Tim Tebow Is Not My Role Model ……….. But Who Cares ………..?

Tim Tebow Is Not My Role Model ……….. But Who Cares ………..?

In all honesty the hype being poured over Gators’ quarterback Tim Tebow, though not entirely unwarranted. It is now placing an insurmountable pressure on the young player’s shoulders. The NFL draft geeks are already gauging the player’s attributes. And given his lackluster display in the Seniors’ Game, I wouldn’t at present put a great deal of store it. Asides from that, the game on appearance was about as competitive tiddly-winks . There was no real determination there from the seniors , other than to impress the convened NFL scouts and general managers who were in attendance. If anything , what warrants being looked at , is the players have handled themselves under pressure during their game time decision making on the field of play. That if anything ought to be the overall determining factor. Rather than assessing a player by his 40 yard dash time and his vertical leap. Oh by the way , less we forget there’s all too important ‘Wonderlic Test’ ? Where would the NFL scouts , GM’s and coaches be without that ?

Gators' player Tim Tebow (15) and his coach Urban Meyer discuss their options during a game. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Chris Dickson ...................

Now far be it for me to suggest that the amateur draft geeks out there aren’t entitled to their opinions. But trying to pick a player that’ll resonate with an NFL franchise and make them a contender . Well , in essence, it’s like picking a ‘penny stock’ and thinking that overnight it’ll become the next Berkshire Hathaway or Google stock that will go through the roof, in terms of its value. It’s a shot in the dark , that even the experts themselves aren’t completely sure of. But they too, try to convince us that they’re good at what they do. Here’s a caveat, when you have Mel Kiper Jr telling you that the likes of Ryan Leaf and Akili Smith will become future stars in the NFL. Then by all means look to see if Kiper has a shovel in his hands while he’s digging himself up from the knee high dung heap that surrounds him. Another reminder, at your risk don’t take or put much store in the advice being given to you by CNBC’s Jim Cramer. When a person of his alleged experience and success tells you that he failed to use due diligence while telling viewers to plow their life savings into AIG . Then you know his ass, also, has been sailing far too close to the wind for comfort !

While there has been a certain amount of justification concerning Tim Tebow as a player and the fact that he’s a profound risk taker. What one can’t argue against is that he’s a proven winner. His body of work over the entirety of his college career has proven that. A two time national championship winner, Heisman Trophy winner and twice placing in the top 5. Tebow’s career has been amongst the most illustrious in all of collegiate football. And he’s by far the most renowned and revered player in the Gators’ history. But those facts alone won’t be what he’ll be judged upon , come NFL Draft Day in early April. It will be upon his abilities as a player and whether or not he has the physical and mental attributes to take the next step at the professional level . Players with lesser talent than Tebow have succeeded in the NFL. While others with what can be best described as being prodigiously talented , failed to live up the perceived hype and failed miserably within the professional ranks of the NFL. Many are already beginning to cast Tebow in the latter category . And others believe that he has the genuine ability to make as a professional in the NFL. Some of his detractors believe that because he’s not your proto-typical NFL quarterback. Then he’s doomed to failure and it would be in his best interest to become a converted tight-end or or fullback . Tiim Tebow believes that he can make it in the league as a quarterback and it is, his intent, to prove the naysayers wrong.

One of the gripes against Tebow’s coach at Florida, Urban Meyer. It was the very fact that the coach and his ‘coaching staff’ have never developed and produced a college quarterback who’s proven to be a success in the NFL . It certainly hasn’t happened with former Utah Utes’ player Alex Smith . And the former Utes’ player’s struggles have been well chronicled since he was taken number one overall in the NFL Draft by the San Francisco49ers in 2005 (click on link to view in full). And for the team’s front office and coaching staff , it has to proven to be a financial and competitive disaster ! As to what this would suggest about Meyer as a coach and that of his staff in being unable to produce a quarterback of moderate talent ? It would suggest that his main priorities are with winning and not completely with the genuine development of the players’ talents that have been made available to him.

Courtesy of Jaguars.com

Jags need what the draft has

Pass-rushers abound

By Vic Ketchman , jaguars.com Senior Editor

General Manager Gene Smith shouldn’t have to leave the value line of his draft board to address the Jaguars’ needs in this year’s draft. That’s the early forecast as the team heads to Indianapolis for this week’s annual scouting combine.

“The strength is on the defensive side of the ball. The strength is the defensive line. It matches,” Smith said of the talent in this draft and the Jaguars’ needs, which appear to be greatest on the defensive side of the ball.

Specifically, the Jaguars need to improve their pass-rush, which produced a league-low and franchise-low 14 sacks last season. The good news is that this year’s draft class is loaded with pass-rush prospects.

“I think it’s a good group. You’ve got some 4-3 ends and some 3-4 outside linebackers, plus, you have some interior defensive linemen,” Smith said.

Defensive ends selected in the first round of this year’s draft might approach double figures. It’s a group that’s headed by edge pass-rushers Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech and Jason Pierre-Paul of South Florida.

The Jaguars will have either the 10th or 11th overall pick, depending on a coin flip at the combine with the Denver Broncos. Morgan and Pierre-Paul would figure to be early candidates for the Jaguars but Smith confirmed to jaguars.com that he’d like to trade down and acquire an extra pick or picks, and the depth of the pass-rush crop would suggest that Smith could trade down and still get his man.

Florida’s Carlos Dunlap, USC’s Everson Griffen, Northwestern’s Corey Wootton and Mississippi’s Greg Hardy are top prospects, and South Florida’s George Selvie, Virginia Tech’s Jason Worilds, Arkansas State’s Alex Carrington and Murray State’s Austen Lane are intriguing down-the-line prospects, and the list doesn’t end there.

The list, in fact, is so deep and the Jaguars’ need is so great that Smith could find a pass-rusher at the top of his board on multiple occasions. Smith said he will remain firm in his commitment to drafting the best available player.

Will you stick to it, he was asked?

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And for Tebow , he now has to prove to his detractors that he’s more than capable of playing in the NFL and worthy of being a ‘first round’ daft pick. Most have him as a ‘mid to late second round’ pick. And that’s when measured against the other quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. Amongst his peers at the position are Sam Bradford , Colt McCoy , Tony Pike and Jimmy Clausen . For the pundits who feel that Clausen may well be the ‘pick of the litter’ in what has been suggested is a very talented bunch of quarterbacks. Think again ? He’s ‘good’ but he’s not that good ! The only thing that has made Clausen look impressive was the mere fact that he had Golden Tate , as a receiver. Beyond that his temperament is questionable, as are his leadership skills and the qualities he brings in terms of his demeanor. And less we forget that under former coach, Charlie Weis – Notre Dame was hardly thought of as a competitive footballing bastion , throughout his tenure with the program. Weis’ record bears this out, as does Clausen’s.

Hometown favorites, the Jacksonville Jaguars are thought to have Tebow on their radar as their number on pick in the first round. Commercially , it would make a great deal of sense but the team as a whole , is dire need of so much more than beyond that , of having the former Gators’ player, play in his home state. Jaguars’ owner Wayne Weaver is said to be greatly enamored with the player and his abilities. But when measured against his team’s greatest needs , it would prove to be more productive in using the pick more judiciously. Team GM , Gene Smith along with coach , Jack Del Rio and the coaching staff have a great deal of assessing to do , as to the team’s overall and most acute needs. And with the organization due to have the tenth pick in the first round , it will be interesting to see whether or not they follow the common thought process , that Tebow will indeed be their first choice in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft.

I’m neither a Gators’ fan or for that matter a Jaguars’ fans. However, it’d be nice to see some sort of competitive edge brought to the three professional NFL franchises within the state of Florida. Tim Tebow may well be the answer to the Jaguars’ prayers and then again it may not. He’s neither my role model but he’s damn well better than the likes of the so called can’t miss chances that we’d been bombarded with over the past few years at the quarterback position. In the end it will come down to the player’s desire to prove his detractors wrong and the environment where he’s placed in order that he might succeed. So lets see how things will actually unfold on the day for the player and the team who chooses to make him their first overall pick.

Alan Parkins aka tophatal ………………

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SWV brings you ‘Rain’

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I need someone to tickle my fancy ?

The rather delectable Bianca Gascoigne. Have fun while perusing the picture gallery. And remember, in order to appreciate the content in all of its glory. Just click unto each picture to view, up close and personal.

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Bianca Gascoigne , lingerie model and tv reality star in the UK.

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