If you accept at face value the fact that Tim Tebow’s only going to be a quarterback when he gets to Patriots minicamp today, then the question becomes how well he can play the position.
According to a tutor who’s been working with him recently, that shouldn’t be a problem.
“Do I think he can play the quarterback position in the NFL? Yeah, no question,’' IMG’s Chris Weinke told Jim Corbett of USA Today. “Like I told Tim when I found out [Monday] that he signed, ‘You’re locked and loaded, ready to go.’''
Tebow also spent time this offseason working with Vinny Testaverde in Florida, and both the former Heisman winners said they saw marked improvement, after working with Tebow on his footwork.
Weinke said making those adjustments made Tebow a more accurate quarterback, which has always been one of the biggest hurdles (47.9 career completion percentage).
“I made an adjustment to his lower half and invariably that’s where the quickness came from,’' Weinke said. “What I saw was, when his feet were in good position, he was throwing the ball with great accuracy, great velocity. And the ball was coming out much quicker.”
Weinke also praised Tebow’s work ethic, and said that he had to pull the reins back at times to keep Tebow from over-working when he got tired, so that he didn’t slip back into bad habits.
“The guy has played quarterback his whole life,’' Weinke said. “None of us has a crystal ball. But that’s what he’s done his whole life.
“He’s proven he can win at that position. He has had great success. He does things the right way and has a guy in Tom who is one of the elite quarterbacks to ever play the game that he’ll be able to spend time with every day.
“The things we worked on down here are going to pay dividends in New England.’'
If they truly do, then the Patriots will have an improved backup quarterback, and Weinke will have established himself as a guru, and will have to turn aspiring passers away.