I’d use him as a hybrid fullback/H-back/quarterback. Was discussing this with a friend about how the best place for Tebow to end up would be somewhere like New England, where a guy like Belichick could use him creatively. Line him up in the backfield with Brady - lots of options. Tebow can run it, block, go out for a pass, or pass it himself. He’s not gonna break a long one but the NFL is all about having options.
Or just give him one single drive at quarterback anytime in the game. 2:00 if he scores real quick. His highlight reel is gonna be real quick, so he had better play well in the limited time he’s got.
Seriously, when this guy is on he is a fantastic player. Trouble is he’s mostly off, when he stinks (but still runs ok). Find some way to tease out the best from this player.
Mostly agree: if gimmicks worked long term in the NFL, they wouldn’t be gimmicks anymore; everyone would be using them. That said, no reason not to use his running ability to keep the defense on their toes. I’d put in a few QB option plays for him, and a couple more gimmicky toss-to-the-FB-lateral back to Tebow for the run/pass option or Tebow-as-wingback or whatever, and run them enough times in the first few games that every defense has to spend a couple hours preparing for them (and maybe a couple times each game keeping the defense from committing for a split-second as they try and figure out the play). Run one or two each game, just to see if the defense has put in their hours and keep them distracted, but focus on running a standard pro-style most of the time.
Of course, I’m not a real (or even much of a fake) football coach, so I’m not really going to look down on a professional who decides to do something else…
Yes; and they have. Pretty much major innovation in the game, from the forward pass on down was called a “gimmick” by those convinced it wasn’t “real football.” If the gimmick works, everyone denies they were ever skeptical.
In the 1980s you still had coaches that thought the shotgun formation was a gimmick; in the 1990s some coaches still thought that Walsh’s horizontal passing game was a gimmick. The spread, among other things, blends the shotgun formation and horizontal pressure on the defense … no surprise that it gets labeled a gimmick.
Of course, lots of things that labeled gimmicks do wind up not working; but nobody knows until it’s tried. But the fact that people are skeptical of something new doesn’t tell you whether it will work.
The last two players that were established dropkickers were McMahon (but Ditka thought it was a gimmick and he never dropkicked) and Flutie who dropkicked in his last NFL play. I think with Tebow’s athleticism, he should be able to dropkick at least within the 20.
Nice simple explanation that I’ve always tried to tell people to no avail.
The biggest problem with Tebow is Tebowmania. It’s a cancer if you ask me.
Well, yes, nobody knows whether something brand-new is a gimmick that won’t work long-term or a real innovation that will be widely adopted.
But a quarterback option attack isn’t something brand-new. It’s been used widely for decades at the college level; in fact I’d bet that in many years a majority of college teams have used it. So I’m sure that many, many, NFL coaches have at least considered it, and many have tried it in some way (if only in practice). So I’m fairly confident in calling it a gimmick for the NFL at this point.
If you (or anyone) can explain a) why QB-options work in college but not the NFL; and b) how Tebow can overcome the problems that prevent NFL teams from running an option, then I’m all ears. But I’m not yet convinced that he’s that unique, and so still think an option offense is a gimmick, good for a few plays a game.