Unless you are fans of the Florida State Seminoles or Nick Saban's current University of Alabama football dynasty, the 2013 version of the NFL Draft was about as exciting as Saturday night reruns of The Lawrence Welk Show.
Of course for those respective schools, it was another milestone event as FSU had a school-record 12 players selected while the Crimson Tide had 9 players picked, the most since 1945 when Bama saw 10 standouts have their name called.
It was also another big show of domination by the SECas it broke the record by a single conference as it had 63 players drafted. LSU also had 9 players selected.Just another reason for fans of the Big 10 and Big 12 to hate the most powerful football conference in the nation.
Otherwise it was not the NFL's most spectacular week, as the draft was heavy on offensive and defensive linemen, and not many sexy Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III-type picks this year. The only real drama involved whether head cases and malcontents such as Manti Te'o and Tyrann Mathieu would even be selected at all.
They were taken.....but I guess we'll just have to wait and see just how long and successful their careers actually are. Another less-noted mini-drama involved who would actually outtalk the other person on ESPN between Jon Gruden and draft expert/annoying figure Mel Kiper Jr. I would call it a draw although I really enjoy listening to Gruden.
While the 2013 draft was mainly a dud, there was breaking news regarding one of the league's most divisive and controversial figures Monday, as the New York Jets finally showed a bit of compassion and released Tim Tebow.
Of course, even this really cannot be called huge drama, as it was pretty much expected, with the Jets having accumulated six signal-callers on its roster before the former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida was finally sent packing.
The only real question was when it was going to happen, and now the Jets face the reality of heading into camp still with nothing more than serviceable quarterbacks on its roster.
Are they really going to bank their future on the very mediocre Mark Sanchez, even though they have invested a lot of dough in the former USC Trojan. Will they instead turn to veteran David Garrard or is former Bama quarterback Greg McElroy still an option at all? Or will the Jets actually give a real shot of leading the offense to newly-drafted Geno Smith from West Virginia, the subject of much scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the draft.
I also wonder what the future holds for Tebow, and whether his NFL road has finally come to a sudden end.
It was obvious early last season that the Jets acquisition of Tebow was nothing but a publicity stunt by the inept Jets front-office cronies, and that was proven time and time again during another woeful campaign by Rex Ryan's squad. Ryan, by the way, is also another sports figure that I have little to no respect for, and as long as he is leading this club, drama and heartaches are sure to follow. Heartaches, I tell you!
All of us who have followed Tebow's career, from high school to the NFL, know that the fiercely competitive athlete was awesome as long as he was in systems that played to his main strengths, which are running and throwing on the run. These tools made him one of the most legendary high school and college quarterbacks ever.
Other than a little magic with the Denver Broncos during the 2011 season, however, the NFL has been a different world for Tebow, as his inability to consistently function and produce in a standard NFL dropback passing system has resulted in mostly horrid numbers from the devout and outspoken Christian.
Of course saying all this, Ryan still had plenty of chances to at least give Tebow a chance to lead the Jets, considering the Jets were going nowhere fast, Sanchez was continuing to inspire zero confidence with his horrible play and McElroy got pummelled during his one start for the green and white.
When it came to Tebow, however, lame excuses were all that we got from the coach, leading to reported tensions between Tebow and Ryan and probably leading to some justified resentment that Tebow may feel toward the franchise now.
I personally wonder now if Tebow will ever receive another NFL shot following his release, and many are also speculating about whether he will have to settle for perhaps playing in the Canadian Football Leagueshould he insist on holding onto his coveted quarterback role.
From the very time that he entered the NFL, and his flaws began to be exposed more and more, I began to feel that maybe he might have a long and successful career in the pros if he might consider moving to a fullback or tight end role or maybe some type of hybrid role that might involve both of those positions. He is such a gifted and physical runner, with a nose for the end zone, and I have no doubt that if he has any ability at all to catch the ball, he could present major problems for myriad opposing defenses.
Apparently Tebow has already shown some resistance to a change in position, according to some NFL reports, and if this is true, I feel it is regrettable.
Although I have no doubt that Tebow is every bit the Christian person he is portrayed as, and that he himself has proven himself to be with his extraordinary mission work among other things, all great athletes still have an air of confidence/ego, and I think that aids greatly in their ability to be successful.
In this case, however, I hope Tebow will not be undermined by his level of confidence if he stays grimly focused on playing one position.
I would hate to see him end up playing in Canada, although football legends such as Doug Flutie and Warren Moon had incredible careers in the Great White North. Still, Tebow is regarded as such a hero by many football fans in this nation.
Of course there will always be a certain segment of people in our country that will also always hate him, due to the fact that he played for Florida, because of his sometimes-cocky nature on the football field or simply due to the fact that he is a very active and outspoken Christian. Unfortunately his religious convictions turn off a lot of people in our culture.
Of course Tebow is not without other options if he is never given another shot to be an NFL quarterback, or if he opts not to take his talents to locales such as Canada.
I have no doubt that he could jump right into missionary work, and change lives for the next 50 years or longer. He has a great heart and talent for that, and his parents have served as excellent example and role models for him if he elects to pursue such a role.
With his handsome looks and excellent speaking skills, he could probably also jump right into a broadcasting role and be a successful college or pro football analystfor many years.
Despite some disappointments along the way, Tebow has also shown all of us that magic tends to follow him at times, and I seriously doubt that one totally forgettable season in New York will hold him down for long.
I believe Tebow will land on his feet in a big way somewhere down the line, and I, for one, am pulling for that to materialize.
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