Addressing the Tim Tebow post, part 2 of 3
So, as a lot of you know, I made a post on Sunday that fired up a ton of people on Facebook.
The post was made about the now famous hit that University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow took against the 
University of Kentucky on Saturday.
As I said in the first part of this series, when I posted the video of the Tebow hit, I did not get to see the whole thing, nor had I seen the game, so I missed the fact that Tebow took a knee to the back of the head.
I was quick to admit, that was shotty blogging on my part, and for those fans of Tebow, or family members or friends of Tebow that may have seen the page, I apologize.
Now, that said, I want to further address some of the statements I made in the post, the most important of which is the headline itself “Tebow needs to learn to take a hit”
Of course, if Tebow had not suffered a blow to the back of the head, he very well may have popped back up, trotted back to the huddle, and continued to run the offense that he has mastered over the last three and a half years.
Fact of the matter is, we may never know how Tebow does respond to a pounding that does not include an anomaly like getting hit in the back of the head.
In the last three years, Tebow has been sacked only 34 times. He has played in 45 college games. So, simple math…that is less than one sack per game.
That statistic is huge–not in quantity, but in how durable Tebow really could be.
Compare the 34 times he has been taken down in the pocket to those of the other top quarterbacks in the NCAA, who have seen signifigant playing time since joining their program:
| Name | College | Games | Sacks |
| Colt McCoy | Texas | 45 | 66 |
| Matt Grothe | USF | 44 | 83 |
| Greg Alexander | Hawaii | 12 | 39 |
| Jimmy Claussen | Notre Dame | 27 | 60 |
| Tim Tebow | Florida | 45 | 34 |
So, the fact that the headline says “Tebow needs to learn to take a hit” may actually reign true. He has been hit in the backfield much less than his college peers who have been in the same situation as him, in regards to playing time at the NCAA level.
So what about Tebow’s durability on the next level? Well, the average sacks allowed by an NFL teamlast season was 32.4 sacks. That is 2 less that Tebow has seen in the last 3 and a half years COMBINED.
Yes, Tebow runs the ball more than some of these guys, so he will take hits there, but bracing yourself for a hit when you are running the ball, is a bit different than getting drilled in the pocket while you are looking downfield.
Simply put, being hit is a bit different than running into someone as you carry the ball downfield.
To answer a few of the comments left on the last post:
I wish some ACTUAL sportscasters could read your blogs on this topic and give their opinions….cause not only are u talking about Tebow, the classiest guy in sports, but also one of the toughest…EVER
He may be tough, but as the stats above indicate…do we have a true measuring stick for this? Yes, he runs the ball, yes he gets hit, but he is also delivering blows while running down the field, not standing in the pocket and taking it. Maybe be WILL be able to withstand that sort of pounding on the next level, but we can not gauge that based on what we know of him right now.
Also, I never said he was not classy. I consider Tebow to be a Johnny America kind of guy, but the fact that he plays in a system that is catered to his playing style makes him iconic in fans eyes…which of course fans are biased. See my post tomorrow for more on that.
A 3 part series?? He was hurt and people should not ridicule or make fun of him for that. End of story.
No one is ridiculing him. This assessment is based on fact. Read the above stats table. If you don’t trust the figures, look them up on STATS.com
So, take the headline “Tebow needs to learn to take a hit” for what it is worth. While the timing was poor on my fault, and the research was not there in the post to back up what I was saying at that time, I think you can agree in looking at the facts put in front of you on this post, that indeed, Tebow DOES need to learn to take a hit.
Especially if he wants to succeed at the next level, which of course would be the quarterback a team in the NFL.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for the final post of this three part series. We will be addressing the “success” of other University of Florida greats who fizzled out in the NFL after a short period of time.
History usually repeats itself. We will look at that tomorrow.
