Will Tim Tebow Play Quarterback or H-Back for New England Patriots?
By Josh Hill
The New England Patriots have given Tim Tebow a chance to prove himself as a football player in the NFL by signing him to a contract and inviting him to minicamp this week. But the question on everyone’s mind is how will the Patriots use Tebow and where will they allow him to prove himself?
It’s not yet officially known where Tebow will be used or if he’ll even make the final roster, but signing him is such a Bill Belichick thing to do. However, before you start thinking Tebow is going to usurp Tom Brady as the next great Patriots quarterback, you have to remember names like Chad Johnson and Albert Haynesworth who were either signed or acquired under similar circumstances when it came to questions about their NFL futures.
Still, the fact that the Patriots are giving Tebow a chance is something for Tebow’s cult to get excited about, even if the Patriots never pass up a player like Tebow whenever available. Again, please refer to the short and uneventful Patriots careers had by Ochocinco and Hayensworth.
But Tebow is still young, and he possesses both leadership skills and talent. Perhaps the best thing for his career is to come into New England and have the surly Belichick scare, shake and beat all the fluffiness out of Tebow and the way he carries himself. Right now people are more transfixed on Tebow the guy than they are on Tebow the player and that might be something Belichick can change.
The only question is how will that change. Tebow has played quarterback but was beaten pretty soundly in his last true start when the Patriots knocked the Denver Broncos out of the playoffs in 2011. But all his career there has been the notion that the former New York Jets punt protector is better suited to be a H-back than he is a quarterback.
This would jive with the way Belichick likes to change things up in his running game as he love to load his roster with able bodied backs to change the pace constantly and stay fresh. It’s highly unlikely that Belichick sits Tebow on the bench behind Brady should he make the final roster, but then again we didn’t expect that out of the Jets last year.
Tebow’s best chance to change his NFL fortunes is to come in as a H-back, especially with questions surrounding Rob Gronkowski’s health heading towards week one. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the guy who drafted Tebow while in Denver so he likely has had plans for some time regarding how to use Tebow.
It could all come down to McDaniels wanting to give Tebow something he’s never had — a good teacher. Tebow didn’t learn much from Kyle Orton in Denver and learned even less from Mark Sanchez. Maybe all he needs is some good mentoring from another guy no one believed in: Tom Brady.
He’s been given a new chance to prove himself in the NFL, and Tim Tebow won’t be squandering this chance begging for the quarterback spot. Where he’ll be played is something to watch but a future as a Patriots H-backisn’t totally out of the question and may be his best chance at reviving his career.