Vince Young is an example. Came into the NFL with all of the accolades and national notoriety, yet he currently resides on the bench in Philadelphia as Michael Vick's backup. His problem was mental. The physical ability was certainly not conventional, but he has a winning record as a starter. However, he lacked the cerebral intangibles; the ability to take criticism and poor performance and keep moving. He was also immature and made poor off the field decisions, so being a "winner" netted him a clipboard and a seat on the sideline.
Before you think it, let me clarify what I mean by "winner" because, I know, all the guys in the league are winners. I mean that guy. The guy who did it all in college and has rarely lost a game since high school. The guy who won the Heisman or was nominated for it, won a national championship and surely had endorsement deals awaiting his John Hancock. That guy.
Now, These days, you hear this argument used predominantly for two young quarterbacks, one more than the other: Tim Tebow and Cam Newton. Both qualify under the previously stated guidelines; tons of accolades along with an equal amount of questions about future success; yet both are heading down differing paths. Newton's "it" factor seems to serve him well and looks as though it will aid him through a successful NFL career, while Tebow's seems to be his biggest strength as opposed to his on the field ability and certainly is the biggest reason he's in the position he is in.
So when does being a winner matter?
As sports talk radio NFL expert Adam McCloskey put it, "Until you can tell me why Tebow has more 'it' than [Tommie Frazier] I don't buy it as anything valid." Frazier was a guy who was enormously successful in college, yet didn't ever translate it into an NFL career because, as McCloskey says "he was a QB who made it happen with his legs, not his arm, and the option doesn't work in the NFL." Sounds very similar to Tebow, doesn't it?
Tim Tebow is in his second year in the NFL and as a Denver Bronco, albeit the first under new head coach John Fox, yet his first start week 7 against the winless Dolphins was anything but a sign of positive things to come. He did lead them on a pretty impressive come back in the final minutes, after Miami went into conservative defense mode, and the Broncos wound up winning the game in overtime, but Tebow looked pretty bad prior to the very end of the fourth quarter.
Tim finished with merely 162 passing yards and a completion percentage under 50% while many times missing receivers by as much as ten or fifteen yards. The comeback doesn't erase what was 95% bad football. If I crap myself for 55 minutes and then clean it up the last 5, it doesn't mean I didn't crap myself for almost an hour.
Cam Newton, on the other hand, has come out of the gate like his ass is on fire. He became the first rookie QB to throw for 400 yards in his first two starts, one of those games being against the defending Superbowl champion Green Bay Packers. He is since averaging 300 yards per game through seven weeks and appears to have every ounce of needed ability and intangibles to be a truly successful signal caller at the pro level.
That's the key. If being a winner and a leader are overwhelmingly your strongest attributes, you will not be a great pro quarterback.
You may work hard and build yourself into a serviceable guy, but you're ceiling is low. Those qualities are great ones to have, but are only truly useful if the ability to play the position is there as well. How do I know Newton is light years ahead of Tebow? Ask yourself what the reaction would be if Tebow went out and had a 315 yard, 2 touchdown game? It would be headline news. It would be vindication for his cult following. You'd see guys in blue and orange shouting "See, he did it, I told y'all!"
Why is that a negative thing; because those kinds of games would barely be talked about for Newton. Performances similar to this have almost already become commonplace for the rookie with only seven starts under his belt. That is why his "it" matters, because he can add those intangibles to his already evident ability and they work together. With Tim, the intangibles seem to be all he's got. All you hear about from his followers is his character and leadership and that he's a winner. Why no talk about his arm or his accuracy or his decision making?
Being that guy does matter sometimes, but you are not going to make it under the shield relying on your will and determination. Matt Leinart was a winner, Ryan Leaf was a winner, and while Tim Tebow may end up marginally better off than those guys, he's nothing more than an average quarterback and eventual back up or H back. But hey, he's a winner.
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