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Tebow scores a 22 on the Wonderlic, below average for an NFL starting QB

2010-03-12T18:32:00Z

From PalmBeachPost.com: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/gatorbytes/2010/03/10/tebow-scores-a-22-on-the-wonderlic-below-average-for-an-nfl-starting-qb/

Tim Tebow is certainly no dummy, having won the National Football Foundation’s “Academic Heisman,” otherwise known as the William V. Campbell Trophy, in 2009 for success on the field, in the classroom and community leadership.

Tebow graduated Florida with a 3.66 GPA as a Family, Youth and Community Services major, and he is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a two-time First Team Academic All-American.

But when it comes to quick thinking in a pressurized situation, Tebow performed slightly below average when compared to his peers. According to Edgar Thompson, the Post’s Miami Dolphins writer, Tebow scored a 22 on his Wonderlic test at the NFL Combine two weekends ago.

The 12-minute, 50-question test assesses a person’s learning and problem-solving abilities, and while Tebow’s score of 22 is just fine for the NFL, it is a little low for starting quarterbacks.

The average score for all quarterbacks is 24, but the average for 30 NFL starting quarterbacks — Matt Cassel’s and Matt Moore’s could not be found — is a 28.5. Taking it a step further, the average Wonderlic score of the last seven Super Bowl winners is 30.1.

That’s not to say that a Wonderlic score directly relates to success as an NFL quarterback. Quarterbacks with high scores (Ryan Fitzpatrick 48, Alex Smith 40, Matt Leinart 35) have struggled in the league, while quarterbacks with modest scores (Donovan McNabb 14, David Garrard 14, Vince Young 15) have performed well.

Tebow also scored slightly lower than the other quarterbacks in this draft class — Sam Bradford leads the way with 36, followed by Colt McCoy at 25 and Jimmy Clausen at 23, according to Thompson.

Here is a list of the Wonderlic scores of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL (plus Tebow):

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick 48
2. Alex Smith 40
3. Eli Manning 39
4. Matt Stafford 38
5. Tony Romo 37
6. Aaron Rodgers 35
6. Matt Leinart 35
8. Tom Brady 33
9. Matt Ryan 32
10. Matt Schaub 31
11. Philip Rivers 30
12. Matt Hasselbeck 29
12. Marc Bulger 29
12. Brady Quinn 29
15. Mark Sanchez 28
15. Peyton Manning 28
15. Drew Brees 28
18. Josh Freeman 27
18. Joe Flacco 27
20. Carson Palmer 26
20. Jay Cutler 26
20. Kyle Orton 26
23. Ben Roethlisberger 25
24. Jason Campbell 23
25. Brett Favre 22
25. Tim Tebow 22
25. Chad Henne 22
28. Bruce Gradkowski 19
29. Vince Young 15
30. Donovan McNabb 14
30. David Garrard 14

Unknown
Matt Cassel
Matt Moore

Other Wonderlic scores of note:
Brian Griese 39
Drew Bledsoe 36
Steve Young 33
John Elway 29
Ryan Leaf 27
Chad Pennington 25
JaMarcus Russell 24
Mark Brunell 22
Trent Dilfer 22
Michael Vick 20
Daunte Culpepper 18
Dan Marino 15
Randall Cunningham 15
Jim Kelly 15
Terry Bradshaw 15
Chris Leak 8

Thanks to this database from the University of North Carolina for all Wonderlic scores before 2007.

Tebow will affect UF’s quarterback recruiting

2010-02-23T18:01:00Z

From GatorSports.com: http://recruiting.blogs.gatorsports.com/10397/tebow-will-affect-ufs-quarterback-recruiting/?tc=ar

So, Tim Tebow is changing his throwing motion in an effort to raise his draft stock this year. While Tebow looks to gain praise from his improvements, members of the media are calling out Urban Meyer for what they say has been a lack of proper coaching for Tebow in his time in Gainesville. I’m not the smartest person in the world, but being a major part of two national championships in four years, winning a Heisman — and being at three straight ceremonies — says a lot about one’s career. I think his coaching was pretty good. I’m also not so sure how much time Meyer really needed to put into developing Tebow’s mechanics. He didn’t need amazing technique to be one of the most decorated college football players of all time.

Now, I’m not saying Tebow is the best passer out there or that he should be the top quarterback drafted, but I’m just not sure that a coach would change something about a player if that player is constantly winning for you.

Regardless, the negative attention Tebow has gotten concerning the NFL Draft will always come back to Meyer. He’s the head coach and he’ll have to answer those questions. But will all this negativity have an impact on who UF recruits? Will high school athletes start to really take notice of what scouts are saying about Tebow’s ability at the next level?

Of course they should, but will it have that much of an impact on the future? Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barton Simmons says no.

“More than anything, kids are still recognizing that system as being a system where a quarterback can be successful,” Simmons said.

“Kids still think they can come in and be productive and be a part of a pretty explosive offensive there.”

Let’s not forget what Meyer has done with other quarterbacks. Alex Smith was the No. 1 overall pick at Utah, and while his NFL career hasn’t been stellar, he’s coming off arguably his best season with the San Francisco 49ers in which he passed for more than 2,300 yards and had 18 touchdowns in only 11 games. Chris Leak led the Gators to a national championship in 2006 and is the all-time leader in passing yards (11,213) at Florida. Leak hasn’t made it in the NFL, and Simmons said the NFL might be the only area Meyer will have to prove himself to prospects.

He also thinks that Tebow is too unique a player for people to throw Meyer under the bus. He’s just totally different in all parts of the game and Simmons considers him an “exception to the rules.”

The real test for Meyer will be how junior John Brantley does this fall. He’s much more of a pure passer and is about as pro-style as you can get.

Simmons said recruits won’t shy away from Florida’s program no matter where Tebow is drafted, but watching Brantley next season could have an impact on how recruits view the quarterback coaching at Florida.

“If (Brantley) can step in and be really productive, that could be huge for (recruiting),” he said.

“A lot of prospects will have their eye on him, but in my opinion, Meyer’s proven a lot without waiting on a Brantley-type.”

Tim Tebow will not throw at 2010 NFL Combine

2010-02-23T16:18:00Z

From StampedeBlue.com: http://www.stampedeblue.com/2010/2/22/1321322/2010/2/22/1321322/tim-tebow-will-not-throw-at-2010

Not to upset Gregg Doyel, but the news today that Tim Tebow will not throw at the NFL Combine is a big, huge, GIGANTIC red flag. Tebow will throw in the nice, calm, controlled environment that is the Florida Pro Day, not the centralized scouting event at Lucas Oil Stadium this week where literally everybody and their mother will descend to watch hundreds of athletes run around in their underwear.

I'm writing about Tebow because there is a small contingent that thinks the Colts should take a shot at him. He won't be ready for another three years anyway, and he can be "groomed" by Peyton Manning, Tom Moore, and Frank Reich to be a good QB. The logic is if those three guys cannot make you good, you suck and don't deserve to play in this league.

There is also what Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver has been saying, suggesting that the Jags draft Tebow so that he can sell tickets for them. I mean, forget the notion of making the team consistently good or anything (step #1 in that process would be firing Jack Del Rio). This is about bringing in a local celebrity, suckering thousands of fans to buy tickets, and then have said celebrity sit on the bench for the season because... well, he kind of sucks right now at the pro level. I mean, he is just now getting a pro level QB coach to work with him on his throwing motion, which was terrible in college.

All in all, Tebow has the trappings of a major bust. Spend first or second day money on a QB who is not ready is just irresponsible drafting. Obviously, Bill Polian will stay away from this kid. The Jags? I wonder.

Pam Tebow, Liar?

2010-02-05T21:00:00Z

FromTruthWinsOut.org: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/01/6535/

Whoa nelly.

As Joe Jervis points out, we’ve been hearing the propaganda for weeks now about how Tim Tebow’s mother was confronted with a difficult pregnancy, encouraged to have an abortion, and made the heroic and courageous choice to carry the pregnancy to term, so that her son Tim would one day sport Bible verses in his eyeblack and have a really hard time at NFL tryouts. As you all know, the propaganda has become even fiercer as Focus on the Family has spent $2.5 million on an anti-choice ad to be aired during the Super Bowl featuring Tebow’s story.

Yeah, well, Gloria Allred begs to differ:

In her exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com Allred slams the ad and CBS’s decision to air it, pointing out factual inconsistencies with Pam’s story. One glaring one is the fact that the act of abortion is totally illegal in the majority Catholic country of the Philippines – under all circumstances including rape and incest, and even without a provision in the circumstance that the mother’s life is in danger. The law has been in effect since 1930.

Allred says she believes it an impossible scenario to believe that [Filipino] doctors would [have] ever suggested abortion as a viable option for Tebow in the first place. And when you learn that physicians and midwives who perform abortions in the Philippines face six years in prison, and may have their licenses suspended or revoked, and that women who receive abortions – no matter the reason – may be punished with imprisonment for two to six years, it’s easy to see why.

Oh boy! You see, Ms. Tebow is being hailed as a hero for “choosing life.” Let’s get something out of the way before we move on. When Focus on the Family and other anti-choice groups raise women like Sarah Palin, like Pam Tebow, onto pedestals for “choosing life,” they are ceding the pro-choice argument, that women should be the ones to decide what to do with their bodies. They don’t realize it, and it’s not pointed out nearly enough, but they’re arguing by pro-choice parameters. In the dreams of anti-choice conservatives, in a fantasy-land where Roe v. Wade has been overturned, no woman is a hero for making that choice, because under draconian abortion bans, the only choice women have is to abide by the law or to seek reproductive health care through other, possibly unsafe means.* As an American living in the Philippines, Pam Tebow found herself in the same situation. There are no exceptions to Filipino abortion law. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, abortion in the Philippines is

unsafe, potentially deadly and highly stigmatized. Every year, more than 500,000 women in the country try to terminate their pregnancies. In 2008 alone, criminal abortions resulted in the deaths of at least 1000 women and 90,000 more suffered complications.

So, that was the “choice” Pam Tebow had to make. Jodi Jacobson at RH Reality Check expands on this:

During a bible study class, Pam Tebow related that “during that pregnancy, a Philippine doctor suggested that she abort the fetus because the strong medications she was being treated with for amoebic dysentery, which she had contacted early in the pregnancy, could cause serious disabilities to the fetus.”

Suggested that she abort the pregnancy? Or laid out the various risks that were possible, leaving her to her own judgment and choices? Made a definitive judgment that the fetus would unquestionably be harmed? Or described the risks of the medication necessary to treat the dysentery, including possible risks to the fetus? All of these are very different scenarios than the ones earlier suggested.

(…)

So…was Tebow’s doctor ignorant of the law and policy of his or her own country? Or, was the doctor willing to skirt the law for a relatively wealthy (in the context of the extreme poverty in the Philippines) white woman from the United States? Or did the doctor, again, merely lay out the range of options should it be found that the possible risks of a medication or the possible side effects of the medication should she opt to take it?

Pam Tebow is making a name for herself, and presumably a lot of money, as an anti-choice activist. But considering what’s coming to light, simply by analyzing a few names, dates and places in her account, I think it may be fair to say that for her to portray herself as some sort of “hero” is a joke. In fact, Pam Tebow’s own account, when bolstered by the necessary background information, is actually a fairly strong defense for the justice contained in Roe v. Wade. If she had been in the United States, she could have made the very same choice to go through with a risky pregnancy, having weighed her options, and having analyzed the pros and cons of her specific situation. But yet she and Focus on the Family are advocates for taking those rights away from other women!

And if I may be quite frank: women deal with difficult pregnancies all the time. By all accounts, Pam Tebow’s pregnancy was not off the charts when it comes to danger or risk. Women every day deal with more painful, more difficult choices in pregnancy, than what she went through. I don’t mean to negate her experience, but on this day, as the guilty-on-all-counts verdict came down against American terrorist Scott Roeder for his assassination of Dr. George Tiller, who before his death was the foremost American specialist in treating women in ghastly situations that none of us would wish on our worst enemies, it’s important to realize what these anti-choice advocates wish to take away. Thetestimonials of Tiller’s patients, so many of whose experiences are the true definition of going to hell and back, bear out the reality of what Pam Tebow and Focus on the Family seek to take away from American women. Those testimonials are tough reading. I recommend them, with boxes of tissue handy. And then ask yourself how grotesque it is that a woman like Ms. Tebow is steamrolling all over those very real experiences on her newfound crusade, enabled by the coattails of her teary-eyed football-playing son and the insipid demagogues at Focus on the Family.

Jodi Jacobson concludes her piece with these words:

Each woman is unique; each situation is unique; each woman acting as a moral agent on behalf of herself, and her family, with her medical advisors or whomever she chooses to engage has the right and the need to exercise these choices in the moment in her life such choices are relevant and based on her own “celebration of life.”

And on this the vast majority of Americans agree.

Pam Tebow is no “hero.” She’s simply a woman who may or may not have made a difficult choice. Regardless, things turned out well. And she may be lying. Questions!

For her part, Gloria Allred is threatening to sue CBS if they run the misleading ad:

Allred warns, “If this ad airs and fails to disclose that abortions were illegal at the time Ms. Tebow made her “choice”, then I intend to file a formal complaint of misleading advertising with those federal commissions.”

On a final note Allred says that she hopes that if any of the women that watch the ad are in the position of evaluating their own pregnancy options, that they “get all the facts before you make a decision. Don’t let any other person influence you. You are going to live with the consequences of that choice for the rest of your life. Make sure it’s your choice and you feel confident you can live with that choice for the rest of your life.”

We’ll be watching closely to see what CBS does, now that this new information is seeing sunlight.

*Including those women who end up having to choose to terminate a wanted pregnancy due to threats to their health or their very lives. And we do know,through years of research, that abortion bans don’t reduce abortion rates anyway. They simply make abortion more dangerous, healthcare worse, etc.

ESPN's McShay joins Kiper on anti-Tebow bandwagon

2010-01-29T22:21:00Z

From Jacksonville.com:http://jacksonville.com/interact/blog/gene_frenette/2010-01-28/espns_mcshay_joins_kiper_on_anti_tebow_bandwagon

Just got off a teleconference call with ESPN football insider Todd McShay, who is at the Senior Bowl, and he's clearly not tip-toeing around about the NFL prospects of college football's biggest name.

Let's just say McShay won't be getting any dinner invitations from Tim Tebow or members of Gator nation any time soon.

McShay not only thinks Tebow might be available to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the THIRD ROUND of the NFL draft, he also fired this shot across the bow about the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner: "It's hard for me to imagine that we're going to be talking about Tim Tebow one day as a full-time starting quarterback in the NFL."

Gee, Todd, tell us how you really feel about the most popular player in University of Florida football history. It's pretty gutsy on McShay's part to be so openly critical of Tebow, but he didn't back down on the most scrutinized player at the Senior Bowl. McShay went through a laundry list of things that he believes Tebow must improve rather quickly to be considered among the top five quarterbacks in the April 22-24 draft.

"I hate to say it because he's battled, done everything asked of him," McShay said. "I know he hasn't felt great [suffering from strep throat]. He's gone through every drill [at Senior Bowl], shown improvement, but he's just not there. . . . I'd say, unfortunately, [coming to Senior Bowl] has hurt his stock.

"Comparing him to other mid-level quarterbacks, he's probably going to be a third-round pick. Just evaluating his potential as a pocket passer, he was no better than the fourth-best [quarterback] here. He needs to either strip down as a quarterback and build back up or play another position in the NFL."

That has been a similar stand taken by another ESPN draft expert, Mel Kiper Jr., who has long advocated that Tebow move to an H-back, tight end or fullback position at the next level.

McShay touched on many issues — long delivery, footwork, ability to read more sophisticated NFL coverages — that have put Tebow under the microscope this week at the Senior Bowl.

"I don't think NFL guys frown as much on shotgun [quarterbacks]," said McShay, referring to Tebow being in a spread offense at Florida. "Of all the issues with Tebow, that's the least of my concerns. It's adjusting to reading coverages while dropping back. It's not just a presnap read. It's reading from left to right, up and down.

"The defenders are so much faster. Getting from one spot to the next without overstriding. Those are the things [that concern him about Tebow], and that doesn't include his elongated delivery. I've never seen a quarterback in an all-star game that had such an obvious delivery issue. [Andre'] Woodson from Kentucky had it [in 2008], but Tebow is much worse."

Though McShay was willing to give Tebow a third-round value, he gave every indication that his development as a quarterback would be a long process with no guarantee of reaching fruition. McShay said Tebow's transition from college quarterback to the NFL was "almost as if he's coming from one position to another. There are so few examples of guys [like Tebow] who have made that transition. He's going to have to learn maybe as a Wildcat quarterback taking five or seven snaps [a game]."

With nearly three months remaining before the draft, Tebow still has time to win over NFL scouts. But it sure doesn't sound like he's going to be moving up McShay's draft board.

Spin Wheel And See Where Tim Tebow Lands

2010-01-29T16:38:00Z

From SportingNews.com: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Trenches/entry/view/53620/spin_wheel_and_see_where_tim_tebow_lands

As the NFL draft approaches (April 22-24), several news outlets, football fans and scouts are giving their best educated guesses as to which team will pick former Florida QB and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said recently that many in the general public can't understand why Tebow may not be a top NFL pick, but it has to do with his accuracy, how long it takes him to release the football, and the system he played in at Florida.

In fact, McShay had this to say of Tebow to the Boston Globe: "He can’t play quarterback in the NFL, I’m convinced of it. From his delivery to his footwork to his accuracy, you have to absolutely strip him down and build him back up. And it’s too late."

And Sporting News' draft analyst Russ Lande continues to document Tebow's struggles at the Senior Bowl.

It seems unlikely that Tebow will be selected in the draft’s first round, and most folks cannot agree on which NFL team he’ll suit up for come the start of the 2010 season.

Here’s a look at what various news media are reporting as to where Tebow may land.

Carolina Panthers: “If, as expected, Tebow falls out of the first round, the Panthers could be in position to draft him. They aren't scheduled to pick until the middle of the second round after trading their first-round selection to San Francisco last year in order to draft defensive end Everette Brown. Carolina could use an infusion of young talent at the quarterback position.” — Charles Chandler, Charlotte Observer

Jacksonville Jaguars: “Because of Tim Tebow’s roots in Jacksonville and the Jaguars’ need to increase ticket sales, the Jaguars’ evaluation of Tebow will be well-documented until the April draft. That doesn’t mean coach Jack Del Rio is ready to reveal his thoughts. ... Del Rio got in town Tuesday, and he’s eager to watch Tebow play all week in Mobile, Ala.” — Jeremy Fowler, Orlando Sentinel

New England Patriots: “First, while in some circles, Tom Brady's presence might be seen as a detractor here, it shouldn't be. ... Second, the creativity of Bill Belichick is a factor in that you'd want to find a gameday role for Tebow, and the Patriots coach has used players out-of-position in different ways. ... Third, elements of Urban Meyer's offense are implemented in the Patriots scheme. ... Fourth, Belichick will get as honest an evaluation of Tebow as anyone could hope to get, since he's close with Meyer.” — Albert Breer, Boston Globe

Tebow, while practicing for the Senior Bowl this week, told the Press Register he plans to let his play do the talking. "I've been focused and motivated. Not listening to what people say. At end of day, you don't have to impress 32 teams, you have to impress one. That's my goal.”

Tim Tebow: Jacksonville's Most Valuable Jaguar in 2010?

2010-01-29T15:38:00Z

From BleacherReport.com: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/329254-tim-tebow-jacksonvilles-most-valuable-jaguar-in-2010

There's definitely a place for Tim Tebow with the Jacksonville Jaguars next season.

Voices within the organization are unanimous on that point. Team owner Wayne Weaver has described Tebow, the most decorated quarterback in Florida Gators' history, as "an iconic figure [whose] star power is incredible."

Even incumbent Jaguars' quarterback David Garrard acknowledged the appeal of bringing Tebow to Jacksonville in conversation with ESPN's Jim Rome.

Florida governor Charlie Crist told the Jacksonville Times-Union in December that, in talking with the Jaguars' ownership, he has suggested that the team would do well to acquire Tebow.

"I think it would be great," Crist said.

Indeed, the upside of having Tebow in Jacksonville seems limitless.

Over the past four years, as the Jaguars have struggled to sell tickets to their games in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Tebow's Gators have filled all of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium's 88,548 seats with ease.

For perspective, consider that Jacksonville set a record low for attendance with 42,079 on Dec. 8, when the Jaguars hosted division rival Houston in a battle of teams who were in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

One week earlier, on November 28, a record-high crowd of over 90,000 spectators packed "The Swamp" past its capacity to witness Tebow's last home game as a Gator.

Simply put, Tebow sells tickets.

Apart from the business of football, Tebow's intangibles as a hard-working, high-character individual shouldn't be ignored.

Marco Rubio, Crist's opponent for Florida's U.S. Senate nomination, has praised Tebow as "a pure leader and an inspiring role model."

Crist, similarly, described Tebow as "a great Floridian [who's] much more a great human being than he is a quarterback."

Off the football field, Tebow has received acclaim for his volunteer missionary work in the Philippines and his impact on legislative efforts to grant homeschooled athletes equal access to high school athletics.

Far from the typical college football senior who exits the amateur scene with dollar signs in his eyes, Tebow is a well-rounded and dynamic leader seeking to inspire and impact the lives of others.

Clearly, Jacksonville could use such an individual. The Jaguars' only question is: Where?

With concerns that lagging revenues could force Weaver to sell the team, most likely to a group intending to relocate to Los Angeles, an argument can be made for having Tebow specialize in ticket sales, where his fame and winning personality would surely result in throngs of fans flocking to the gates of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

In the bigger picture, though, relegating Tebow to improving the team's financial bottom line seems a waste of his ability to contribute to the Jaguars' community outreach programs.

Weaver's Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation commits millions of dollars in resources to serving "economically and socially disadvantaged youth and families" in Jacksonville, with programs ranging from blood and food drives to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Tebow's previous experience with volunteer work and community outreach would allow him to contribute to those efforts from day one.

Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, now an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football, has argued that Tebow should enter the 2010 NFL Draft in April and seek to further his football career as a professional quarterback.

"He's like [New York Giants' running back] Brandon Jacobs playing quarterback," Gruden told the Tampa Tribune. "He's the strongest human being that's ever played the position."

Should the Jaguars fancy Tebow in that capacity, they'll have a fair shot at selecting him with a pick in the top half of the draft's first round.

As a quarterback, though, Tebow's upside is decidedly smaller.

Cursed with a side-arm throwing motion, an unfortunate tendency to underthrow or overthrow receivers, and an utter lack of experience in a pro-style offense, molding the 2007 ESPYs "Best Male College Athlete" into a professional signal-caller would be a project requiring time and patience beyond the cash-strapped Jaguars' means.

Come April, then, Jacksonville should resist Gruden's advice. Behind center, Tebow might well continue in the tradition of Heisman winners such as Andre Ware, Charlie Ward, Eric Crouch, and Troy Smith who parlayed college success into on-field careers in professional football.

As a member of the Jaguars' ticket operations, corporate sponsorship, or communications and media teams, though, he could redefine the role of a "great human being" off the field.

Tim Tebow: A case of ad nauseam

2010-01-29T15:23:00Z

From SunTimes.com: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/telander/2018022,CST-SPT-rick29.article

You gotta say this about Tim Tebow: The dude doesn't mind being scrutinized.

You'd think that if there were more to learn about the former star Florida quarterback -- from his NFL-suspect arm to his proselytizing charm -- than what we have learned in the last four years, it would need to come from the CIA.

But apparently we're getting a Super Bowl TV ad that takes us all the way back to -- cherubim and seraphim here! -- the start of the two-time BCS championship quarterback's life!

Like, literally.

Not sure if a manger is involved, or sonograms, but Tebow and his mother Pam are reportedly going to speak in the commerical -- made by the conservative Christian group, Focus on Family -- about how doctors had recommended that Pam, who was ill during part of her pregnancy with her fifth child, have an abortion.

Had she done that, well, we'd have a different 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, for one thing.

Numerous women's rights groups have protested CBS' apparent decision to run the 30-second ad -- we're talking a $2.5 million to $2.8million price tag for the half-minute -- because of its religion-based, anti-abortion, thus-political message.

''An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year,'' Jemhu Greene, president of the New York-based Women's Media Center, told the Associated Press.

She may be right.

But in a techno world that gives us Viagra ads, rotting CSI cadavers and Jersey Shore morons around the clock, it seems we could survive this reportedly (by Tebow himself, anyway) tame, if impassioned nonsecular statement about a real-world issue most of us would rather keep private.

First Amendment considerations alone tell me that flipping the dial would be better for upset citizens than censorship.

Yet there do need to be rules in this world, ones of enlightenment and compassion and reason and respect for others, even if they're rules that are not written in stone and enforced by government agencies.

Don't mix religion, sport

And I would start with this one: religion should not be part of sport.

Period.

I won't even begin with the ceaseless statements by athletes that God (a) wanted them to win; (b) decided they should lose; (c) healed their injuries; (d) told them it was OK to knock the snot out of the enemy ball carrier; (e) left them just before they got in that drunken bar brawl.

Back when Steve Spurrier was the coach at Florida and Danny Wuerffel was his senior quarterback, Spurrier said nothing bad was going to happen to the slow-footed Wuerffel in the NFL because ''he has a protective shield of angels around him.''

I never saw a defensive end bounce off those winged creatures, but Wuerffel had a protective shield of Heisman voters, indeed.

Studies have shown that we transform our God, whatever religion we espouse, into a deity with philosophical and moral teachings much like the ones we already hold.

God's like me, in other words.

And the general assumption in the United States is that God is part of our realm and some kind of Christian, likely a rather conservative Christian. We do have the command ''In God We Trust'' on our money, which, one supposes, is better than Ben Bernanke.

But what if Tebow's procession of biblical verse numbers on his eye patches -- guaranteed instant and massive Google hits, by the way -- were verses from the Koran instead?

What if they said, ''Believe in Morman''? ''Scientology Saves''? ''There Is No God''?

Or think of this: ''Death to Infidels.''

That is certainly not what people who love Tebow's endless God-praising had in mind. Yet this is an open and multifaith society, and if one religion is allowed, others will be, must always be.

NCAA looks the other way

How did Tebow's college slogans get out there anyway? The NCAA rule book states that nothing but ''a player's number; a player's name; NCAA Football logo; memorial recognition; the American flag; or institution, conference or game identification ... are permitted on a player's person or tape.''

Is it possible Tebow was cut some slack because people like him and nobody wanted to offend the Christian right? Or that the ''powers that be'' agreed with him?

A quarter of the world's population is Muslim, and if our global terrorism battle against zealots is seen solely as Christians vs. Islam, we would do well to remember that there are Jews, atheists, Buddhists, Hindus and yes, Muslims in the American armed forces, and that as All-American a town as Dearborn, Mich., has 10 mosques, and its public schools close for Muslim holidays.

Somehow we've gotten to the point where big-time sport is overwhelmed by Baseball Chapel, Athletes in Action, Christian ministries, God squads and Bible-thumpers everywhere.

I wonder if that bothers Tebow at all. No, of course it doesn't.

But I wonder how he'd feel if he scored a touchdown before a huge crowd, under the beckoning arms of ''Touchdown Muhammad''?

Think of that when you watch his ad.

Pam Tebow's Life Was Not Threatened in Pregnancy

2010-01-28T19:44:00Z

From RHRealityCheck.org: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/01/28/pam-tebows-life-was-not-threatened-pregnancy

We have been reporting on the sudden shift in policy by CBS News on accepting advocacy ads during the Super Bowl just in time to accept $2.5 million from Focus on the Family for an ad that features Tim and Pam Tebow. Tim Tebow is a Heisman Trophy winner and a prospective NFL player.

When pregnant with Tim, Pam Tebow was in the Philippines on a mission and became ill with amoebic dysentery. Early reports indicated that she was faced with a choice of continuing the pregnancy at the risk to her life.

That appears not to be true. Indeed the very facts of the situation are now in question.

During a bible study class, Pam Tebow related that "during that pregnancy, a Philippine doctor suggested that she abort the fetus because the strong medications she was being treated with for amoebic dysentery, which she had contacted early in the pregnancy, could cause serious disabilities to the fetus."

Suggested that she abort the pregnancy? Or laid out the various risks that were possible, leaving her to her own judgment and choices? Made a definitive judgment that the fetus would unquestionably be harmed? Or described the risks of the medication necessary to treat the dysentery, including possible risks to the fetus? All of these are very different scenarios than the ones earlier suggested.

The Tebows are fundamentalist Christians and are "anti-choice" which, as Amanda Marcotte points out, in effect makes them "pro-choice," because they have a choice to make even when circumstances are not ideal.

Pam Tebow relates that given her faith, having a an abortion--which no one has suggested she should have done in any case--was not an option.

"We knew that we could not do that," she said of the suggested abortion. "We all prayed to God for a healthy baby," she recalled. "And God answered our prayers when Timmy was born."

Again...her choice, and one she seeks to take away from other women, men, and their families.

But....the operative words here: "could cause serious disabilities."

This indeed changes the whole narrative, and makes even more suspicious the trotting out of Pam Tebow as an anti-choice spokesperson.

First, as someone who herself had to be on strong medication during both of the pregnancies with my now 10- and 13-year old children, and indeed whose own health was at serious risk, the issue of "risks that could cause" problems is very different than receiving a definitive diagnosis either that something is proved to be wrong or that this pregnancy might or will kill you. In conjunction with my physicians, I calculated and considered the risks at every step of the way of two extraordinarily difficult pregnancies.

I took risks in the interest of myself and my children in both pregnancies, hoping for the best. I don't consider myself a heroine or with any special story to share. Millions of women calculate risks every day for the children they have, for the ones they may bear, and for other reasons; indeed we all--men and women--calculate risks every day of our lives, and we do so on behalf of our children, unless of course we keep each of them locked in a closet. (Mine are not.) Moreover, I had an abortion at an earlier point in my life, which was absolutely the right choice for me, enabled me to be a prepared and mature parent when I did have children, and about which I have absolutely no regrets.

But Tebow's story is being used to "pave the way for her to find a new platform to use her influence."

Since the first interview early last year, for example, "Pam Tebow has been contacted by pro-life organizations requesting her to keynote upcoming conventions and gatherings. She said she is excited about the opportunity to share her pro-life beliefs and has already been scheduled for appearances and speeches in Dallas and Louisville."

So...a story that has been reported for some years on and off, and around which Pam Tebow is now building a career all of a sudden becomes a very promising cash cow for Focus on the Family, which is spending $2.5 million on an ad after having laid off hundreds of employees because of budget crises. Focus on the Family, which describes itself as "helping families thrive," is hoping to use this ad to drive donations to its website. How's the thriving going among those families with employees laid off from the organization, Dr. Dobson?

Moreover, as pointed out this afternoon by the Center for Reproductive Rights, abortion is illegal in the Philippines, again calling the story itself into question. As noted in a CRR press release today:

“If the Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad is based on the highly publicized Tebow story, then it raises a number of serious factual questions. Abortion has been illegal in the Philippines for over a century—no exceptions,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “CBS recently announced that their policy for advocacy ads has evolved, easing restrictions. Whatever the evolution, we are very concerned that the network would air an ad that recounts a story out-of-context and is paid for by an anti-choice organization. We strongly encourage CBS to pull the ad.”

Abortion was criminalized in the Philippines in 1870 and has been illegal <> in the country ever since. There are no exceptions to the law. Abortion is even prohibited when a woman’s life or health is in danger. Women are punished with imprisonment between two to six years if they obtain one. Doctors and midwives who directly cause or assist a woman in an abortion face six years imprisonment and may have their licenses suspended or revoked.

Because of the severity of the Philippines law, abortion is underground, says CRR:

making it unsafe, potentially deadly and highly stigmatized. Every year, more than 500,000 women in the country try to terminate their pregnancies. In 2008 alone, criminal abortions resulted in the deaths of at least 1000 women and 90,000 more suffered complications.

So....was Tebow's doctor ignorant of the law and policy of his or her own country? Or, was the doctor willing to skirt the law for a relatively wealthy (in the context of the extreme poverty in the Philippines) white woman from the United States? Or did the doctor, again, merely lay out the range of options should it be found that the possible risks of a medication or the possible side effects of the medication should she opt to take it?

CRR today sent a letter to CBS, calling on the network’s Standards and Practices Department to reconsider running the ad.

"While the exact content of the advertisement has not been revealed yet, the commercial is expected to recount the story of Pam Tebow’s pregnancy in 1987.

Let's be clear then: Pam Tebow's story appears to have morphed into something it is not. Her own personal choices are irrelevant to the broader context of every other individual woman, whether she considers herself "pro-choice," "anti-choice," or whatever other label applies.

And on this the vast majority of Americans agree: Women and their families and their doctors must be able to make the choices that are right for them in their own circumstances. Now and in the future.

Tebow Wobbles in Senior Bowl Workouts

2010-01-26T20:19:00Z

From NBCMiami.com: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Tebow-Wobbles-in-Senior-Bowl-Workouts-82699107.html

If Tim Tebow is Superman consider taking snaps under center his kryptonite.

Florida's Baby Rhino struggled in his first Senior Bowl workout with Tony Sparano's South team, and everyone -- everyone! -- noticed. From the Palm Beach Post:

Performing drills with fellow South team quarterbacks...Tebow fumbled the ball at least twice while taking snaps under center...[and] fell into his same old habits — holding onto the ball too long, locking onto receivers and throwing wobbly passes. The scouts noticed.

to NFL.com analysts:

Tebow repeatedly dropped snaps, and had a tough time hitting open receivers. While it is apparent that he has been attempting to work on his unorthodox delivery, his elongated wind up and tendency to pat the ball before releasing, clearly impact his accuracy.

to Scout, Inc.'s Todd McShay:

He was out of rhythm, missing receivers low and high and fumbling snaps while also struggling to read defenses and use proper footwork when dropping from under center.

...to the Miami Herald:

Tebow fumbled snaps, missed receivers and at one point even tossed one wobbling, floating incompletion that appeared to slip out of his hands. The wounded pass landed in the vicinity of Tebow's entourage.

This isn't the first time Tebow's questionable mechanics have struck NFL scouts, or the first time they've realized the spread offense hero won't have mastered some of the basic practices more NFL-ready college quarterbacks have down pat. So the question becomes: will he improve enough?

Last year, Florida hired quarterbacks coach Scott Loeffler to prepare Tebow for taking standard snaps; a handful ensued but most were designed runs and didn't reveal much in the way of measurables. Prior to Senior Bowl week, he worked with noted QB guru Marc Trestman, and observers said he spent much of yesterday with Dolphins QB coach David Lee.

If it appears his tutoring is paying off, there won't really be much concern about drafting Tebow in the first two rounds; after all, someone with a level of commitment inscribed and mounted on a stadium isn't going to fumble snaps forever.

And at least one NFL coach seemed unfazed by the horror.

"I think his fundamentals and his mechanics are really good, really solid," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. "They did a great job coaching him down there at Florida. I thought he did some really good things today. I thought his delivery was fine."

Huh. That's...a different opinion. Instinctive defense of a good kid under fire, or sign Miami might need a new scouting process? You decide, but keep an eye on Tebow. That ball could end up anywhere, and no one needs a bonk on the noggin.

Tim Tebow's The Wide World of Jorts

2009-12-11T21:13:00Z

From BleacherReports.com: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/305053-tim-tebows-the-wide-world-of-jorts

The Wide World of Jorts

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of jorts… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is the Wide World of Jorts!

Jorts come in all styles and sizes, from the cutoff. to the hemmed formal jort onto the waaaay too tight nut huggers. A proponent of jorts, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is not shy about rocking them whether he's in the classroom, on the field or assuming the missionary position in the Philippines. This slideshow features Tim modeling some of his favorite flavors of jorts.

Enjoy Tim's Wide World of Jorts, aka Tim Tebow Rocks the Jorts, Of Course, Volume Two.

The Classic "Heisman" Jort

Tim has made this his bread and butter. Grabbing jorted babies and showing them how the big boys do it. Tim is currently lobbying the Downtown Athletic Club to have bronzed jorts added to the trophy...

"Leaky Championship" Jorts

Jort friends reunited at the 2008 National Championship Celebration at Florida Field. Chris Leak getting in on some of the jort action. Chris prefers the longer jorts to Tim's carefree stylings...

The "Hanging with the Boys" Jorts

Just kicking it on a Saturday once your season is thoroughly over? Grab some comfortable cutoffs and rock the shirt of the school you should have gone to. He's pointing in the direction of classyville....which apparently is not where he's currently at...

The "Rivals" Jorts

Tim should break out the "Heisman Jort" pose to show him who's boss when it comes to award winning style. Sam, on the other hand, is doing the appropriate thing by merely laughing at him...

The "Low Five" Jort

Beeming after a win? After a long game winning drive be sure to share your happiness with friends and foes alike with a bunch of Low Fives. And what a cooler way to do it with a victory lap in your "Low Five" jorts. They just scream aborted championship season...

The "Pickup" Jort

So you, Riley and Brantley want to go run some rock at the gym? What to wear, what to wear...

Nothing says we're here to win like "Pickup" jorts. The compliment the obligatory sleeveless half shirt perfectly, and nothing says team unity like matching sets of them...

"Championship" Jorts

You've just won the National Championship (pretend it's like 2006 or 2008), and how to you celebrate at mid-field? In your "Championship" jorts, of course, of course.

"Under Center" Jorts

Florida gets hot. Let's face it. But football practice doesn't have to be a burden in your "Under Center" jorts. Light, cool, cutoff and an attention getter (see teammates), "Under Center" jorts gives you the flexibility you need to be #5 in the nation...

The "Key West" Jort

The look on Tim's face says it all. You know you have the room's attention when you saunter into a room in these babies. Wow...

"Too Much Information" Jorts

Hey man, however you wanna spend your freetime...

"The Dream Is Over" Jorts

Chuck Norris introduced Tim to "The Dream Is Over Jorts". Chuck had heard that Tim had been using some of his best lines and felt he need to be reminded that he's Tim Tebow. Tim...the dream is over...

Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer Hospitalized with Chest Pains

2009-12-07T18:53:00Z

From SECsportshub.com: http://secsportshub.com/florida-gators/football/florida-gators-coach-urban-meyer-hospitalized-with-chest-pains

The Florida Gators football team got a scare after their SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama, as head coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized with severe chest pains.

Meyer reportedly checked himself into the Shands Hospital in Gainesville early Sunday morning but has been released according to a source in the Florida athletic department.

According to Florida spokesperson Steve McClain, Meyer was treated for dehydration, but is doing "is doing well now."

His usual post-game show has been delayed as a result of the hospitalization.

Meyer is known to have an arachnoid cyst on his brain that has caused him extreme pain when stressed. He has been hospitalized in the past as a result of stress, however, it is unclear if he has ever been hospitalized for chest pains.

Bearcats Will Have Tim Tebow's Gators Crying in Sugar Bowl

2009-12-07T17:29:00Z

From BleacherReport.com: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/304130-bcs-sugar-bowl-prediction-cincinnati-wins-through-evolution

Unlike my earlier assessment , I don't think so little of Cincinnati to declare them David, and I don't think so much of Florida to declare them Goliath.

Whether it was the loss of Percy Harvin to the pros, the loss of OC Dan Mullen to Mississippi State, or the dwindling magic of the "Tebow Child," Florida's offense had regressed so significantly from its 2008 iteration that Alabama's defensive manhandling in the conference championship was foreseeable from at least the middle of the season, when the Gators were struggling to put away lesser outfits from Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Meyer's spread-option rushing attack wasn't producing consistently, and was coming up short against both the superior and the inferior defenses, leading to close games against teams far poorer in terms of talent and scheme. This was something the 2008 Gators only allowed to happen once, in the Ole Miss game, and they still only lost because of a missed extra point.

Still, it seemed like the Gators could lean on their defense in close games. Until recently, that defense led the nation in points and yards allowed, and had returned not only every significant starter, but many of the significant backups from the 2008 national championship squad.

Alabama undid that myth, piling up just shy of 500 yards and 32 points on a Gator defense that was averaging half of that yardage total and a quarter of that point total through 12 games.

There should be no more myths about the 2009 Florida Gators left intact. They are beatable. They are human. Tebow has been stripped of his immortality; he moves among us as a muttering, weeping mortal .

But for the Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl, it will still not be easy.

Not if the incarnation of the Bearcats that showed up at Heinz Field shows up again in New Orleans. You can't expect to throw three interceptions against Florida and still be in the game in the fourth quarter.

The good news is that was an awfully anomalous version of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Until that game, they were second in the Big East in turnover differential. Tony Pike had thrown three interceptions all year prior to tossing three against the Panthers. Their only problem seemed to be fumbling at the goal line .

What's more, Cincinnati was—at least for the first half of the year—behaving like the 2008 Gators, compiling as many points as quickly as possible so as to mitigate the demands on its defense and capitalize on the ill-advised desperation plays of the other team.

That ideology began to erode at around the UConn game, when the Huskies did not go gently into that good night, coming back from a 20-point deficit and keeping pace with Cincinnati possession for possession in the latter part of the game. This forced the hand of the Bearcats on several occasions when it became evident that the shootout was on, culminating in a 4th-and-1 rush that broke free for a touchdown and ended up being the margin of victory.

Cincinnati survived, but ultimately, the rest of its opponents figured out that there was a way to win: Score and keep Cincy's offense off the field.

This should explain the relative closeness of the West Virginia game, and the success Pitt had for most of the Big East championship game. The Panthers leaned on their rushing attack, feeding Dion Lewis for a record-setting amount of carries , and kept the explosive Cincinnati offense off the field for as long as possible.

Giving up so many points forced the Bearcats to play in desperation, which accounts for all of those interceptions. It was only when Pitt made a few errors of its own—two Bill Stull interceptions, including one to kick off the fourth quarter on what otherwise could have been a game-sealing drive—and tried to deviate from the plan that Cincinnati took the opportunity to make a few stops on defense and answer back.

The striking thing about Cincinnati—and what differentiates it from the Gators in a crucial way—is that even when the plan to "score a ton of points and never trail" is no longer working, they've managed to rally and win. That's meant crawling out of a huge hole on the road and nearly benching their starting quarterback after a sideline feud with the head coach, but it's still a resiliency the Gators were unable to muster in their championship game.

"Failure to adapt" is an almost inconceivable charge against a team running an offense that blends concepts from three different schemes and attacks you a bajillion different ways.

But when something has been failing—the infamous "dive play " and the misguided emphasis on Tebow's pocket passing —the Gators have just kind of stuck to it, neglecting to play off the counters and putting a huge strain on their defense. OC Steve Addazio, almost surely fired or demoted by the end of the season, is hugely to blame for this.

They've been finding other ways to win—on field goals and on late, defensive heroics , to name a few—but against Alabama, that failure to evolve quickly enough was what prevented them from keeping pace.

They've embraced the close-game ideology reluctantly and they live by it uncomfortably. This is, in retrospect, an unfortunate result of being so damn good on offense last year, when close games were rare, when defense was practically unnecessary, and when adaptability came at the most crucial hour . This year, close games made the Gators sweat uncontrollably, and their defense was not strong enough to lean on.

Like Alabama, Cincinnati will look to come out aggressively against Florida in even the smallest ways. Recall that Saban won the toss and chose to receive the ball to start the game. He had it in mind from the beginning to apply pressure and count on the Gators' failure to respond, even once.

For Kelly's teams, that's been the M.O. all year. The difference is, even if the plan isn't working, the Bearcats will find other ways to pull off the win, leaving the Florida coaches standing with a blank clipboard.

Cincinnati 34, Florida 28

Tim Tebow: Football and Christian Privilege

2009-12-02T22:55:00Z

From BlagHag.com: http://www.blaghag.com/2009/11/tim-tebow-football-and-christian.html

One consequence of my being home for the holidays is watching a lot of football with my dad. I'm currently watching Florida destroy Florida State, but the conversation at the McCreight house isn't focused on football - it's on Tim Tebow.

Tebow is the senior quarterback for Florida. He's well known not only for his great football skills, but for his evangelical Christianity. He was home schooled by missionary parents and noticeably writes Bible verses across his face while playing. For example:

Personally, I have no idea why he's allowed to do this (and neither does my dad - yay ranting about religion with your family). I have a really hard time imagining a football player being able to write "Allahu akbar" across his face in Arabic, or even worse, "There is no God." Even if the NCAA would legally allow these other sayings, the fallback from fellow players, coaches, and fans would be so great that a Muslim or atheist player probably wouldn't even consider it. I don't know about you, but I feel uneasy enough labeling myself as an atheist on the internet - I'm not going to do it when 300 pound men are actually supposed to come tackling me.

But it's not just because of its religious. By writing anything distinctive on his face, he's drawing attention to himself. Showboating after touch downs is explicitly forbidden in college football, yet drawing attention to yourself with Bible verses is okay? I guess the news network is partially to blame for this. CBS is currently using every chance to zoom in on Tebow's face and use that as TV filler - would they be doing this without the Bible verse? No, at least no where near to this extent.

If that's not enough, the CBS announcers took the time to read the actual verse that Tebow was referencing today. It was Heb 12: 1-2, though they only read the first line:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Good call leaving off all the Jesus heavy part, at least. They claimed they should read it since it was obviously important enough for him to select and write on his face. So do I get to select passages I find meaningful and have them read on national television? Yes, if it's a Bible verse.

This isn't about censoring Christians so that they can never talk about their faith. There is a time and place for such discussions, and representing a public university in college football is not it. This is about illustrating that you're rewarded for expressing your Christianity, but everyone who disagrees better keep it to themselves. Christians are a privileged group, and crying "Oppression!" as loudly as they can doesn't change the facts.

Admit It, Tim Tebow Is Your Hero

2009-12-02T22:44:00Z

From Withleather.uproxx.com: http://withleather.uproxx.com/2009/12/admit-it-tim-tebow-is-your-hero

So my buddies at Wondershot put this video together together making fun of Tim Tebow. It’s an “ad” for the Tim Tebow School Of Life. And aside from the redneck with the amazingly beautiful teeth and the eyeblack that’s obviously electrical tape, it’s a solid effort. Plus it has a terrific dig on Dan Shanoff. And jorts on the Heisman Trophy? I think Spencer Hall just came. Who else’s name could I drop in here? Jesus? Fine. Jesus it is.

3 All-Time Greatest Tim Tebow Halloween Costumes

2009-12-02T22:34:00Z

As seen before the 2009 UGA-Florida showdown.

From our friends at BustedCoverage.com: http://www.bustedcoverage.com/?p=22052

Busted Coverage wasn’t going to dabble in a Tim Tebow Halloween costume post until the above photo fell into our laps.

Simply put, the editors were smitten.

There has never been a single image of the Tebow years that captures the feelings of a nation like “L Bow” guy. Yes, freaks, those are sorta french-rolled camo Jorts®. Take that, jean Jorts® guy.

Our Indian Photoshop freelancers are still trying to determine if those are barbed wire tube socks.

Anyway, the BC “3 All-Time Greatest Tim Tebow Halloween Costumes” post continues after the jump…

Now, this guy’s outfit isn’t that great but when you turn in these photos, your drunken ass gets onto the all-time greatest list.

The final photo speaks for itself.

Is that Dan Shanoff on his knees?

Have one to add to the list? Send it in and we’ll update this post and make your wife/girlfriend proud.

http://www.bustedcoverage.com/mail@bustedcoverage.com

Dunlap's indiscretion could cost Gators a title

2009-12-02T21:27:00Z

From TBO.com: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/02/dunlaps-indiscretion-could-cost-gators-title/sports/

So Carlos Dunlap, one of the top pass rushers in the college football, and now one of the top idiots after an arrest on drunk driving charges, has been suspended from Saturday's all-important SEC championship.

All of you sorry Florida football fans who were snickering at Bobby Bowden's retirement Tuesday, saying the man ran a program filled with kids who often ran afoul, well, you may all shut up.

Because Urban Meyer's top-ranked and defending national champion Gators, only about to play another national semifinal game with Alabama, have one more thing to overcome, in this case a truly major distraction, not to mention a sudden and rather gaping hole at defensive end.

Florida has made a specialty of overcoming this and that this perfect season, not to mention the 22-game winning streak that dates back to last season.

This season alone, there were: scares against Arkansas and South Carolina, the Lane Kiffin game, the flu that swept through the team, and Tim Tebow's concussion, and Brandon Spikes' suspension for dirty play, and Gators coach Urban Meyer fine for comments on officiating.

And towering over it all were the expectations for this team.

There has been no let up.

And somehow, the Gators have never been found asleep at the wheel.

And then Carlos Dunlap was.

Gainesville police say they found Dunlap all but snoring behind the wheel of his car, which happened to be parked at a green light early Tuesday morning, long after all good NFL prospects have gone to bed.

Yes, nothing says biggest game of the season like one of the stars of your all-star defense in a green and white striped jailhouse jumpsuit a few days before kickoff.

Meyer suspended Dunlap indefinitely.

Hey, that had better include the BCS title game if the Gators get that far.

Meyer called Dunlap's actions "stunning."

In a word: yeah.

Dunlap's stupidity here, the arrogance, the sheer disregard for the business at hand, is exactly what this Florida team hasn't been about in its historic march in the name of consecutive national titles.

Meyer now has to prop it up as another "distraction," but this isn't like Tebow's concussion, just the act of an apparently brainless 20-year-old who had put his team on the spot.

Still, maybe the Gators can use this as a rallying point against Alabama.

This team has responded again and again since losing at home to Mississippi last season. Tebow made his fabled "Promise" after that one, and the Gators haven't lost since.

Whenever they've needed to reach down, like in the fourth quarter in the win over Alabama in last season's 1-2 showdown in this very same SEC title game, or in the BCS win over Oklahoma, the Gators have banded together.

"It was a kind of togetherness we had," Tebow said Monday.

They still have it - or did until Dunlap's solo act.

Will this be one test too many?

Don't think the Gators won't miss Dunlap, the defensive MVP of last year's BCS game. Florida will have to turn to Justin Trattou, Jaye Howard and William Green to try and do what Dunlap can do, as if they can.

So Meyer's team has another challenge, this in a season of challenges - as if this rematch with the Crimson Tide isn't enough.

It also dredges up all the arrests - granted, many of them for minor stuff - this football program has rung up over the last few years, the not-so-silver lining in the empire Meyer has built.

And now back to the football field.

Florida has always answered the call this season.

"In all the situations, the tough situations, the opportunities where it looked like we could have folded, we could have lost, not pulled it out, we've really rallied together and made great things happen," Tebow said Monday.

Then came the predawn Tuesday, and an extremely not-so-great thing happened. Carlos Dunlap's mistake, and arrest, uh, not so minor.

What happens now?

What happens Saturday?

Those are real questions.

Tebow, Gators have trouble dealing with blitz

2009-12-02T17:53:00Z

From the Orlando Sentinel.com: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_uf/2009/11/tebow-gators-have-trouble-dealing-with-blitz.html

Usually Tim Tebow's jersey is dirty when he's lunging for first downs. Now he's getting dirty 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage -- and often.

Tebow has taken a career-high 21 sacks this year, third-most in the SEC and far more than his previous career high of 15 from 2008.

It's obvious blitzes are bothering the Gators, specifically zone blitzes. Tebow hinted at the problem Saturday night, and LT Carl Johnson says that extra man is crippling the Gators.

"Sometimes it’s just a misread," Johnson said. “We don’t take pride in giving up sacks. We try our best to protect him. We try our best to make sure he has time in the pocket. A lot of teams are just blitzing us a lot. Sometimes they are bringing more than we actually can protect."

Everyone knew the Gators would miss Percy Harvin, but also painful losses were last year's tackles, Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins. Both were solid complements to the Pouncey twins and Carl Johnson inside. Without a dominant left tackle and Matt Patchan going down with a torn ACL, Johnson has become the viable option at left tackle while freshman LT Xavier Nixon still grasps the offense. Marcus Gilbert is in his first year protecting Tebow's blind side at right tackle.

Florida's line still drives one of the conference's best running attacks, but when Tebow drops back, there's a discord between defenders getting to Tebow from the edge and Tebow simply taking too long in the pocket.

Johnson said offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio is frustrated.

"It bothers him," Johnson said. "It weighs not only his mind but the whole offensive line. When one (sack) occurs, it makes all of us look bad."

Tebow Haters Official Merch Shop

2009-11-21T20:05:00Z

After Georgia chips away at Tebow, Man of Steel could crumble later

2009-11-06T17:00:00Z

From CBSSports.com: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12451826

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It has come to this for Georgia in the Cocktail Party. The Dawgs are fighting back with laundry and plastic.

Impersonating Valdosta State with new black helmets didn't quite provide the emotional bump Mark Richt was seeking. Combine that with tuxedo-formal matching black pants and going all Halloween on Halloween was, well, scary.

After enduring its annual Rout by the River, this time 41-17 to Florida, Georgia could be content with one thing: It could have a say in the national championship race.

If Tim Tebow makes it the end of the season without another debilitating injury, it will be a minor miracle. Florida might have worked 'em silly, Georgia almost knocked Tebow silly. It wouldn't be the first time for a Gators opponent. We already know Superman isn't indestructible after that concussion suffered in Kentucky. At this rate, something big and terrible is coming.

The effect of the hits now seem cumulative. Even the great Tebow couldn't hide the beating he took. A couple of times he took his time raising himself from the turf. Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran in particular stuck Tebow.

"I was hoping he didn't get up, but he's competitor, he's a great player," said Georgia defensive end Demarcus Dobbs. "He fights through pain. That's just all you can say about Tebow."

Tebow carried 18 times on Saturday, seven in the fourth quarter. He was sacked twice. Since the concussion against Kentucky on Sept. 26 he has averaged 21 carries per game. In his career he has averaged 12. While a heavy workload nothing new for the senior, it does raise the question of how long he can last physically. He has 614 career carries, an average of more than 150 a season for a quarterback.

The best thing for Tebow's health is also the worst thing for Florida. There's not much time left in his career. At most, the Gators have six games left, assuming a conference championship and bowl game. But it isn't going to be easy, especially with games left against South Carolina and, presumably, Alabama. Florida did its part by clinching the SEC East five weeks before the SEC title game.

Everyone assumes Tebow will make it through, but will he make it through playing at such a high level? Two years ago, he came into this game with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder and was under orders to limit his running. Georgia sacked him six times in the Gator Stomp game, a 42-30 victory.

This is different. This was supposedly a healthier Tebow accounting for four touchdowns. With two rushing scores, he surpassed Herschel Walker -- take that, Georgia -- as the SEC career rushing touchdown leader. He also threw for two touchdowns.

"We tried to rattle Tebow," Dobbs said. "That's their leader, that's their guy. We tried to bring the thunder as much as we could. We just didn't do it enough."

Tebow showed no outward signs of damage. In fact, he sprinted around the rim of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for a final victory lap in his last Georgia game. But could Georgia somehow have an impact on the national championship by being part of the cumulative effect?

"Possibly," Curran said. "He's a tough guy. He's going to find a way to get it done."

"Hopefully," Dobbs said before quickly adding his own superlatives.

The struggle is both mental and physical for the Gators. There were two main stories coming out of this game: 1.) Florida winning, and 2.) Florida winning and feeling good about itself. There had been so much consternation lately about the sluggishness of the team (read: offense) lately that linebacker Brandon Spikes admitted to a "skirmish" between himself and Tebow at some point after the Mississippi State game.

Here is the transcript of the question asked by Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette:

"Let me ask you this specifically: You and Tim had a little skirmish after the Mississippi State game. You guys got it resolved ..."

Spikes replied: "Me and T's friends, brothers. It wasn't nothing. It was all positive. We came together me and him, got the team together and we kind of got things right."

"There was," Tebow admitted during his news conference, "a lot of turmoil this past week."

This suggests that the chase for the third the national championship in four years is wearing on the Gators. There is the added pressure on them to go undefeated for the first time in school history. Legacies are at stake -- Tebow's is obvious -- he played on a field Saturday where he might next appear playing for pay.

If you thought he got beat up Saturday, think what NFL linebackers might do to him.

Then there's Urban Meyer, who could stay at Florida forever or parlay this run into a new job somewhere else. Florida honks will cringe after reading that sentence, but after Tebow leaves then what? The Gators will have to be somewhat more conventional with John Brantley. Will they be as successful? Parity would suggest not.

Anyway, in the middle of all this, the fiery pair of Spikes and Tebow apparently set things straight with the team as well as themselves.

"We kind of know what it takes, me and Tebow," Spikes said after returning for the first time in two weeks because of an injury. "We get on guys and hold them accountable, let them know, 'What's your value to the team?' Things weren't getting done the way we expected. We had a team meeting, we may have stepped on a few toes.

"Throughout the whole week, it was just an issue that guys weren't really happy. It wasn't no big deal, nothing like that. You're going to hit a little adversity. You've got to get through that."

So far, the Gators have been able to focus. For 18 consecutive wins, in fact. While Georgia changed its uniforms, Florida might have changed its season.

Beyond the drama, this had to be one of the greatest games this season by a set of linebackers. Spikes, A.J. Jones and Ryan Stamper combined for 17 tackles and four interceptions. Spikes' resulted in a touchdown that was so ridiculously easy that the All-American literally walked the 5 yards into the end zone after picking off Logan Gray.

Even after another mugging of the Dawgs -- that's 17 wins in the last 20 years -- it's clear the Florida D is the sharpest unit in Gainesville.

Can it hold up the team if a certain No. 15 goes down?

"It's going to be hard to keep down somebody over a headache," Dobbs said, "someone of his caliber."

Spikes will sit whole game. Will Meyer be joining him?

2009-11-05T20:05:00Z

From AJC.com: http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2009/11/05/spikes-will-sit-whole-game-will-meyer-be-joining-him/?cxntfid=blogs_barnhart_college_football

1. Brandon Spikes will sit out the whole game against Vanderbilt. Will Urban Meyer be joining him? Florida’s Spikes was suspended for trying to poke Georgia’s Washaun Ealey in the eye last Saturday in Jacksonville. Originally, coach Urban Meyer suspended Spikes for one half of the Vanderbilt game. After a national media backlash against the punishment as being inadequate, it was announced after practice on Wednesday that Spikes would sit the entire game. Spikes said he asked that his punishment be extended because he didn’t want to be a “distraction” to the team.

We’ll deal more with that decision in the next note. But here is what I want to know. Did Urban Meyer break the SEC commissioner’s rule on not publicly criticizing officials? If so, could he be sitting out the Vanderbilt game with Spikes?

On Wednesday’s SEC conference call the Florida head coach said he sent video of what he believed was a late hit on Tim Tebow (by Georgia’s Nick Williams) to the conference office. I didn’t get to see the video but I talked to some people who did. Based on what those people told me, Meyer is right. Georgia Coach Mark Richt told the AJC yesterday that Williams should have been flagged on the hit.

When Meyer was asked about the play, Meyer said “I don’t want to step out of line on that.” Meyer said he had the utmost respect for SEC officials. But then he said this:

“That should have been a penalty, in my opinion,” Meyer said when asked about the hit. “Obviously, it should have been. You’ve got to protect quarterbacks. That’s the whole purpose. It’s right in front of the referee. I’m not sure how they’re going to handle that, but … that was one of the plays we did send in.”

So, does that violate Commissioner Mike Slive’s edict? Let’s just say it goes right up to the line. The SEC office said late Wednesday that Slive would review Meyer’s comments and make a decision whether or not the Florida coach actually crossed the line.

But remember this. Last week’s ruling by Slive was primarily put in place to keep coaches from questioning the integrity of the officials, not their judgment. It was because Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin used the phrase “and Florida and Alabama move on” suggesting that the officials were taking care of those two teams. That talk is what Slive’s rule is intended to address.

But I could be wrong about this one. Slive may feel he has to do something because if Meyer gets away with it, the rest of the coaches will take their shots as well, which is what started this whole mess. We will watch and report.

2. What will be the fallout against Spikes, if any? It may have actually been Spikes’ idea to increase the suspension to a full game. After the incredible storm of bad press, somebody may have suggested to the kid that it was a pretty good idea.

Whatever.

This whole circus should not have been necessary. I can’t say that Florida used the best PR judgment in its handling Spikes situation. What Florida didn’t seem to understand was that from a public perception standpoint, sitting the kid for only a half was almost worse than not suspending him at all.

Florida has gotten hammered in the media this week and most of the damage has been self inflicted. There is also the possibility that this will cost Spikes when it comes time for the media to pick all-conference and All-America teams. If it comes down to Spikes and somebody else for an award or honor, all some voters are going to remember his hand inside Washaun Ealey’s facemask. Is that fair? Probably not. But if you’re Florida—or any school–you just can’t make these kinds of decisions in a vacuum. I’m not saying that media reaction and public perception should dictate these kinds of decisions, but don’t you have to at least CONSIDER it?

Here is what should have happened. First, somebody at Florida needed to look Urban Meyer in the eye and say: “Coach, this isn’t right. It’s got to be for a full game. We’re going to get killed in the press.” Then Brandon Spikes has to stand in front of the media in Gainesville and say just three sentences: “This is not who I am. I lost my temper in the heat of the game. I am sorry.” Then it’s over. You ask for forgiveness. It is given. Then Spikes, who has had an otherwise brilliant career and who I think is a good kid, doesn’t get defined by 20 seconds of video.

Florida made the classic political mistake. They took what could have been a one-day story and let it become a four-day story. Here it is Thursday morning and we’re still talking about it.

Maybe Spikes mitigates the damage by this decision. But some damage has already been done. And the sad thing is it didn’t have to be this way.