Tebow in the Steel City? Makes Sense to Me

To all the haters out there, I have to do it. I think I’ve found a way Tim Tebow sneaks into the first round.

Roger Goodell laid down perhaps the most compelling suspension of his short tenure as NFL commissioner Wednesday when he banned Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the first six games of 2010.

The Steelers anticipated the move and signed veteran Byron Leftwich earlier in the week as an insurance policy.

Rumors are now swirling that Roethlisberger may be on the trading block if the right offer comes their way.

I don’t know who’d be willing to trade for the guy, considering he’s an elite level talent, which would warrant giving up a heck of a lot to get him, when he is only eligible for 10 games next season.

So I offer up a solution to the Steelers’ predicament.

What quarterback in this year’s draft is big, with somewhat unorthodox mechanics but an uncanny knack for winning just like Big Ben?

Yes, it is Tebow.

And he comes with a bonus!

Unlike Roethlisberger who, between motorcycle escapades, strip club extravaganzas and sports bar bathroom run-ins, has found his way into trouble much too frequently, Tebow comes with a No Baggage Guaranteed plan.

There’s no need to give the Tebow character lecture here; we all know what he brings to the table besides a strong left arm.

But seriously, ever since last year, I’ve drawn the on-field comparisons between Tebow and Roethlisberger.

Both weigh more than 230 lbs., though Tebow’s build is a bit more defined.

Both make a career by making throws on the run – neither could ever disguise for Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but that’s not what makes them tick.

And lastly – most importantly – no matter how ugly it may look at times, they both win games at an alarming rate.

Tebow’s two national titles in college were a sign of his leadership (he was an integral part of the 2007 title even if he didn’t start, they wouldn’t have won it without him).

Roethlisberger already owns two Super Bowl rings in his career.

I’ve said all along that Tebow belongs with a franchise that plays destructive defense, relies on a power running game and short to mid-level passes. In other words, he belongs in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers own the 18^th pick in the draft, which is dangerously high to take Tebow.

If they could somehow trade Roethlisberger and either move down in the first round or get a late first-rounder in return, it would provide the perfect opportunity to take Tebow.

Even if they don’t make a deal involving the suspended star, they can still move around some picks to take Tebow at a more appropriate place in the draft.

They just better be careful, because something tells me some team that covets Tebow is going to freak out that he could go off the board before it’s their turn to take him, and trade up to get him earlier than anticipated.

If Pittsburgh does snatch Tebow up, he could learn quite a bit from the veteran Roethlisberger.

Come to think of it, Roethlisberger could learn a lot about character from Tebow.

Taking the former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida would also send a message from Steelers brass that they truly are serious about a cleaner image than what Roethlisberger has given them in recent months.

The Steelers do have more pressing needs than quarterback, obviously. Leftwich would do a fine job in the first six games of the year; Pittsburgh would likely be no worse than 3-3 with Big Ben returned.

But the dynamic of Roethlisberger and Tebow in Pittsburgh might just be what the Steelers need at the moment.

Urban Meyer's freak out not his best move

Urban Meyer didn’t scream his age or declare his manhood like Mike Gundy, but the Florida coach certainly made waves when he confronted an Orlando Sentinel reporter earlier this week.

Jeremy Fowler quoted Gators’ wide receiver Deonte Thompson in his blog as saying “You never know with Tim. You can think he’s running but he’ll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With (New quarterback John) Brantley, everything’s with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback.”

Meyer didn’t take too kindly to the story, and during the post-practice confrontation, told Fowler “If (Thompson) was my son, we’d be going at it right now.”

Obviously Thompson has been embarrassed by the remarks, saying he did not mean to take anything away from Tebow.

It’s no secret how close Meyer and Tebow’s relationship became by the end of Tebow’s career, so it’s no surprise that a quote involving the former Heisman winner has Meyer fired up.

Throughout his career, I have been a huge fan of Meyer, dating back to his days as the Bowling Green head coach in 2001.

I even gave him a pass when his retirement-turned-leave of absence-turned-glorified vacation unfolded this winter.

But this time, Meyer may have overstepped his boundaries.

I applaud Meyer for protecting his player, who was obviously disturbed by the situation.

However, Fowler did nothing wrong by using Thompson’s direct quote in perfect context.

Fowler’s blog was supposed to be about Thompson hopefully breaking out after a couple of disappointing seasons in Gainesville.

Where Meyer should have directed his frustration is obviously with the player, and giving the kid a tutorial on word choice.

After Meyer nearly retired due to health concerns stemming from dangerous levels of stress, he doesn’t seem to be pulling any punches already.

This really brings about the question of just how much Urban truly cares about his health.

Whether he admits it or not, getting so frustrated and visibly violent in a situation as petty as this one doesn’t exactly say, “I’m handling my stress issues really well.”

What began as a simple misuse of words by a underachieving junior wide receiver has blown out of proportion, and will turn the eyes of critics far and wide directly to Meyer.

Race for the Heisman – Tim Tebow

Season statistics: 182-279 (65.2 completion percentage), 2,413 yards, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions, 203 carries, 859 yards, 13 touchdowns.

Why he deserves to win:

Go ahead, try and find a more successful career for a college quarterback. Two national championships, one Heisman Trophy, and his own play bearing his namesake (the “Tebow jump pass”), there are few players in the history of the sport to have made such a substantial impact.

He has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards, which is unusual for a quarterback of his style. Unlike many of the fleet-footed scramblers that leave defenders in their dust, Tebow is a quarterback in a fullback’s body. His bullish running style is unprecedented for a quarterback in the spread offense.

He also became the first quarterback in this decade to lead his team to back-to-back unbeaten seasons in the SEC.

Why he wouldn’t win:

While this season was solid, it was far from spectacular by Tebow’s standards. His production dipped in the passing game, throwing 12 fewer touchdowns than in 2008.

One of the knocks against his resume last year was his season was not as impressive as his sophomore campaign. If he didn’t win it last year, it’s unlikely the voters will give him the credit for an even less impressive year this time around.

Best game of 2009:

Two weeks after being knocked out of a game for the first time in his career with a concussion, Tebow took the field at Tiger Stadium against LSU. With coach Urban Meyer admittedly using a ‘conservative’ offensive game plan, Tebow was not sacked the entire game, and carried the ball 17 times for 38 yards. In the passing game, he completed 11-of-16 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.

However, it was not the statistics that defined this game for Tebow. It was his gutsy decision to play at all. He did not practice in between the Kentucky game (where he was hurt) and the LSU game, and was not medically cleared until the day before the game.

Many fans worried for the quarterback’s safety, even if he was medically allowed to play. The Tiger defense is not exactly a bunch of pussycats. It was one of the most courageous performances in recent memory.

Fifth Down Heisman poll is now open!

I want to know what the people think. 

Using the poll feature on the right-hand side of the page, please vote on who YOU would vote for to win the Heisman Trophy next Saturday. Voting will be open until Dec. 11, encourage anyone and everyone to stop by and vote! Would love to see a good number of people contribute. Thanks for reading, everyone. 

College football saves best week for last - part one

To all the die-hards out there: you can finally exhale.

Week thirteen of the college football season brought the most heart-stopping, gut-wrenching clashes of the season. Nobody would have expected anything less on rivalry week.

In a Heisman race as clear as the muddy path that is The Grove at Ole Miss, this weekend was going to help voters make some tough decisions. The picture is getting a tad clearer now.

There was also the curtain call for one all-time great, if not two in Gainesville.

There were the three highest-ranked teams all in action against testy in-state rivals, two of them on the road.

There were coaches across the BCS conferences fighting for their jobs. Some may have won, others may have lost, and in the case of Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe, some have already packed their bags.

The epic 72 hours that was the final weekend of the regular season is almost worthy of its own book.

Chapter one took place Thanksgiving night in College Station. The Texas Longhorns were aided by Colt McCoy’s best performance of the season in staving off the rival Texas A & M’s upset bid. McCoy both kept his team alive in the national title hunt and improved his Heisman stock in the win.

That was only the beginning. Instead of chapter one, let’s call Lone Star Showdown 2009 the prologue.

Chapter one is highlighted by the illustrious return of Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike. Midway through the year, Pike was an emerging candidate for the Heisman before breaking his arm against South Florida. His replacement, Zach Collaros, kept the Bearcats unbeaten in his absence. There were plenty of people who even dared to say Collaros outperformed Pike when he had the chance.

Head coach Brian Kelly ignored the advice of many people by re-inserting Pike as the starter against Illinois. All Pike did was throw six touchdowns in a 49-36 win. That performance left everyone wondering just how different the Heisman picture would be had Pike remained healthy.

Just as the Bearcats were putting the finishing touches on their win, the Auburn Tigers were jumping all over second-ranked Alabama 14-0 in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide responded to tie the game at 14 by halftime. However, with six minutes to play, Auburn held to a 21-20 lead, when Greg McElroy completed seven consecutive passes, including the game-winner to Roy Upchurch on third-and-goal.

Auburn failed to score after getting the ball back with 1:30 left to play, and the upset bid was thwarted soundly. In the meantime, Mark Ingram lost his loose grip on the Heisman lead with only 30 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Chapter three came that evening, when Pittsburgh and West Virginia met for the annual Backyard Brawl in Morgantown. Thanks to a stellar performance from Noel Devine, and a key third-down conversion from Jarrett Brown late in the game, the Mountaineers edged the ninth-ranked Panthers with a last-second field goal, 19-16.

You could argue there was more suspense in three of those four games than on any one weekend to date this season. The best was still yet to come.

The early kickoffs at noon ET would have made George Bush proud. There was plenty of shock and awe to go around with all the upsets being handed out in the early portion of the day.

Oklahoma, which has been the most inconstant team in the last month, shut out 12^th-ranked Oklahoma State, emphatically slamming the door on the Cowboys’ hopes of an at-large BCS bowl bid.

Meanwhile, North Carolina State was taking on one of the hottest teams in America, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Wolfpack were playing with heavy hearts as their offensive Coordinator Dana Bible had been diagnose with cancer earlier in the week, and was not with the team. Trailing 24-14 at halftime, the Pack led a furious comeback to take a 28-27 lead.

Casey Barth, the Tar Heel kicker who broke out of his brother Connor’s shadow with a game-winning field goal against Virginia Tech last week, was not as clutch this Saturday. His game-winning field goal attempt was blocked in the final minutes, sealing the emotional upset for the Wolfpack.

If that wasn’t enough chaos for a three-hour period, Clemson was also falling flat on its face against South Carolina. The Gamecocks continued their mysterious home-field dominance in a 34-17 win. The South Carolina team on the field Saturday resembled the one that beat Mississippi at home in September. C.J. Spiller took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, but after that found it hard to gain any traction against a tough Gamecock defense.

While the outcome of the game had no logistical impact on Clemson’s future, it’s still a tough loss. The Tigers had been red-hot heading into Saturday, and would have loved to carry that momentum into next week’s ACC title game. Instead, Dabo Swinney must go back to the drawing board to inspire his team this week.

Funny to mention Mississippi. The Rebels, fresh off a win against LSU last week, lived up to the name of the game they played in. The “Egg Bowl” pits the Rebels against the Mississippi State Bulldogs every year, and an egg is what they laid Saturday. Jevan Snead was intercepted three times, and the Bulldogs avenged last season’s 45-0 loss to Ole Miss with a 41-27 victory at home. Dan Mullen was the right hire in Starkville. Just wait until he gets his own recruits down there.

Next came the more sentimental moment of the day with the least suspense. Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy and national championship-winning Florida quarterback played his final home game in Gainesville. After hearing nothing all week besides the fact it was the last chapter in his career at home, Tebow led his team onto the field and proceeded to stomp the rival Florida State Seminoles 37-10.

It was exactly the performance Tebow needed to keep his hopes of a second Heisman alive. He accounted for all five touchdowns in the win.

In the meantime, it may have also been the final regular season game for legendary Seminole coach Bobby Bowden. School officials have announced that Bowden, 80, and head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher will meet with administration Monday to discuss his future with the program. It is clear Bowden has fallen behind the times, and the changes to the game in recent years have been too much for his program to keep up with. The embarrassing loss to the in-state rival Gators proves as much.

The final chapter of this great weekend was an epic nightcap. For a recap of the most exciting night of the season, check back later.

Heisman race finally gets interesting

Hello all, and happy Thanksgiving!

I had planned on a great day of eating, watching, and blogging on Thursday. That was until I found out my aunt and uncle had no high-speed internet. So much for that...but here is a quick recap of my thoughts on the weekend.

Jerrod Johnson and Colt McCoy put on one of the most entertaining shows of the season, combining for nine touchdowns in the Longhorns' 49-39 win. The Aggies went down swinging, but they just made too many mistakes in key moments to be able to hang with the third-ranked team in the land.

Johnson's untimely interception in the end zone, along with Christine Michael's fumbled handoff and Marquise Goodwin's kickoff returned for a touchdown cost Texas A & M its fourth victory in four years against Texas. 

As well as the Aggies played, McCoy played even better. His career-high 175 rushing yards included a highlight-worthy 65-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Every time it seemed the Aggies were making a comeback push, McCoy marched the offense down the field in convincing fashion. 

It was a Heisman-worthy performance, and hopefully set the stage for a huge weekend in deciding who will take home the award this year. 

In the past, the list of potential Heisman winners has been narrowed to three, maybe two, and even sometimes one by the last weekend of the regular season. Instead, this year there are as many as five or six guys still vying for the trophy. 

McCoy showed last night that this weekend is the perfect opportunity for all of the guys in the forefront to make a statement on the national stage. 

Mark Ingram has a chance today to carry the Alabama Crimson Tide to a second straight unbeaten regular season against Auburn. If Ingram steps up in the spotlight as he has all season, he will be a finalist in New York.

Tim Tebow has a great chance as well to keep his name in the mix. All the eyes of college football will at the very least have a peak in on the Florida-Florida State game. It will be Tebow's final home game of his illustrious career, and also a chance for the Gators to finish 12-0 for the second straight year as well. 

Toby Gerhart's dominant season has gone largely unnoticed until his Stanford team's recent upsets of Oregon and USC in consecutive weeks. Now, Gerhart has a chance to face one of the nation's worst rushing defenses in Notre Dame at home in prime-time. 

More than anyone else left with a shot at the Heisman, Gerhart needs a big game to give himself a chance. The beauty of it for Gerhart is, a great game could not only put him in contention, but could be enough for him to sneak away with the award, depending on how the rest of the nation pans out. 

Check back for more later, but if last night is any indication, we're on in for one helluva weekend in college football.