'Tim Tebow was an average NFL player': Shannon Sharpe isn't a big fan of former Jaguars TE
Tim Tebow has done a lot of things in his life, including becoming a great college football player, an NFL quarterback and most recently an unsuccessful tight end. However, the road to experimentation may not yet be over as he is apparently in consideration for a coaching gig.
His propensity for failing upwards seems to have ruffled Shannon Sharpe, who laid out in no uncertain terms what he thinks of Tim Tebow. According to Sharpe, Tim Tebow was never anything more than an average player and he got his chances because of the hype surrounding him despite never updating his CV.
Was Shannon Sharpe sharp in his observations on Tim Tebow?
Tim Tebow is a deeply polarizing figure. Some say that his achievements in the sports world do not merit the hype he generates. Others argue that his achievements in the past mean he deserved an extended run in the NFL that he never got.
The latter group bases its argument mainly on two observations. One is Tim Tebow's college career. In college, he was arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He won the Heisman trophy in 2007 and followed up by being a finalist in 2008 and 2009.
Another point of contention that seems to support Tim Tebow is his contribution to the Denver Broncos in 2011. He took over the starting role against the Miami Dolphins and led them to an overtime victory after trailing without points shortly before that. Overtime wins followed against the San Diego Chargers and the Chicago Bears. In the playoffs, there was another overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Such was the frequency of comebacks and wins in overtime that the entire concept was given a media spin and called Tebow Time.
In fact, after his unceremonial departure from the Jacksonville Jaguars, that was a commonly invoked phrase.
But all these moments of magic mask the reality that in 2011, Tim Tebow had the worst pass completion rate of any quarterback. The reason the Denver Broncos won is because they had the personnel who had enough to feed off scraps from him and still win. There should have been no need to come back so many times and the wins should have been more comfortable. The arrival of Peyton Manning proved that comprehensively.
Thus, while Tim Tebow certainly had his moments, he was never an elite player. Shannon Sharpe is absolutely spot-on in his observations here.