Mechanics vs. Stats & On-Field Performance: A Different Look at Tim Tebow:
With the Senior Bowl and Quarterback combine workouts over, the scrutiny surrounding Tim Tebow is still around. The Florida
super-star had a less-than-desirable Senior Bowl, but impressed scouts and coaches at the NFL Combine. Tebow outperformed
nearly all quarterbacks as he posted the following:
Vertical Jump: 38.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
3-cone drill: 6.66 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.17 seconds
60-yard shuttle:11.27 seconds
40-yard dash of 4.72 seconds
With this combine performance, Tebow may have regained the confidence lost by many from the Senior Bowl. What we want to do
is set aside Tebow's "poor mechanics" and look at his on the field performance. Note that Tebow did play in the SEC, which is
highly regarded as the top defensive conference in the NCAA. Since 2007 the SEC has put 55 defensive players into the NFL. This
year alone (2010), 20 defensive players from the SEC are projected to be drafted at some point.
In addition to playing against top individual defenders while at Florida, Tebow also faced top tier team defenses. See the chart
below showing Florida's opponents from 2007-2009 and their total defense rankings and pass defense rankings.
Tim Tebow's record vs these ranked opponents is: 15-6, which is very impressive. Tebow's stats while playing these opponents
are equally impressive.
These are incredible stats given the level of competition Tebow faced. We can isolate Tebow's 2008 season and put this into
perspective. In 2008, Tebow completed 63% of his passes, 18 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. This is incredible considering he
faced four top ten pass defenses (National rankings). Despite his throwing mechanics, do these accomplishments not make him a
desirable quarterback? Lets compare Tim Tebow's stats against Matthew Stafford, the #1 overall draft pick in 2009, against the
same ranked opponents:
The difference is significant, as Stafford's production is no where near that of Tim Tebow's. Given the performance against the
same defenses/opponents and the results, how much should mechanics come into play? Typically scouts and analyst are critical
of quarterbacks that put up extraordinary statistics against lesser opponents: i.e. Colt Brennan (Hawaii) and Case Keenum
(Houston). With Tebow, this is not the case as he was able to produce at a high level against the nations best defenses. As far as
we are concerned, winning is winning! Phillip Rivers was heavily criticized for his throwing motion and he has turned into an elite
NFL quarterback. If Tebow keeps his current work ethic and desire to win, perhaps he too will transition successfully into the NFL.
- Draft Huddle
With the Senior Bowl and Quarterback combine workouts over, the scrutiny surrounding Tim Tebow is still around. The Florida
super-star had a less-than-desirable Senior Bowl, but impressed scouts and coaches at the NFL Combine. Tebow outperformed
nearly all quarterbacks as he posted the following:
Vertical Jump: 38.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
3-cone drill: 6.66 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.17 seconds
60-yard shuttle:11.27 seconds
40-yard dash of 4.72 seconds
With this combine performance, Tebow may have regained the confidence lost by many from the Senior Bowl. What we want to do
is set aside Tebow's "poor mechanics" and look at his on the field performance. Note that Tebow did play in the SEC, which is
highly regarded as the top defensive conference in the NCAA. Since 2007 the SEC has put 55 defensive players into the NFL. This
year alone (2010), 20 defensive players from the SEC are projected to be drafted at some point.
In addition to playing against top individual defenders while at Florida, Tebow also faced top tier team defenses. See the chart
below showing Florida's opponents from 2007-2009 and their total defense rankings and pass defense rankings.
Tim Tebow's record vs these ranked opponents is: 15-6, which is very impressive. Tebow's stats while playing these opponents
are equally impressive.
These are incredible stats given the level of competition Tebow faced. We can isolate Tebow's 2008 season and put this into
perspective. In 2008, Tebow completed 63% of his passes, 18 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. This is incredible considering he
faced four top ten pass defenses (National rankings). Despite his throwing mechanics, do these accomplishments not make him a
desirable quarterback? Lets compare Tim Tebow's stats against Matthew Stafford, the #1 overall draft pick in 2009, against the
same ranked opponents:
The difference is significant, as Stafford's production is no where near that of Tim Tebow's. Given the performance against the
same defenses/opponents and the results, how much should mechanics come into play? Typically scouts and analyst are critical
of quarterbacks that put up extraordinary statistics against lesser opponents: i.e. Colt Brennan (Hawaii) and Case Keenum
(Houston). With Tebow, this is not the case as he was able to produce at a high level against the nations best defenses. As far as
we are concerned, winning is winning! Phillip Rivers was heavily criticized for his throwing motion and he has turned into an elite
NFL quarterback. If Tebow keeps his current work ethic and desire to win, perhaps he too will transition successfully into the NFL.
- Draft Huddle
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |