Report: Tim Tebow playing next year for Jaguars “a virtual certainty"

When the Broncos put Tim Tebow on the trade block in March, only the Jets and the Jaguars were interested. The Jets ended up with him, but are widely expected to send him packing this offseason.
That leaves the Jaguars as perhaps the only team in the NFL that wants Tebow.
In fact, Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that it’s “a virtual certainty” that Tebow will play for the Jaguars in 2013. Mortensen says Jaguars owner Shad Khan still wants Tebow in Jacksonville, just as he did in March, and this time Khan is likely to get his man.
From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense. Tebow is probably Florida’s most popular athlete, and acquiring him would be a major boost for a team that has often struggled to sell tickets. It’s no surprise that Khan thinks having Tebow in the fold would be good for his bottom line.
The question is whether it makes sense from a football perspective. The Jaguars don’t have a clear-cut starter at quarterback, so adding someone who has started and won games would seem to be a wise decision. But would Tebow be able to develop into a long-term franchise quarterback? Or would the presence of Tebow serve as a distraction to the Jaguars’ efforts to get a long-term franchise quarterback in place?
The risk of distraction is real, but it’s apparently a risk Khan is willing to take.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Michael David Smith
 Photo from Grizlr.com

Half the expected crowd shows up for Tebow

Initial estimates put the crowd for Tim Tebow’s Easter sermon at 30,000. To the extent that a loaves-and-fishes-style miracle was required to feed everyone who attended the open-air “Easter on the Hill” event, they needed half of what they anticipated.

According to the Associated Press, only 15,000 actually showed up to hear Tebow speak.

Tebow said he embraces the attention that comes from his open display of religious beliefs, including his “Tebowing” prayer stance.

“It’s being talked about,” Tebow said. ”It’s exciting.” (There’s that word again.)

Tebow added that it’s “OK to be outspoken about your faith,” and he chastised athletes who claim they aren’t role models. ”Yes you are. You’re just not a good one,” Tebow said. (That’s possibly the most controversial thing he ever has said.)

Personally, I still have a hard time reconciling the whole “be outspoken about your faith” routine with Matthew 6: 5-8, especially when dropping to a knee in prayer, in the presence of TV cameras. (It would have been ironic, to say the least, if that citation had been transcribed onto any of Tebow’s eye strips during college.)

The fact remains that Tebow is a force of nature, whether 15,000 or 30,000 or 300,000 come to hear him speak in person. Though a little subtlety and nuance could actually enhance his impact, the open display of his beliefs and his youthful, cheerful, arguably naive disposition will keep him among the most popular players in the NFL, regardless of the extent to which he actually plays (or plays well) in NFL games.

source:  PFT.com
author:  Mike Florio
photo via grizlr.com