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Why I'm Rooting For Tim Tebow

I'm rooting for Tim Tebow to succeed in the NFL. No, it's not because I'm a Florida fan. Nor is it because I'm a fan of his politics. I'm rooting for the NFL to embrace something different than the status quo.

One of the great things about college football is the various strategies that we get to see matched up ... the spread, the triple-option, etc. We always are told these can't succeed in the NFL because the players are too fast, too smart, etc.

My theory is that these strategies don't show up in the NFL because there's more risk to losing than stepping out of line and succeeding. Coaching in the NFL is a good, high-paying gig. It's better to follow the norm and lose than take a risk and succeed (just remember the flak Patriots head coach Bill Belichick took for going on 4th down in his own territory in the 4th quarter in a regular season loss to the Colts). I think the success (even if limited) of the Wildcat offense, which a few years ago would have been laughed at in the NFL had someone suggested it, shows some of these schemes could work.

Another theory I have is that top players at top programs who don't grade well on the scouting scale (40 times, weight lifting numbers) often fall too far in the draft and represent great draft day values. Production against top talent to me often gets lost in the shuffle once the hype of the scouting combine takes over.

So I'd love to see a NFL team draft Tebow, install him as their starting QB and run the same kind of spread offense that emphasizes his running skills like he had so much success with at Florida. As a fan it would be fun to watch and it would be great if it opened up the offense strategy a bit in the NFL.

Now, I have no idea if it will work. Maybe the critics of Tebow are correct and he's not a good enough passer to succeed in the NFL. And I'm disheartened to read that he's already trying to change his throwing motion to adapt to NFL standards. But I'm rooting for someone to have the guts to take a chance and use Tebow and apply his strengths to the NFL game.