Alligator Army

Believe it or not, there are people who were not convinced by Tim Tebow's tremendous 2007 season. The release of the coaches' preseason All-SEC team, was not surprising other than Tebow not being unanimous first team selection. Coaches cannot vote for their own players, so at least one coach thought Georgia's Matt Stafford was better.

If you want to believe Stafford is better than Tebow, be my guest. But I have a problem when I see these arguments. From ESPN.com's Chris Low;

Georgia's Matthew Stafford was the other quarterback to receive a first-team vote, and I'm one of those who thinks that Stafford is better than his numbers have shown the first two years. Eventually, that will bear itself out in the NFL draft.

But there's only one first-team quarterback in the SEC, and he's the guy who's built like a fullback and the same guy who became the first player in NCAA history last year to rush for at least 20 touchdowns and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in the same season.

You see what he did there? "Oh! Stafford's numbers are no where near Tebow but he's a pro quarterback! Oooh, what a pretty ball he throws! I mean, I can't prove it now, just wait two more seasons!" (Ok, that wasn't exactly what he meant, but you get it.) Not only does Low take the position that statistics lie, but that the measurement of a college QB is where he is picked in the NFL. Does that mean the national titles of Danny Wuerffel, Ken Dorsey or Chris Leak are cheapened because they were not successful NFL QBs? If Stafford ends up being a great NFL QB and Tebow ends up saving babies in the Philippines, does Stafford's college accomplishments beat Tebow's?

That story is yet to be written. But my problem is with the second paragraph. Low like dozens of scouts that salivate over big arms like Jeff George or Sexy Rexy Grossman, sees Tebow as a "run first" quarterback. The entire paragraph reads like a backhanded compliment, as if it's amazing someone of Tebow's size can throw the ball.

It's a bit unfair to compare Tebow to Stafford because Tebow does not have running backs like Brown and Moreno (more offensive options) and Stafford does not have receivers like UF (less options to catch). However, Tebow only had two more pass attempts than the Bulldog (350 to 348).

Tebow's 2007 stats: 234-350 (66.9%), 3286 yds, 32TD-6INT, 172.47 rating.

Stafford's 2007 stats: 194-348 (55.7%), 2523 yds, 19TD-10INT, 128.92 rating.

Like I said, Stafford may end up a better college QB anyway. But to use the argument that a player is better now because he looks like a quarterback or he throws a good ball is illogical. Winning matters then numbers. I am defensive when it comes to this line of argument against Tebow. But if people don't see how far Tebow came in throwing the ball last season (his deep touch was unbelievable), they are watching a different game or have their heads so far up their rear ends that they are missing the College Quarterback of the Future.