little more apples and oranges, but still.

[vvps]

There's definitely a double standard.

For example, Josh Freeman played a putrid first half against the Cowboys last Thursday, and ultimately his team got destroyed.  His team is now 4-10.

I'm not picking on Josh Freeman, I don't have a problem with him, he may or may not pan out, but just using him as an example.

But he doesn't even have the excuse that it's only his what 11th or 12th NFL start.  He's a 3rd year QB getting destroyed.  yet, do we hear even like a quarter of the venom being spewed at Freeman that we heard about Tebow, in particular before the Broncos winning streak, when Tebow was on his what, 5th NFL start?

Josh Freeman is only one example.  There are only like, what, 4 or 5 QBs out there who are above criticism (Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger)? Every other QB other than those 4 isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, and oh by the way are mostly losing, yet they single out Tebow, for what reason, exactly?  I don't get it.

How about they just let the kid have a chance to develop?  If he pans out, fine.  If he doesn't, fine too.  But why all the venom?

It boggles the mind, the double standard.

[kozlodoev]

The defense is carrying him

The criticism has been that the contributions of the teams around him have been overlooked (that includes the defense, but also guys like Matt Prater, who's been phenomenal all season). Yesterday's game was a textbook case demonstrating how this was valid -- the rest of the team had a somewhat quite game, and Tebow fizzled down the stretch.

His success is unsustainable

Time will tell. Six game is not sustained success.

He has a bad throwing motion

The criticism has been that he has horrible accuracy, not horrible throwing motion. The criticism is very obviously true.

He's a good football player, but not QB (that one doesn't even make sense. It's a little like saying Obama is a good politician, but a bad president)

Obama _is_ a good politician and a mediocre president. To be precise, he gathered a ton of media attention, and got people to vote for him, but when it came to actually governing the country, his supposed revolutionary approach didn't quite work.

Glad you brought this up, I think there is a lot of similarity to the Tebow situation.

He pushes his religion in people's faces

He does. When journalists (according to folks like you) shove their microphones in his face, they actually want and expect to talk about football, so that "argument" is completely bogus.

They play the same position.
 
They both win

They both win in dramatic fashion

One is very outwardly Christian.

It's fashionable to bash one and make not very funny SNL skits about him.

It's not so fashionable to say the same exact things about the other.

No, it's fashionable to bash Tebow, because he's a media sensation, an unproven young player with questionable skills. It's anyone's guess how popular he would have been if it wasn't  for his religious antics (my guess is: not as much).

Tebow stringed together several wins (against putrid teams, btw, combined win percentage of .440). Good for him, but that's about it. I swear, this is worse than the LeBron media love fest.

What's more funny is when they try to compare Cam Newton to Tim and Skip says "Oh come on. Cam is 2-6. That's an insult to Tim".  That's a little more apples and oranges, but still.

What is funny is that Arizona won 6 of their last 7, but you won't hear about it, because their QB is not a sexy media pick.

[Eja117]

You know what kozlodoev? I agree with a ton of what you said. The Skelton thing is totally a double standard.   As to whether it's an unfair double standard is a little different question.

I find this a very interesting topic for a lot of reasons, and I'd like to continue it but Tebow/Jesus and sports in general are topics that could provoke emotional responses and that can be considered against rules and lockable material so rather than expend energy on it (at this exact moment anyway) maybe I'll wait till next week

[vvps]

What is funny is that Arizona won 6 of their last 7, but you won't hear about it, because their QB is not a sexy media pick.

A lot of that has to do with the fact that media "experts" never tried to tear down Skelton like they did Tebow. 

[nickagneta]

I don't see that the media experts tried to tear down Tebow.

They gave their best, most informed opinions of the guy prior to the draft. They stated his release was long(the arm dropped down to far), slow(it took too long to wind up and throw the ball), the arm was too bent and his release point was all over the place. All very valid criticisms.

They stated that the long windup would cause many strips from very fast and well taught linebackers and defense lineman whose job it is to swat at the ball. This is true.

They said slow wind up would cause him to have trouble getting off quality throws when the pocket was closing and cause him to throw inaccurately or look to improvise. This is true.

They said the bent arm and wild release point would cause terrible inaccuracies. This is true.

Say what you want but the "experts" who criticized Tebow did it for valid reasons and their critiques have shown to be true. But Tebow is a great football player because he has an awesome will to win, a tremendous lower body strength and sense of balance, an uncanny ability to be shifty and throw off tacklers, and has great heart and leadership abilities.

So he's not the best QB. So what? There are thousands of college style, option quarterbacks with poor throwing skills with great leadership skills that have never gotten the chance that he has. If anything there could be a reverse double standard with Tebow because many of those type QBs were black for decades and NEVER got the chance Tebow did. I'm not saying this is true but in an interview with WEEI the other day Kordell Stewart was hinting very very very strongly at this. Here's the interview. He called it "obvious reasons":

http://audio.weei.com/a/49782263/former-steeler-kordell-slash-stewart-talks-about-what-tebow-is-going-through-as-a-qb-with-the-big-show.htm


The pro experts hated Doug Flutie, Andre Ware, Eric Crouch, and Charlie Ward and they were all Heisman Trophy winners like Tebow. They hated Kordell Stewart and predicted Vick would have to improve his passing skills and stop with the run improvisation before he could ever lead a team anywhere. Personally, I think Tebow gets a lot more attention than he deserves because his open religious opinions attract a wide portion of conservative America. Networks tell the story and people watch and eat it up. So the media hypes him up and when football experts criticize him, those that adore him call it ripping him or hating him or call for a double standard.

Vick constantly got criticized for not being a pocket passer. Flutie was never accepted by the experts. Eli Manning has taken a beaten by the experts for his QBing skills. Do I need to mention the bashing Tony Romo takes? How about the one Bledsoe took or Tony Eason or Steve Grogan around these parts?

Want to be a fan of a quarterback in the NFL. Get thick skin because unless your name is Joe Montana, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, you are going to hear some bad stuff said about your favorite QB.

 

[Donoghus]

Want to be a fan of a quarterback in the NFL. Get thick skin because unless your name is Joe Montana, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, you are going to hear some bad stuff said about your favorite QB.

Very well said and even those 3 weren't/aren't entirely immune.

It just seems more with Tebow than other quarterbacks, that some people are ultra-sensitive to his criticisms.

It's a certainly fascinating phenomena.

[vvps]

lol now ya'll are just being disingenuous.

no QB with as much inexperience as tebow has been as ripped apart by the media as he has.

stop lyin'.   

[BASS_THUMPER]

[GreenFaith1819]

A few years from now I see no reason why Tim Tebow won't be a fine quarterback.

Aside from the controversy, he is improving with each game.

As for yesterday? I truly expected either DEN upset or a comfortable NE win, which NE pulled off.

Neither DEN nor Tebow should be ashamed of the loss. That team and QB has a bright future, and still some games to play this season, too.

Stay tuned.

[Eja117]

One double standard is pretty obvious.

If Muhammed came down from Heaven and told Muhammed Ali "Oh wait. You think YOU beat Joe Frazier? Ha. That's funny"

or if Moses or Abraham came down and told Rex Grossman "You think YOU led this team to the Super Bowl? Yeah right."

We know exactly how people would react.

But if Jesus tells Tebow and the Broncos they suck the next morning at the water cooler you hear "Hey guys. DId you see that SNL Tebow sketch. Oh man. It was so funny!"

SNL sucks and they have for years. And that's the Tebow double standard. Telling you right now. If Larry Bird had thanked Jesus after all his wins we'd still be hearing about how his lack of athleticism makes it impossible for him to win long term. 

[nickagneta]

One double standard is pretty obvious.

If Muhammed came down from Heaven and told Muhammed Ali "Oh wait. You think YOU beat Joe Frazier? Ha. That's funny"

or if Moses or Abraham came down and told Rex Grossman "You think YOU led this team to the Super Bowl? Yeah right."

We know exactly how people would react.

But if Jesus tells Tebow and the Broncos they suck the next morning at the water cooler you hear "Hey guys. DId you see that SNL Tebow sketch. Oh man. It was so funny!"

SNL sucks and they have for years. And that's the Tebow double standard. Telling you right now. If Larry Bird had thanked Jesus after all his wins we'd still be hearing about how his lack of athleticism makes it impossible for him to win long term.  

So what you are saying is that Tebow is as talented a football player as Larry Bird was a basketball player Mohammed Ali was a boxer and that the reason Tebow is made fun of and not liked is because of his very public displays of his belief in Christianity that Larry Bird and Ali didn't show?

Or is it perhaps Tebow is a fairly mediocre professional quarterback, a good football player, who gets tremendously, much more attention than just a bout any other mediocre quarterbacks in the NFL has ever gotten because he is white and because his very public displays of religion appeal to a large portion of conservative, white, Christian America.

Cam Newton had one of the most amazing rookie seasons that any rookie QB has ever had in NFL history. He threwdfor over 4000 yds and has 21 TD passes. He ran for over 700 yds and 14 more TDs. His team improved by the same 4 games that Tebow's Broncos improved by. Yet when it came to young QBs in the league, all the media wanted to cover was Tebow.

In their first full season of play I don't remember Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, Kordell Stewart, or Michael Vick getting nearly the attention that Tebow did and yet all those guys were running QBs with much better passing games than Tebow's. Difference? They weren't running around spouting off about Jesus whenever someone put a microphone in his face and they weren't white.

So maybe a double standard does exist, only not in the way you think.

Regarding SNL, if you are getting a huge amount of publicity, guess what? You are fair game and are going to be made fun of. Doesn't matter if you are famous or not, a jock, a politician, a musician, a movie star or even the producer of SNL. They are going to ridicule you. You and your fans will need to live with that.