So Charles Davis and Michael Lombardi are breaking my heart

Just finished watching a segment of NFL Total Access in which the guys discused Tim Tebow's future... Partially with Touchdown Tim himself. Then Charles and Michael dropped the bomb on me. When asked what round he would finally go in, both Davis and Lombardi agreed that it would be round #1. "All it takes is for one team to fall in love with this kid and pull the trigger", said Michael Lombardi.

That wasn't all he said either. Lombardi also feels that Tebow must be drafted by a team with an offensive head coach; that is a former Offensive Coordinator. He does not believe that a team with a D.C. Head Coach (like the Rams and Steve Spagnuolo) can correctly develop this kid. Michael believes this is so because the Head Coach is going to have to develop a plan and program for Tebow and he's going to have to have the authority to carry it out. Lombardi suggested that the Denver Broncos and Josh McDaniels would be an ideal candidate for Tebow.

It should be noted, in passing, that Josh McDaniels was the guy responsible for turning the New England Patriots into a Spread-Offense team. The Spread is that "very quarterback friendly" system that McDaniels likes to talk about. The Denver Broncos favored their running game a lot this year only because they were nursing an uncertain defense and they lacked a franchise QB.

I find both of these points crushing. If Tebow goes in the 1st, we are going to have a very hard time getting him without making a deal. We might have to make a deal with Denver to ensure they can't get Tebow and we can. If it is true that only an O.C. headcoach can develop Tebow, we are sunk. We are happily installed with our D.C. headcoach Steve Spagnuolo.

I, however, disagree with Lombardi on this point. I think it would be easier for Spagnuolo to adapt to Tebow than any O.C. Headcoach around. All he has to do is turn to Pat Shurmer and say "You fired". Then all he has to do is make a phone call to Mike Leach and say "Are you interested in a job?" We would be set. Easy as pie. Easier for Spagnulo to do than McDaniels.

These were some mighty discouraging words though.

So why make Tim Tebow line up behind the center?

Reports are begining to flow in from Senior Bowl practice sessions. Tim Tebow is having a rough outing with the default NFL offense. This means lining up under center, taking the snap, doing a 3, 4 or 5 step drop-back and throw. The battle does not go well. They say he is struggling.

Specifically, they say he has had a few problems with the center exchange, and he is having difficulties with accuracy when throwing from the drop back position. Throwing in the NFL is about threading the needle. It is about getting the football through a tiny window of time and space so it reaches your man, and doesn't get intercepted. Tim didn't have much problem with this in college, and against NFL caliber defensive players in the SEC. The new variable causing the problem is the drop-back. Reading whilst dropping is a skill every NFL QB needs to learn. His long throwing motion is expected to be an issue in the NFL, but so far this is not causal in his current problems.

So I have a couple of simple questions for you? Why do you want to line Touchdown Tim up under center anyway? Is it just because you are an old-fashioned West-Coast hard-ass? Let me let you in on a dirty little secret that the NFL likes to keep in the closet. The New England Patriots have been running a slightly modified spread offense since 2007. It worked great until they (a) lost Tom Brady with a serious knee injury, and (b) lost Jabbar Gaffney who was their 4th reciever. According to some sources, Tom Brady lined-up 76% of the time in the shotgun in 2009. The Patriots controlled the ball by passing.

Let me inform you of another dirty little secret that everybody seems to know about: The Wildcat, our current state of the art running system, is played from the shotgun also.

So let me ask you a question in the spirit of Air Coryell and The Greatest Show on Turf: Why don't we taylor our system to maximize the production of this dynamic player? Why are we so set on running this outdated and outmoded system known as the West-Coast offense? I have despaired of the idea that we are ever going to get this boring piece of shit offense working with the Rams. Why shouldn't we use motion and formation to exploit the playmakers we have, and the playmakers we can have? Why shouldn't we construct mismatches? Why shouldn't we overwhelm defenses by putting our strength against their weakness? Why shouldn't we taylor our offense to suite the strengths of the players we have?

I personally would love to see us fire OC Pat Shurmer and replace him with a fellow like Mike Leach. I would love to see us work out of the gun, and wing the football all over the frickin' place. I wouldn't mind seeing Tebow execute a few Wildcat plays. Certainly this approach would be vastly superior to what we did in 2009, which was to field one of the worst offensive units the NFL has ever seen.

Update:

It would appear that some of Tim Tebow's difficulties revolve around strep throat. It seems that Tim was hospitalized for this malady on Monday night. His fever has been as high as 103f. Having just gotten through a really bad cold myself {I was immuno compromised after my knee surgery} I can tell you that a fever that high walks hand-in-hand with shivers and cold sweats. I can hardly imagine doing anything that physical while suffering that kind of fever.

In short, I am willing to disregard the practice performance reports we are hearing.

In other news, it appears that Dexter McCluster has been interviewed by the Rams. I am very happy about this.