Tim Tebow knows his comments to Woody Paige about having the starting job in Denver “grabbed back away” caused a stir, but he says the remarks didn’t come out like he intended.
“I have all the respect in the world for Mr. Paige, but sometimes when you are doing interviews . . . I don’t feel like it was exactly how it came out,” Tebow said to reporters Friday via DenverBroncos.com. “I think he’s a great reporter and it’s nothing against him. It just came out not how it was supposed to be. Not how it was meant.”
Tebow later said the quote was taken out of context. (That seems to be going around these days.)
We think the quote just came in a rare unguarded, honest moment. For a minute, Tebow just said how he felt as a young pro without trying to say the right thing to the media. A day later, he didn’t own his own words.
He now says he never felt the job was his. That he wants “to work” for anything he gets.
The second-year quarterback seems to be struggling with how much to tune out the quarterback controversy.
“I’ll tell you this, just my own nature; I am very much a people pleaser. I like making people smile. I like making people laugh. I like pleasing people — whatever, coaches, teammates. So when I hear criticism, I hear negativity, on one hand, I try to block it out,” Tebow said. “But on the other, I hear it, and it motivates me, not that I necessarily need more motivation. . . . If anything, I appreciate it. I really do.”
Tebow reportedly had his best practice of camp Friday.
Ultimately, that’s Tebow’s best path to pleasing people.