12/03/24
March 17, 2015
Tim Tebow Working Year-Round on Throwing Mechanics: Former Major League pitcher Tom House runs a performance center for pitchers and quarterbacks whose past clients include Tom Brady and Drew Brees. This interview with House describes in detail how much Tim Tebow has been doing to develop his quarterback skills in the hopes of returning to the NFL at age 27. "We've been seeing him about three days every week, year-round," House said. "Now, he works besides his time with us, but the time he spends working with us on skills, routes and all of those things works out to about two or two-and-a-half hours per day."
Honestly, I'm not surprised that with that much dedication to his mechanics that Tebow got a look. Quarterbacking depth is so poor in the NFL and guys like Vince Young and Josh Freeman are still on the periphery because of it. It takes an hour to evaluate Tebow to determine whether or not the rest of his skill-set goes with a consistent left arm now. The prospect of that, coupled with all his "intangibles", is a lot more worthwhile than evaluating Tyler Thigpen for the umpteenth time.
These guys should pay a tithe to Kurt Warner for making GMs believe it's indeed possible for a late 20's quarterback to emerge from his previous mediocrity as Cinderella.
posted by dfleming at 10:48 AM on March 17, 2015
The way House describes Tebow's physical strength makes me wonder if a QB can be too strong to throw effectively.
If you compare Brady's build and mechanics as a rookie to where he is now, he hasn't bulked up much, but he has been transformed into an optimized QB. Every aspect of his positional ability set has been broken down and rebuilt. He used to put his whole shoulder into intermediate sideline throws and looked like he had a permanent case of banjo arm. The ball release took forever and the forward throwing motion began from a point about a mile and a half behind his helmet.
Now, he stands taller and is a model of efficiency. Without being blessed with a natural Marino release, he still gets the ball out much quicker than he used to, and with power and accuracy. His mechanics are equal to his observational and processing powers and decision making speed. He has become noticeably more mechanically efficient than Peyton.
(Which is why, when Brady makes a poor decision or throws a dumb pick as he's falling back on his butt, people start screaming and tearing their hair out like Larry Fine).
posted by beaverboard at 02:06 PM on March 17, 2015
If he has any throwing talent, it seems like Tebow has the work ethic and character to be a backup quarterback in the NFL. The way House describes Tebow's physical strength makes me wonder if a QB can be too strong to throw effectively.