Circus Won’t Come To Town With Tebow
I guess you could say the unthinkable has happened. But then again, can you ever really predict what’s going on inside the head of Bill Belichick? For goodness sake, the man cuts the sleeves off of his hoodies … is signing Tim Tebow really that shocking?
When news of Tebow’s move to the New England Patriots (for now, at least) first made its rounds, it was met with laughter and chagrin among Pats fans. Tebow’s arrival at minicamp yesterday made it real. There he was, standing in a red practice jersey next to our beloved Tom Brady, the two even standing in identical poses, one hand on a hip.
If that sight gives you heart palpitations, it might be time to calm down. There’s no way Brady’s coming out of a game to give Tebow the chance to try a few tricks. It’s obvious that Belichick didn’t bring Tebow in for that reason. But with so much buzz in the media in the past few months regarding Belichick’s apparent feelings of “hatred” toward the media circus that comes with Tebow, it does come as quite of a shock that he’d be willing to open the doors in Foxboro to just that.
But then again, is it really that shocking? When I think about all the Tebow drama that came out of his last season with the New York Jets, I think of the New York Post headlines and obnoxious comments from Rex Ryan. And sure, there’s a paper or two here in Boston that will have fun with Tebow as a new plaything, but the biggest difference here is the overall culture difference between the two teams.
So much of the drama in New York came from the fact that Mark Sanchez was so awful at his job as starting quarterback that there was an actual debate among media and fans that Tebow should have been playing. You can kiss that debate goodbye in Foxboro, because no one in their right mind thinks that Tebow should be getting any chances over Brady. If Brady was injured and it became a toss up between backup QB Ryan Mallett and Tebow, then maybe you get some discussion about Tebow as a quarterback depending on the situation.
Furthermore, Belichick is the one coach in the NFL who can absolutely shut the media circus down in an instant. The guy barely talks as it is. He’s not going to be running his mouth a la Rex Ryan regarding any of his players’ talents. Honestly, that’s half the battle.
The other half is what to actually do with Tebow, but I’ve got no doubts when it comes to Belichick and his coaching staff. I’m not going to pretend for a single second that I know better than Bill, and I don’t think the best analysts in the NFL do, either. Maybe they let him study under Brady, maybe they see how well he can catch in an attempt to use him elsewhere. We already know Tebow can run with the ball. For all we know he can catch well and could become a great utility player. All I know is I blindly trust whatever’s going on in Belichick’s brain.
So yes, for now, the circus continues. The hordes of media will migrate to minicamp again today to see the Jesus-loving, boy wonder Tim Tebow. But eventually, it will calm down. There’s no guarantee Tebow even makes the Patriots’ final roster, and if he does, I’m willing to bet his presence at Gillette is a non-issue by the first game of the regular season.
And it will all be thanks to the mastermind in the sleeveless hoodie.
