Tim Tebow, the football player, has about as many detractors as any one man can stir up. The controversial quarterback enjoyed some unconventional success with the Denver Broncos in 2011 before languishing in no man's land with the New York Jets a year later. Now, after a year and a half out of football, Tebow is back in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles.
But will he be able to carve out a role for himself this time around? Wide receiver Eric Decker, Tebow's former teammate, believes so.
"Chip's been doing a lot of stuff this year, so I think anything's possible," Decker said. referring to Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. "Really, (Tebow) can create his own role. I know he wants to be head quarterback, but he can create a role for himself that can help a team in many ways (whether it's) the two-point conversion if it's moved up or a goal-line package. He has the athletic ability to be a personal punt protector...and can play other positions. They'll figure out a way to utilize him if it's going to help them be a better football team."
The owners are considering several different changes to the extra point and two-point conversion formats, as Decker notes. Philadelphia's proposal calls for the ball to be moved from the 2- to the 1- yard line for the latter. Tebow, who has a big frame at 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds as well as excellent rushing instincts, could be productive in such situations.
"His game is unique. It's special," Decker said. "He can do a lot of different things. I don't know what their role for him is going to be....What I learned when I was in Denver is that we built our offense around what he did well. We put in read-options. We put in some things that made him successful...ran him out of the pocket. If you want him to be 'The Guy,' you build your offense around him."
The Eagles aren't planning to install Tebow as the starter, not with Sam Bradford in town and Mark Sanchez backing him up. In fact, it's highly unlikely that Tebow will get any snaps as a traditional passer. He completed just 36.7 percent of his passes and posted a 47.2 passer rating in the summer he was with the New England Patriots before being released.
"After the Patriots cut him, I didn't know (if he'd get another chance in the NFL)," Decker said. "The NFL is a league that has a lot of drop-back passers. That's what you see. Honestly, there's other quarterbacks that can run it well - (Colin) Kaepernick, Russell Wilson - but ultimately they can throw the ball in the pocket. I know (Tebow) can throw the ball, but his skillset is - let's call it unique. It's different."
We'll see how the Eagles plan to use Tebow as training camp gets underway in the coming months. Until then, it will be fun to imagine him running all sorts of wild sub-packages on the field.
