I remember the night the Denver Broncos traded for John Elway. Having covered the press conference, I was driving down I-25 to my home in nearby Littleton, listening to “The Larry King Show” when he took a phone call from the Mile High City.
“This is a great night for us in Colorado,” said the caller, “because we finally got a quarterback. And we haven’t had one since Craig Morton.”
That was a prophetic call and, for some reason, it resonated with me. Indeed, it turned out to be a cataclysmic and defining moment for the franchise. I won’t tell you I knew just how great a player Elway would be, but something told me he was going to change the Broncos forever.
Thursday night when I received the news about the Broncos taking Tim Tebow, I had a similar feeling. I’m not going to say Tebow will be the next John Elway, but he is going to change the Broncos forever.
All the guessing is over. The experts were wrong again.
Mel who? Todd who?
Pass the crow.
Shame, shame, you two and anyone else who doubted Tim. At least Kiper changed his mind at the last minute after bashing Tebow for a year – but even that, too late, Mel! And as for McShay, he should be McShamed. He banked his whole career on his contention that Tebow wasn’t a first-rounder. How can he stay on the air after such a gaffe?
Apparently the news from Kiper and McShay never made it to the Rocky Mountains.
And, by the way, whatever happened to Jimmy Clausen?
As for the fact that he will be used offensively in a variety of ways by coach Josh McDaniels, he will be getting prepped to take over someday for Kyle Orton. And his enormous popularity will weigh heavily in his getting on the field.
I covered the Broncos for eight years and can tell you unequivocally that their fans are the most passionate – much like college—of any team in the NFL. They have an incredibly strong fan base and, like Gator fans, they live, breath and eat Bronco football. Even “worship” it.
My pastor in Denver once said in the service there would be a picnic later that Sunday afternoon, but not to worry, that there would be a TV there to watch the game “so we can all worship.”
Tebow is going to be as natural to Denver as an early October snowfall in the great Rocky Mountains. And I’m not buying into him being just another pretty face who will be a great marketing tool and not a player. But there is no doubt he will be a force. And there is already evidence to that fact.
According to something called the Davie-Brown Index, an independent marketing research poll, Tebow’s marketability has already surpassed that of leading quarterbacks in the NFL. Measuring the “trendsetter” index from 1,000 respondents around America, Tebow finished “off the charts,” ahead of Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Tony Romo in name and face comparison among athletes and celebrities.
Mark it down now: There will be a gazillion No. 15 Tebow/Broncos jerseys sold. And, by the way, that number belonged to Brandon Marshall, who was traded to the Dolphins – shouldn’t that have been an omen?
And who would have thought it – Tebow to Denver?
I heard that Tebow called friends Wednesday night and told them the Broncos would take him. But when Denver didn’t take Tim at No. 22, it must have crushed both Tebow and Meyer.
There was some thought that New England would choose Tebow at 24, but didn’t. Who knew the Broncos were trading up to No. 25? At that point, some folks probably turned off their televisions, fearing a Brady Quinn free-fall.
And then viola! There it was. The fourth Gator quarterback all-time taken in the first round (Steve Spurrier, John Reaves and Rex Grossman were the others).
Tebow also became the third Gator picked in the 2010 first round – Joe Haden going No. 7 to the Browns and Maurkice Pouncey 18th to the Steelers—tying the school record from 1989.
Never has there been a college player more scrutinized, chastised or advertised than Tebow. In a way, it was unfair to Haden and Pouncey, who went higher than him but hardly made a blip on the radar or TV screen. When’s the last time you turned on ESPN and heard Mel Helmethair talking about Pouncey’s dominance of SEC defensive lineman or the sure-tackling, cunning blitzes of the shutdown corner Haden?
And there is more to come with Carlos Dunlap and Brandon Spikes. My sources tell me they will be among the first 10 chosen in the second round, which would give the Gators five of the first 42.
I’m going to stay tuned to ESPN all throughout the weekend, just in the event that I get to hear Kiper and McShay cry “Uncle!”
And by the way—quick, now, can you even remember the name of the player picked by that NFL team in Tebow’s hometown of Jacksonville?
Quick Jump Starts
1. The Gators have now tied Tennessee for most first-round picks than any SEC team. Haden, Pouncey and Tebow make it 42. Tennessee had 40 and with Eric Berry going No. 5 and Dan Williams at 25th fell back to even with the Gators. Look for Florida to break that tie by next year.
2. Florida had just two first-rounders in the first 30 years of the draft – Paul Duhart to the Steelers in 1945 and Chuck Hunsinger to the Bears in 1950.
3. With Riley Cooper likely going in the third or fourth round, that would makes nine of the last 10 drafts and 15 of the last 17 years at Florida that a Gator wide receiver has been chosen.
4. Over a nine-year stretch, Florida had at least one wide receiver selected in the first three rounds—including four first-round picks.
5. That now makes 302 Gator players chosen in the NFL Draft. It will be a reach, but if eight more were picked it would tie the record for most in one season by Florida.
Remembering J. Papa
Sad to hear that J. Papa Hall is losing his battle with cancer and has gone home from the hospital to spend his final days. As long-striding halfback, Hall was a member of a backfield that very nearly became the first to land all four members in the NFL.
Rick Casares had a long career as a pro, as did Buford Long. If the quarterback hadn’t chosen to sign a baseball contract before the 1952 season, all four members of that backfield could have played pro ball. Haywood Sullivan’s place was taken by Doug Dickey as QB. Haywood skipped his senior year, became the starting catcher for the Red Sox, eventually the general manager of the team and then a co-owner.
Hall was offered a chance to be a free agent in the NFL, but chose law school and eventually became a judge.
The Mailbag
“Donovan McNabb told his new bosses at Washington that he would like to see them pick up TO (Terrell Owens). This is like getting divorced from the person from hell, who made your life miserable, and then five years later re-marrying the same person. Maybe he (McNabb) is suffering from Larry King syndrome. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!! Phil, Naples.
Quote of the Week
Florida offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio, talking to the Orlando Gator Club about the NFL and asked to evaluate the Gators, said he likes all of them: “If Todd McShay can do it, I can do it.”