Kidd out with migraine (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
December 6, 2007It Was Still Worth It
December 6, 2007Can We Just Give The Heisman To LeBron?
Ok, I know this isn’t a college sports blog, but some stories can’t be passed up.
The Heisman votes are in, and the finalists have been invited to New York for the festivities. The 4 finalists for this year’s award are Hawaii’s Colt Brennan, Missouri’s Chase Daniel, Arkansas’s Darren McFadden, and Florida’s Tim Tebow.
It seems like most of the “experts” think Tebow is destined to win. I’m not going to lie….as an Ohio State alum and die hard fan, this makes me ill on numerous levels. The year after Troy Smith wins the Hesiman, he’s going to be followed by a Florida QB? Can Tebow join Archie as multiple winners? Florida? Really? These are just some of the thoughts that go through me when I hear people talk about Tebow.
I got this from my buddy Matt:
“i guarantee you if and when beanie wells wins the heisman next year, he’ll have more than 934 yards rushing, he’ll average more than 4.3 yards per carry, he’ll have a run longer than 25 yards, and he’ll score touchdowns from farther than 1, 3, 16, 7, 5, 9, 6, 1, 9, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 5, 1, 3, 2, 5, 2, 23, and 5 yards out. that’s right tim tebow only had 2 touchdowns from outside the 10 yard line and 12 of them were from inside the 3 yard line. boeckman could probably have rushed for 15 tds had we given him the ball every time we had a goal to go situation. giving tim tebow the heisman trophy this year over darren mcfadden would be like giving mike alstott the nfl mvp over tom brady.”
So well said, I wish I had thought of it myself. I would also add that Wells won’t have 3 losses next year (I hope). Look, there’s no doubt (except in my biased head) that Tebow’s a decent enough player. But when you watch him play, he’s not electric. He doesn’t strike fear in you. You don’t feel like any given play can go for a TD. You get those feelings when you watch McFadden play. Even on his worst days, McFadden still electrifies everyone in the stadium every time he touches the ball, because on any given play you might miss “it” if you’re not watching. What is “it”? “It” is that one move, that one burst of speed, that one stiff arm, that one spin that separates McFadden from all his peers.
And isn’t that what the Heisman is supposed to be rewarding? The nation’s most outstanding player. Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘outstanding’ as: “standing out from a group…marked by eminence and distinction”. If that doesn’t define Darren McFadden, I don’t know what does.
I went out of my way to watch Arkansas games this season whenever possible. They were a terrible team, with basically only 2 players you had to keep your eye on, Felix Jones (next year’s Heisman winner??) and McFadden. They were electric. You watched just to see what they might do next. Did anyone really go out of their way to watch Tebow play this season? I know I didn’t. I’d rather watch the MLS All-Star game than watch Tebow put his head down and run left straight into the line over and over again.
On the ESPN Bowl Selection show, Hawaii’s coach June Jones called in to the show to talk about his team’s BCS bid. Instead, he used much of his time to slam Tim Tebow as a “system quarterback”. A lot of criticism was thrown at Jones for his remarks, and maybe it was somewhat warranted (a coach probably shouldn’t be slamming another team’s players), but I will say this….I don’t totally disagree with him. Urban Meyer brought a system with him to Florida. It’s the same spread system he used at Bowling Green and Utah. Tebow is a nice fit for that system. But could Tebow be successful at Hawaii? How about at Texas Tech? Lousiana Tech? Ohio State? USC? Virginia Tech? I can’t help but be skeptical of Tebow’s ability to reliably and consistently throw the football. He’s a bull to tackle, for sure, and that’s why Florida uses him so much inside the 5 yard line. But does this make him worthy of the Heisman? I’m not so sure it is.
I’ve never been a fan of stat padding, especially for the sake of winning individual awards, but that’s what tends to happen in Heisman races, and that’s why Tim Tebow is probably going to win the Heisman this Saturday.
3 Comments
hey look mom, i’m famous.
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Im sure
Lebron James World would agree with you.