Belief

It's just like his commercial that's currently running. He's dressed in workout gear (with a industrial chain around his neck) saying how people told him that he couldn't be a high school quarterback. How he couldn't get a Division I scholarship, much less win a Heisman and a couple of national championships. And defiantly couldn't win in the NFL. 

The fact is that quarterback Tim Tebow of the Broncos is, like LL Cool J would say, something like a phenomenon. Since given the starting QB job five weeks ago, the Broncos have won four out of five games. What makes him strange like Cameo is the way he's helping Denver win games. He doesn't have great stats-- he only has a 45% completion rate this year for a QB rating of 78% and to be honest, doesn't throw the ball well at all. What helps is his rushing average of just under seven yards (6.8) per carry and his ten TD's.

I saw the Tebow thing up close and personal last night in their game versus the Jets. Again, no great stats (9-20 passing for 104 yds.) and didn't throw the ball well. But with the game on the line, Tebow led his team on a 12 play, 95 yard game winning drive. He finished off the drive with a 20 yard run of his own. That was part of his 58 rushing yards that he ran for on that drive alone. By the way, the Jets were the seventh best defense in the league before last night's game.

 

How is he doing it?

 

One reason is his preparation. He watches film like Kobe and does give a sincere effort in both game and practice, according to his head coach and teammates. While he hasn't thrown the ball well, he has only thrown one pick. Another reason is his leadership. It seemed like the entire team ran to him after his winning run last night. Teammate Von Miller seemed to sum it up best:" I'm ridin him to the end."

 

A component that I can not personally ignore is his relationship with God. He came into the league wearing his religion on his sleeve, telling everyone about his love for his God. This is not lessing anybody elses relationship with their Creator (for those who believe), but it is a big deal if you come out with feelings like he has in the sports world. Former Eagle Hugh Douglas said on First Take that if the Broncos won, he would go to church on Sunday. Guess where's he going this weekend? This is a guy who talked about the hospital he is building in the Philippines more so than how he played tonight. My take is that this is another example of God manifesting His greatness and showing (again) that with Him anything is possible.

 

There are people that still don't believe he can do it on a long term basis. Like I texed my boyz last night, Tebow is a flat out baller. While for some, if he doesn't reach the Super Bowl will validate their doubts about him, he is already a winner in my book.

Who is it really about?

In the history of this blog, I generally touch on issues that are of a kinder, gentler more sports related nature. I wasn't going to talk about the controversy going on at Penn State, but I can't help but get some things off my chest, including the question of the day that I texed to some of my boyz: If SMU got the death penalty for what they did, what should Penn State get?

First, the NCAA should be involved in this situation. While the organization's core purpose includes governing competition, it also states that it's core values include a commitment to integrity and helps to set standards and rules regarding both personnel and administrative standards. As the situation continues to evolve, the NCAA will have to address the decisions that were made regarding which people Penn State allowed on their campus.

My next issue is in regards to passing the buck, which is not to be confused with clockin dollars. Legally, protocol was followed: the alleged crime was seen, the person who saw it reported it to the head coach, who in turn told his bosses for further action blah, blah blah. My problem is that it took more than 15 years for someone to be arrested. Using my new phrase, Really? There's that administrative thing again. At the least, Joe Pa should have pulled his boy up and just said, "What's up?"

I'm going to make this real simple. And I don't know all of the facts yet. Penn State should wack itself and start over. I know that the school made 50 million dollars from it's athletic programs last year, but that shouldn't matter. We're talkin about lives that have been impacted forever. If you must put it on a business level, it's good for business since it is in children/young adult line of work. Shows initiative. It should take a page from the University of San Francisco, who scrapped their own b-ball program for three years in 1982 when one of it's players was charged with sexual assault.

Penn State should have taken a page from the group Heatwave, who sang the song "All You Do Is Dial".

Prediction Friday

There are two compelling games for me that I have to give my barbershop opinion on.

On the college level, it's basically LSU (#1 in the polls) vs. the #2 Crimson Tide (one of my favorite team nicknames) of Alabama this weekend. For me, this is the national championship game, with apologies to Stanford and Oklahoma State. It has been more than thirty years since a #1 has played a #2 during the regular season. I understand that this game will be played in Alabama; I also understand that Bama has a solid quarterback in AJ McCarron and the prime time running back in Trent Richardson. I even get that the Tide has rolled to winning 25 of their last 26 home games.

Having said all that, I like the Tigers. One reason is that LSU is a great road team. They have actually won five of their last seven visits to Tuscaloosa. While Alabama's players will run through a wall for coach Nick Saban, Les Miles players will run thru a brick wall for him. While Alabama has at least seven projected pros on their team, LSU has their own crew of big-time players that will come with the emotion needed for the win. Also, look for the patented Les Miles trick play that could be the difference.

On the pro level, the premier matchup is the Ravens/Steelers game. Let's get the obvious out of the way first: I feel that the Ravens will win the game. I mean, lets not get carried away--I have to keep my Raven bandwagon ticked updated. But I hope that the Baltimore fans understand that this will not be the same Steeler team that they manhandled on opening day.

The Steelers have won their last four games on their way to the top of the division standings. The twist is that they have done it with their offence, led by Big Ben. They haven't run the rock particularly well, but they have thrown it around pretty good, led by my personal fantasy football stud Mike Wallace.

While I never worry about the Raven D, the key will be, you guessed it, Joe Flacco. The former Blue Hen will have to be more than a caretaker of the offence this week. He will have to make some plays this week. In watching the Ravens this year, their formula for success has been to allow their offensive star players to be stars. Run Ray Rice 25-30 times. Throw more to Anquan Bolden. Let your stars do what they do like Ray Charles.

Who do you like this weekend?