It’s official. Tebow Mania has hit Philadelphia. Tim Tebow took his first NFL snap since the end of the 2013 pre season and had to try to quieten the crowd on numerous occasions. After an explosive start however, the Quarterback faded into mediocrity.
On his first drive, the former New York Jet threw for 43 yards, going four for five. His inaccurate tendencies were showing signs of disappearing as he was able to lead the Eagles to two field goals, one of which came at the end of that impressive first drive.
However, before something that truly sent Eagles fans into overdrive, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner started to show some old habits. His main issue previously was holding onto the ball for too long. Tebow was sacked twice in third down situations as it seemed that old habits would indeed die hard. This occurred early on in his game too when he was unable to see the tailback who was wide open on an option play, so Tebow threw the ball to the turf. The very next play he aimed to pick up some yards on the run but was swallowed up almost instantly for a big loss. His rushing antics continued with varying levels of success but he took another sack on drive number four before a flag was thrown. To his defence, the O-Line wasn’t at its best which didn’t exactly compliment the versatile Quarterback, and made his life a lot harder.
But, Tebow was determined to once again show us the strength of his arm. A huge pass to Rasheed Bailey who hauled in a one hand grab was the stand out play..until he ran into the end zone for a 7 yard touchdown, sending the Eagles fans into euphoria.
Overall, Tebow had a fairly solid game. The touchdown was definitely a nice touch for the fans and overall was WAY more consistent than Sanchez. But at the same time, those doubting him and saying that this was inconsistent and that the old Tebow is still knocking around…it was his first NFL game experience in two seasons..and he played better than a Quarterback who guided the Eagles to numerous victories last season.
The jury is still out on Tim Tebow, but the world wanted to see how much progress had been made..we got our answer. Sure he’s still a diamond in the rough, but he’s looking a LOT smoother than he was when we last saw him take to the field at the end of pre-season two years ago. A lot of his old habits have now been revoked as his ball release is looking a lot less worrying and strangely more accurate. Only time will tell if it will be enough to make the final 53. But Tebow impressed out there today.
