FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2009, file photo, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) scrambles for yardage against Florida International during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Gainesville, Fla. The SEC couldn’t have manufactured a better Heisman Trophy showcase. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Alabama’s Mark Ingram have a rare chance to fashion a Heisman moment when their teams meet in the SEC championship game matchup of No. 1 versus No. 2. .(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
AP
As part of an intriguing and at times spirited debate on NFL Network this morning, Charles Davis said that the folks at Florida worked with quarterback Tim Tebow to change his throwing motion, but that once Tebow found himself in game situations he reverted to his looping, windmill release.
The disclosure was jarring to us, given that it directly conflicts with Tebow’s proclamation that no one had told him until recently that he has a loop bigger than a steel roller coaster.
So either Florida is putting out bad information in order to control the damage, or the man who puts Biblical verses on his eye strips has opted to violate the message of Exodus 20:16.
We’re not sure what to believe because we’ve learned over the years when it comes to high-stakes matters of this nature to believe no one, especially those to whom Matthew 6:5-8 is directed. Florida has every reason to get the word out that efforts were made to change Tebow’s throwing motion, and Tebow has every reason to suggest (while once again reminding the world of his work ethic) that he had no idea that there was a problem and now that he knows there’s a problem he’ll apply that work ethic (did you know he has a great work ethic?) to address it.
But if Florida’s version is correct -- and the hiring of a pro-style quarterbacks coach in 2009 suggests it may be -- then the recent comments from Browns president Mike Holmgren carry even more weight for us. Holmgren said that throwing motion is “the most difficult thing to change” for any quarterback, and he suggested that, in pressure situations, old habits will return.
It means that Tebow’s effort to change his throwing motion are coming too late to make a difference for his NFL career, and that any effort to become an NFL quarterback will require every amount of that supposedly great work ethic, and more.