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Why Tim Tebow will likely make the Philadelphia Eagles roster

By Kevin Parvizi

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Contrary to what many seem to think, the phenomena that is Philadelphia Eagles backup “quarterback” Tim Tebow isn’t a media creation, but (this might be worse) rather a never-ending storyline that doesn’t die off for two reasons. Firstly, several fans are either too biased or ignorant to see that Tebow has never had the chops to be an NFL QB, and, secondly, because he’s good enough at other traits to remain an intriguing option for gutsy coaches.

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We’ve already seen Bill Belichick take a flier on Tebow in the past only to quickly dump him after watching him fling passes into the middle of nowhere in preseason action. The even more ballsy Chip Kelly has done the same, except he doesn’t seem to be bothered by Tebow’s inability to hit wide open receivers.

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As you can see in the play highlighted in the above piece, Tebow just doesn’t know how to read defenses- let alone see the freaking field in front of him- like an NFL quarterback. His throwing motion is still inefficient, and he’s still as inaccurate as ever, completing just 6-12 and 2-5 of his passes in his two preseason outings.

Kelly, though, remains unbothered, and even came to the not-so-convincing defense of his potential 28-year-old two-point conversion specialist.

In fact, Kelly is legitimately excited by what Tebow has done this preseason, and that’s because the Eagles quarterback has been excellent on the ground. He put up a rushing touchdown in the team’s first preseason game before adding an impressive 26-yard run in the second game against the Baltimore Ravens to set up a 34-yard field goal.

It’s these performances on the ground that have increased chances of Tebow making the roster from “slim” to “likely”, and you can consider NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks as one top beat writer who has expected the former first-round pick to make the roster after watching both preseason games.

When it comes down to it, Tebow is competing with former USC star Matt Barkley for the No. 3 QB job, and while Barkley is undoubtedly the better passer, he isn’t exactly a good QB either. The loser of this battle will get cut, no matter how much the Eagles try to trade Barkley.

On most teams, a Tebow vs. Barkley competition would easily end in the latter player as the victor, but the Eagles aren’t like most teams. Kelly has the creativity, desire, and eccentricity to keep Tebow and use him, and that willingness to actually put Tebow’s skill-set to use on two-point conversions, which are more important than ever thanks to the PAT rule change, and short-yardage situations is what makes the former Florida standout a bigger training camp story. Yes, Tebow is always popular, but with the Eagles, unlike with the Patriots, he actually has a fair shot at filling out a role.

Barkley looked pretty impressive in the Eagles first preseason game by completing 12 of 20 passes with 9.6 yards per pass attempt, and ace ESPN NFL insider Dianna Marie Russini reported that the Eagles would “showcase” him in their second preseason game. They’ve always had Barkley on the trade block, but there haven’t been any takers since he’s a well below-average QB with a weak arm and no starting upside.

Aug 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 36-10. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

With just six passes completed on 14 attempts, Barkley didn’t do anything to refute those above assertions, as he quickly fell back to earth after his strong preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Since the Eagles are a different kind of offense that could use a different kind of player like Tim Tebow on their roster, it’s hard to see them keeping three pure pocket passers on the roster in Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, and Barkley, especially since the team seems to be very confident in what Bradford and Sanchez can bring to the table.

On the other hand, Barkley has done little to put himself in a safe position on the 53-man roster, and he was absolutely atrocious against the Ravens. Tebow is in the driver’s seat to make the roster for reasons other than his own quality as a player, because Barkley is a significantly better quarterback who throws with better accuracy and anticipation than Tebow.

However, Tebow brings much more to the table due to his specific skill-set, so Barkley would have to play at a high level in the teams final two preseason games in order to win the job, or Tebow’s play would have to regress to a certain level that would make him impossible to keep for even someone like Kelly.

I don’t anticipate Tebow getting cut, though, because the Philadelphia Eagles have seemingly made every effort to try and dangle Barkley as bait, meaning that they are comfortable with Tebow as the third man behind Bradford and Sanchez. Of course, I wouldn’t exactly feel comfortable in that situation, simply because Bradford’s injury risk is far too high. I doubt the Eagles keep both Barkley and Tebow on the roster, so while Tebow isn’t guaranteed to win a spot yet, his impressive work on the ground and positive words from Kelly could help him get there.

That said, if he continues to miss wide open receivers by not even seeing them and/or, worse yet, throws interceptions (he hasn’t tossed a pick yet, which is a huge positive for him), then he’s gone. I mean, how useful can a running QB be in even short-yardage and two-point conversion situations if they throw the ball to the opposition and can’t hit up their own receivers?

Sure, he can run on two-point conversions, but wouldn’t DeMarco Murray or Ryan Mathews be a better pure rushing option? The benefit with Tebow is that he would, in theory, also be able to throw the ball, but since there are so many tight spaces in the end zone, particularly on two-point conversions, he’ll have to prove that he has some sort of passing value.

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