T.K.O.
07-01-2010, 01:42 PM
Tebow's busy offseason all about proving his doubters wrong
Published: June 29, 2010 at 11:24 a.m. Updated: June 29, 2010 at 07:54 p
Tebow's busy offseason all about proving his doubters wrong
By Vic Carucci | NFL.com
Senior Columnist
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CARLSBAD, Calif. -- If Tim Tebow is wearing any sort of chip on his shoulder, he does an excellent job of hiding it.
Tebow has been all smiles during the NFL Rookie Symposium this week. He isn't showing an ounce of resentment toward the many critics who insisted before last April's draft that the former University of Florida star couldn't succeed as a quarterback in the league -- or who called the Denver Broncos crazy for making him a first-round pick.
But don't mistake Tebow's pleasant demeanor for a lack of fire. His focus through the offseason has been to do everything possible to allow himself to reward Broncos coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders for their decision to select him much higher than anticipated. When the time comes for him to take the field as a quarterback (not a tight end or a running back or some other position that the skeptics said he would be more qualified to play), Tebow intends to deliver.
He'll take the same mission into training camp late next month.
"I definitely take pride in the coaches picking me and take pride in the fact that I want to prove them right," Tebow said. "That'll be a goal of mine in playing in the National Football League -- to prove coach McDaniels right and to prove Brian Xanders right and to prove the people that supported me right.
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"That's something that I'll take pride in trying to do."
Tebow continues to work diligently on his throwing mechanics. Since playing his final college game earlier this year, he has been reconstructing his passing style to better fit the NFL.
Tebow has looked to rid himself of the long, looping, awkward delivery that many talent evaluators claimed would make it too easy for NFL defenders to get in front of his passes. His detractors insisted he would never be able to permanently alter something he has done for the majority of his football life. When the heat is on, they say, he'll resort to his default settings.
However, through the instruction he has received from McDaniels and the Broncos' other coaches during offseason workouts, Tebow has felt increasingly comfortable with doing things that are better suited to the NFL.
"I definitely feel there is a comfort zone with it, but there are still things that we're working on," he said. "Not necessarily as much with my throwing motion. It's more with my feet, my body, right (non-throwing) arm, other things like that that we're working on -- the drops, play-action fakes, different things that I'm getting used to. So we're still working on a lot of fundamentals.
"It's getting there. The more reps I get, the more understanding of the offense, the more comfortable everything else gets, too. Because it's all just a reaction-speed thing."
Tebow does find himself functioning differently when he practices by himself than he does with teammates. When he is alone, he does more thinking than reacting. In team drills, the opposite is true.
"I still have the thought process, not necessarily in team period where we're competing, but more in warmups and drops," Tebow said. "In doing different individual stuff, I'll focus on my fundamentals a lot. When we get into team stuff, then it's just play."
His progress will go a long way toward determining how soon he sees the field as the Broncos' quarterback. Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn are also part of one of the more intriguing quarterback depth charts in the league.
At the very least, the Broncos figure to take advantage of the exceptional running ability and athleticism that served Tebow so well with the Gators in Wildcat formations and other special situations. But how realistic does he think it is to beat out Orton and/or Brady for the starting job?
"I don't even think about it like that," Tebow said. "I think about every day I have to get better, and if I do that, then I'll be satisfied with myself and going in and getting better every day. Because that's all that I can control and that's what I'm going to worry about."
Published: June 29, 2010 at 11:24 a.m. Updated: June 29, 2010 at 07:54 p
Tebow's busy offseason all about proving his doubters wrong
By Vic Carucci | NFL.com
Senior Columnist
Unlock HQ Video HQ video delivered by Akamai
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- If Tim Tebow is wearing any sort of chip on his shoulder, he does an excellent job of hiding it.
Tebow has been all smiles during the NFL Rookie Symposium this week. He isn't showing an ounce of resentment toward the many critics who insisted before last April's draft that the former University of Florida star couldn't succeed as a quarterback in the league -- or who called the Denver Broncos crazy for making him a first-round pick.
But don't mistake Tebow's pleasant demeanor for a lack of fire. His focus through the offseason has been to do everything possible to allow himself to reward Broncos coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders for their decision to select him much higher than anticipated. When the time comes for him to take the field as a quarterback (not a tight end or a running back or some other position that the skeptics said he would be more qualified to play), Tebow intends to deliver.
He'll take the same mission into training camp late next month.
"I definitely take pride in the coaches picking me and take pride in the fact that I want to prove them right," Tebow said. "That'll be a goal of mine in playing in the National Football League -- to prove coach McDaniels right and to prove Brian Xanders right and to prove the people that supported me right.
Unlock HQ Video HQ video delivered by Akamai
"That's something that I'll take pride in trying to do."
Tebow continues to work diligently on his throwing mechanics. Since playing his final college game earlier this year, he has been reconstructing his passing style to better fit the NFL.
Tebow has looked to rid himself of the long, looping, awkward delivery that many talent evaluators claimed would make it too easy for NFL defenders to get in front of his passes. His detractors insisted he would never be able to permanently alter something he has done for the majority of his football life. When the heat is on, they say, he'll resort to his default settings.
However, through the instruction he has received from McDaniels and the Broncos' other coaches during offseason workouts, Tebow has felt increasingly comfortable with doing things that are better suited to the NFL.
"I definitely feel there is a comfort zone with it, but there are still things that we're working on," he said. "Not necessarily as much with my throwing motion. It's more with my feet, my body, right (non-throwing) arm, other things like that that we're working on -- the drops, play-action fakes, different things that I'm getting used to. So we're still working on a lot of fundamentals.
"It's getting there. The more reps I get, the more understanding of the offense, the more comfortable everything else gets, too. Because it's all just a reaction-speed thing."
Tebow does find himself functioning differently when he practices by himself than he does with teammates. When he is alone, he does more thinking than reacting. In team drills, the opposite is true.
"I still have the thought process, not necessarily in team period where we're competing, but more in warmups and drops," Tebow said. "In doing different individual stuff, I'll focus on my fundamentals a lot. When we get into team stuff, then it's just play."
His progress will go a long way toward determining how soon he sees the field as the Broncos' quarterback. Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn are also part of one of the more intriguing quarterback depth charts in the league.
At the very least, the Broncos figure to take advantage of the exceptional running ability and athleticism that served Tebow so well with the Gators in Wildcat formations and other special situations. But how realistic does he think it is to beat out Orton and/or Brady for the starting job?
"I don't even think about it like that," Tebow said. "I think about every day I have to get better, and if I do that, then I'll be satisfied with myself and going in and getting better every day. Because that's all that I can control and that's what I'm going to worry about."