Please Hire Tim Tebow - Week 7

We are nearly at the halfway point of the 2013 NFL season and if you're reading this blog, you already know that Tim Tebow is still unemployed. For anyone who follows the NFL, you also know that while there has been some pretty solid QB play across the league this season, there has also been some pretty sad play as well. I've never said that Tim Tebow is the second coming of Joe Montana but only that I don't believe he is as terrible as all his detractors make him out to be. I have clearly acknowledged Tebow's shortcomings since he joined the NFL after a stellar college career at the University of Florida.

Perhaps Mr. Tebow is what I could refer to as a perfect storm quarterback; one that has to be placed in just the right organization, with just the right system, and just the right personnel around him to be successful. Maybe that's too much to ask but I'll state for the record again, as the weeks go by, there are quarterback and team performances across the league that cry out for a change; and as the treatment tables fill up in more and more stadiums, someone, somewhere almost has to take a chance on the former Gator.

Looking forward to more of this...

Latest Intel:

This morning I saw a report that the St. Louis Rams have discussed Tebow but probably won't be signing him. NFL.com has reported that Sam Bradford suffered a season-ending ACL injury, and that leaves Kellen Clemens is their lone QB on the depth chart. Clemens' career-high passer rating (60.9%) came during the 2007 season** with the Jets, where he completed 130 passes for 1,529 yards and 5 touchdowns. However the 10 interceptions and 27 sacks surely didn't help his cause. As today's news cycle developed there were many names being bandied about as quarterback possibilities for St. Louis...it remains to be seen if Tim Tebow has remained sharp and fit enough to impress in a work out, assuming he is fortunate enough to get the call.

** The only season where Clemens threw more than 100 passes

In any case, with no backup to Clemens and not even a quarterback on the scout team, the Rams have to sign someone...

Week 7 Tebow Opportunities:

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags are 0-7. With rankings for rushing and defense against the rush at the bottom of the league, you could make a case that what the Jags need most are decent offensive and defensive lines. Current starting QB Chad Henne threw for 318 yards yesterday on 23 completions against 36 attempts. That's not so bad, right? Except for the fact that the Jaguars only scored 6 points. As the weeks drag on in Jacksonville it becomes less about the quarterback and more about the fans just having something...anything...to get excited about. I still believe Tebow brings excitement to the table for those fans, and revenue to the owners.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: As the weeks go by and Mike Glennon continues to, well, not stink, the chances of the Pewter Pirates taking a flyer on Tebow seem to diminish. Glennon had another workmanlike outing yesterday and came up short against the less-than-overachieving Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs couldn't have caught the Falcons at a better time with both halves of one of the best receiving duos in the game on the sideline due to injury. Yet, it started like the same old Bucs as Glennon coughed up the ball on their first series and Atlanta ran that fumble in for a score. For the second week in a row, Glennon hit Vincent Jackson for two scores but it wasn't enough.

Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants: We won't know if the rot has stopped in the Big Apple until after tonight. Two franchises who have both appeared on my Tebow radar in recent weeks square off on Monday Night Football tonight. The Vikings appear to have played their hand with the signing of Bucs castaway Josh Freeman. Is it even conceivable that the G-Men would consider cutting Eli loose? You wouldn't think so but New York is a terrible town to be a goat in...time will tell.

St. Louis Rams: As I inferred above, it seems like the Rams may have leap-frogged Jacksonville as the city most likely to think about signing Tebow. Although initial reports indicate Tebow's name has been in the conversation, they (those scamps) are reporting Tim Terrific is not a viable option. I think St. Louis would be doing the fans a disservice. I seem to recall that another guy who was supposedly washed up resurrected a career in St. Louis - could Tebow pull a Warner?

Could it be Tebow time in the gateway city?

Best Tebow Quote of the Week:

Mike McCoy, the new head coach of the San Diego Chargers, when asked if he had any advice for Tebow, cut by the New England Patriots before the season and now out of the NFL, McCoy said, “All I know is the experience we had in Denver with Tim. We won games with Tim as a quarterback and we had a great time doing it. That’s all I’ll say on that.’’

Which NFL teams out there could do with a few wins and a little fun?

What do you think?

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The team formerly known as...

I've almost completely stopped reading Slate. My doctor says I need to get my blood pressure down and frankly, I'm pretty sure the job description for writers at Slate includes the words, "Write your articles to be as blatantly controversial as humanly possible in order to cause our readers' blood pressure to elevate by at least 50 points (systolic)."

I caved this morning and read an article entitled, "The Washington _______________". The tag line clarified, "Why Slate will no longer refer to Washington’s NFL team as the Redskins."

I didn't even need to read the article, penned by Slate's blood pressure terrorist-in-chief David Plotz. Every single article I've ever read by Plotz I've disagreed with. He's like the anti-X.

For $21 million, I'll play for a team named after a racial slur?

In this day and age when we can all take principled stands against such things, why didn't highly coveted Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III include a clause in his contract stipulating the Redskins had to change their name? "Sure, I'd love to play in our nation's capitol! I'll accept $21 million over four years and, oh yeah, you guys need to change your name or the deal's off. I cannot in good conscience play for a team that disrespects Native American heritage."

This is PC run amok. There have been similar moves in Florida to force FSU (Florida State University) to change their team nickname (Seminoles); yet Chief Osceola still rides his distinctive Appaloosa Renegade out onto the field before every home game and plants the flaming spear into the turf at midfield, literally throwing down the battle challenge to FSU's opponents while more than 82,000 screaming fanatics do the "tomahawk chop" and chant (see also Atlanta Braves, just without the flaming spear).

Look out Chief, your next...

No one in their right mind believes that anyone associated with the Washington Redskins organization is a racist, Native American hater. Whatever the original motivation for the name was, the team's traditions have long-since outgrown any negative connotations.

Just to set the record straight. I'm totally with the Native Americans in our country. Tribes all over the land received significantly raw deals from the US Government. Their treatment at the hands of settlers, the US Army and various mercenary forces was indefensible. Maybe Daniel Snyder, the Redskin's owner could pledge a portion of the team's profits to help underprivileged Native Americans. I believe that would be a much worthier tribute than the witch hunt attempt to get the team's name changed.

And you just know what's going to happen if the name-change precedent is set. If we go down this path, what other teams should be looking over their shoulders and thinking about new names?

1. Cleveland Browns: Obviously something sinister is going on here; Cleveland took the sly route by just naming their team after a color without associating the color with anything specific.

2. Houston Texans: A clear slap in the face to Dallas Cowboy fans who believe THEY are the only real football team in Texas. Perhaps America's Team is taking the moral high ground and letting Houston have Texas - since the Cowboys have the rest of the country.

3. Tennessee Titans: Nobody likes giants (David vs. Goliath, Greek Mythology, etc.) and the flaming thumbtack logo is hideous. Maybe this isn't offensive but just really bad marketing.

Go, er, you flaming thumbtacks...

4. Kansas City Chiefs: You know it's coming. If the Redskins are forced to change their name, the Chiefs are next!

5. Oakland Raiders: Go back into history and ask the millions of people who were raped, pillaged and plundered, how much they enjoyed it. Unless you're a masochist, goth or suffering from a John Madden hangover, you don't like the Raiders anyway, so a name change is called for.

6. Dallas Cowboys: If you can't have teams named after Native Americans (Indians), you can't have teams named after Cowboys. How many of us grew up playing Cowboys and...never mind.

7. New York Giants: (See Tennessee Titans). Wait a minute; after seeing Eli and the Mannings' latest rap commercial for DirecTV, I think the Giants should be forced to change their name as punishment.

8. Minnesota Vikings: (See Oakland Raiders, only more so).

I don't want my kids growing up thinking this is okay

9. New Orleans Saints: These guys should be sued for false advertising for sure. How about making them change their name to "New Orleans Sinners"?

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: (See Raiders and Vikings). Okay, Buccaneers aren't quite as bloodthirsty as Raiders and Vikings, but they aren't choirboys either.

11. San Francisco 49rs: Really? How long before the gentile folks of Northern California demand a name change so their team isn't named after a bunch of hard-drinking, money-grabbing opportunists? How about the "San Francisco 9th Circuit Court of Appealers"? Okay, maybe 49rs isn't so bad...

There are currently 32 NFL teams. People may not agree with my eleven choices for name change candidates. Heck, the ASPCA and PETA might weigh in on the fifteen franchises who use animal names for their teams. I mean, seriously, what self-respecting Tiger would want to be associated with the Cincinnati Bengals anyway?

What do you think?

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