Tebow Monday Press Conference Notes

Notes from the usual Monday press conference with Tim Tebow:

*"The best physically I've ever felt in a season this late." (Sentinel)

It goes without saying that this is, by far, the most interesting and important thing that Tebow said today.

*Keeping up the winning streak? "Pretty hard." (Sentinel)

*Playing Spurrier in his final regular-season college road game? "Cool." (Sentinel)

*No more pain-killing injections? "Wonderful" (Sentinel)

More notes as they happen. (Or, if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow osgators, the Orlando Sentinel's essential Gators feed. Great live-tweeting.)

Tim Tebow's Biggest Problem: Sacks?

Here is a fun over-under guessing game: Will Tim Tebow get sacked more times in 2009 than he did in 2007 and 2008 combined?

Here's the tally -- via Volin: 21 sacks in 2009, 28 sacks total in '07 and '08.

And there are five games to go in '09, including the tough South Carolina D, the motivated FSU D, the ferocious Alabama D and, if all goes well, the Muschamp Gang of Destruction from Texas in the national-title game.

Tebow protection was the glaring issue against Vanderbilt. Heck, even Percy Harvin pointed it out. It felt like things were on the right track against Georgia; it felt like things took a step back against Vandy.

(Jeremy Fowler has some extra details about Florida's susceptibility to blitzing, which Doc Saturday foreshadowed in the offseason.)

It wouldn't be a new Florida game week without a new issue to channel frustrations into.

That said: I'm working on something that sides with the Meyer "and-oh" school of half-full analysis.

People keep wanting this team to be dominant -- to live up to the preseason hype that this could be one of the greatest teams of all time, behind one of the greatest offenses of all time, because it was being led by one of the greatest players of all time.

Here's how good this team is: The offense is struggling and they're STILL No. 1. The defense is that good. The special teams are that good. The offense is that good...enough.

This is not Patriots 2007 -- remember how that season ended for them. This is Ravens 2000.

Tebow Quote of the Day: On Play-Calling

"I’d much rather watch Jeff run than go fight for 1 more yard. I’ve done that a lot of times."

-- Tim Tebow, on the play-calling against Vanderbilt, whose high point was the thrilling 25-yard option pitch to Demps. (Hmm: Who's been asking for that for the last month?)

It is no admission of weakness on the part of Tebow, Addazio, Meyer or anyone else to acknowledge that Demps should get Harvinesque touches in the red zone, where Demps has been virtually unstoppable when running to the outside.

Yes, for most of the game, this felt like a "two-steps-back" performance from the offense -- particularly in protecting Tebow. But it is reasonable to argue that this defense is so good -- and I'm talking about "one of the best defenses of all time" good -- that it plus the special teams can carry a good-enough offense to the national title.

A Flash of Fun From Tebow Versus Vandy

A win's a win. Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer have been saying that since... well, it feels like since Week 1.

I'm not sure "style points" matter anymore -- if they ever did (or if they had, if they would have applied last night). I'm not quite sure I have ever witnessed a game so thoroughly dominated by one team that didn't also feel so dominating.

Maybe it was all those sacks, I don't know. That was certainly the most glaring problem.

But that's not the image of the game that I'm going to remember. The frozen moment for me was on Tebow's last play of the game, that brilliant 64-yard pass play to Aaron Hernandez.

Immediately afterward, Tebow turned to the sideline grinning -- amusingly pleading for ONE more play, knowing full well he wasn't going to get it. This was football as fun.

It was the first look of playfulness I had seen on Tebow's face all game. It has been a rare sight for the past month, maybe even the past season.

It was a great reminder: "A win's a win" is not just a perfectly acceptable philosophy -- it is the ultimate philosophy. Everything else is secondary.

How nice was it to see Tebow in a typically earnest moment of simply loving to play the game. It may be my favorite Tebow moment of the season so far.

More later.

Tebow's Eye-Black: Colossians 3:23

Against Vanderbilt, Tim Tebow is wearing "Col 3:23" on his eye-black. That would be Colossians 3:23, which reads, according to the New King James version:

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

I like it: Basically, it says to put yourself into your work -- whatever that work might be -- with a sincerity worthy of the moment, respecting the value of the work for its own sake.

Your motivation might be to a higher power, rather than to your fellow people -- or maybe you consider that higher power to be the collective of humanity.

It really doesn't matter -- your personal perspective matters, obviously, but that perspective might differ between people.

What matters is the earnestness and wholeheartedness with which you put your effort into anything.

Tebow Links for a Saturday Morning

These night games make the days go by endlessly, don't they? Here are a couple of Tebow-related links I like from the past 24 hours to keep you occupied until kickoff:

*Look for more I-formation from Florida today (Miami Herald)

*How Tim Tebow can win the Heisman (HeismanPundit)

*"Ultimate" Florida-Vandy preview (PB Post: Ben Volin)

*No complacency for Gators (TBO)

*Weekend Preview (Saurian Sagacity)

*Florida's recruiting pipeline at QB (G'ville Sun: Ed Aschoff)

*How Pam Tebow reacted when Tim suffered his concussion (Florida Baptist Witness)

Tebow Quote of the Day: Summing Up '09?

"Without the bad times, the good times wouldn't be as special."

-- Tim Tebow, in what could be the most trenchant summary of the Gators' season up til now (including today, when Urban Meyer was fined $30,000 for criticizing SEC officiating).

Here's the complete quote:

"All those things, yes, they are hard. Or, yes, why did you have to go through them? That's frustrating. Why isn't it easy? But without that, without the bad times the good times wouldn't be as special. If everything came easy then you wouldn't have to depend on one another. But when times are tough you have to lean on your brother more and that makes you closer as a team."

(h/t: GatorBenPBP aka Ben Volin.)

Tebow Farewell Tour: Vanderbilt

Every week marks one more farewell for Tim Tebow. Against an opponent. In a rival SEC town. He is a one-man Farewell Tour. Games to go: 6

Tomorrow, Tebow will play Vanderbilt one last time -- and his 3rd-to-last game at the Swamp. Let's look back at Tebow's history vs. Vandy:

2006: It is hard to imagine, but as a freshman, Tebow hardly played against Vandy in a closer-than-expected game in Nashville (in '06, weren't they all closer-than-expected?) Tebow ran 6 times for 38 yards (with 0 TDs) and threw the ball 3 times, with 1 completion. He was basically a non-factor.

2007: Well into his Heisman season, Tebow put up Heisman-ish numbers in a 49-22 rout at The Swamp, accounting for 5 TDs (3 pass, 2 rush), thanks to an efficient 22/27 for 281 yards passing and 6 rushes for 35 yards. Tebow also set an SEC single-season record for rushing TDs by a QB. (Looking back now that the Herschel record is broken, how quaint.)

2008: Another 5-TD day for Tebow -- he led an overwhelming offensive attack that put up 35 points in the 1st half (3 TDs passing for Tebow, 2 TDs rushing), plus another TD shortly after the start of the 3rd quarter to put Florida up 42-0. Tebow sat after that, but not before passing for 171 yards (12-for-17) and rushing for 8 yards per carry (11 rushes, 88 yards).

There is nothing to suggest -- particularly given his effectiveness last week against Georgia -- that Tebow won't deliver another dominant performance against Vanderbilt tomorrow. Will he match the 5 TDs from each of the past two seasons? Won't say he can't.

A Tim Tebow Halloween

When you receive no less than 50 emails, all with the same picture, you have to publish it. It has made its way around the Web as something along the lines of "Best Halloween Costume of 2009." It's crude -- to be sure -- but as media criticism... well, it's probably fair.



(I'm underwhelmed that the guy couldn't even spring for a No. 15 jersey. The gimmick is probably below the waist.)

Heisman Watch: Tebow Back In The Mix

How topsy-turvy is this year's Heisman race? One week, Tim Tebow is a front-runner. The next, he is all but tossed out. And the next? Back in the mix at the top.

In the Scripps straw poll, Tebow regained the lead from Alabama's Mark Ingram -- on the strength of Tebow's nationally televised performance against Georgia.

In the HeismanPundit straw poll, Ingram still leads, but Tebow vaulted back up to 2nd, including 3 1st-place votes.

With 4 nationally televised games remaining -- Vanderbilt on ESPN, South Carolina on CBS, Florida State on CBS (likely) and the SEC title game on CBS -- Tebow will have plenty of spotlight to make his case.

If Florida keeps winning and Tebow plays like he did against Georgia, he will win the Heisman.

That said: I still think that Colt McCoy will benefit from three factors:

(1) Voters' interests in simultaneously "rewarding" McCoy for his career (including not being able to give him a share last season);

(2) it doesn't feel like they want to give Tebow another Heisman (the so-called "Tebow fatigue"); and

(3) a regional split between Ingram and Tebow, but solidarity for McCoy in the Midwest, Southwest and West (by the same voters who cynically left Tebow off their ballots a year ago).

Tim Tebow Really Is This Good of a Person

You are 10 years old.
You live in Jacksonville.
You are a Florida fan.
You go to see the Gators get off the bus for practice.
You meet a friendly person in the security detail.
You are brought into the walk-through.
You get to meet Tim Tebow.
You get to catch passes from Tim Tebow.
You get to hang out with Tim Tebow for 10 minutes.
Your mom puts it on Facebook (naturally).
You are profiled in the Florida T-U.
You have the experience of your young lifetime.

Of Tebow's most admirable qualities, the generosity he shows with his time for fans is probably my favorite. During arguably the most pressure-packed week of his career, Tebow still has time for the young fans.

Tebow constantly talks about his priorities being, in this order: Faith, Family, Football. I think that "Fans" probably belongs in there, and it wouldn't surprise me to hear Tebow put that in between Family and Football (where he also put "School," although not for long).

(h/t: Only Gators)

Does Tim Tebow Care About Late Hits?

As the Nick Williams late-hit on Tim Tebow from Saturday eclipses Brandon Spikes' eye-gouge, apparently Tebow does NOT care about late hits:

That's something that you don't need to talk about. People, they want to do whatever they can to get an edge and that's happened a lot in college football and it happens more than people think. It's just something you deal with, and something I've dealt with for four years. It's not something that I feel like I need to talk about or converse about because it's not … I love playing college football.

I've never retaliated. Sometimes I'll make a joke or something or put my hand up (after a dirty hit) and ask them to help me up. And, you know, they're thinking, 'Why would he ask me to help him up?' Then they'll just walk away. Most of time, they never help me up. I actually think it irritates them a lot, too. But I just laugh and walk away.

I have my teammates help me up and get ready to go play another play. I'll never let that get under my skin. You've got to do a lot more than that to hurt me or dim my spirits. If anything, it will just fuel me a little bit more because I know if you have to do something like that, you're already really, really, really worried.

I love that he puts his hand up to ask for his opponents to help him up after plays where he thinks that they have done something... unsporting.

In the end, the "routine" dirty plays are a little like holding -- if you wanted to call something, you could do it on almost every play (but wouldn't you want refs focused on other penalties?) It's part of the game. You hope players will compete with some level of sportsmanship, but you understand that they sometimes will not.

The best policy is Tebow's: Understand that it happens. Don't let it get under your skin. Don't retaliate. Kill 'em with kindness.

Tim Tebow Under Center: More To Come?

Let's step away from the Brandon Spikes suspension -- which I suspect is a squall that petered out sometime this morning, after all the newspaper folks filed -- and get back to Xs and Os:

Perhaps I am particularly wonky about Tim Tebow, but was anyone else thrilled by the handful of instances Tebow lined up under center against Georgia?

First, it was a nice moment to rub it in the faces of the NFL-haters who think he has absolutely no ability to go under center -- admittedly, it's a VERY small sample size. But he's showcasing!

Second, the I-formation is actually pretty effective. Now, we haven't seen Tebow actually throw out of the formation, but the running plays were positive and powerful.

It's not ideal in Urban Meyer's spread, but it does jibe with a strong O-line, a strong corps of running backs and a QB in Tebow who seems to be enthusiastic enough about it to give it a go.

(He even accidentally stepped under center when he was supposed to be in the shotgun -- Freudian error, revealing his inner "under-center" QB that he foresees in the pros?)

Look: It's a couple of plays per game, max. But they seem to be effective -- and they give the slightest sneak-preview of Tebow's ability to go under center in the NFL.

We'll see how often -- if at all -- Tebow goes under center against Vandy next Saturday night. Keep a look out for it.

Tebow on Possibility of Florida Let-Down

"We’re 8-0. We’re excited about that and having the opportunity to go 9-0. We’re getting better, and I think that will keep us motivated. If you can’t be motivated and focused when you’re 8-0 and everything you want is right there in front of you and is a possibility, I would be shocked. If anyone on the team is not focused on our next four games, I would be very disappointed."

-- Tim Tebow from yesterday's weekly press conference, on Florida's motivation level right now.

Tebow Quote of the Day: Re Spikes

"I don't think that we did anything in that game that they didn't do."

-- Tim Tebow, about Brandon Spikes' eye-gouging in the Georgia game, for which Spikes was suspended the first half of the Vanderbilt game.

There is no response -- certainly at the teammate level -- than to circle the wagons. And I'm sure Georgia played dirty. But this does feel like an immature response from Tebow.

To frame it in spiritual values, Tebow's sentiment has a very "eye-for-an-eye" feel to it. (Leviticus 24: 19-21, for those scoring at home.)

That said, an essential tension in religious ethics has always been "eye-for-eye" vs. "turn-other-cheek." (Matthew 5:38-42, from The Sermon on the Mount)

But it is not unreasonable that, in this case, Football Tebow would win out over Faith Tebow.

UPDATE: Deadspin's Tommy Craggs points out a Tebow quote that would support a "turn-other-cheek" philosophy from Tebow for Spikes' actions. Now we have two competing ideas, both represented in Tebow quotes. Gives you a sense of the level of conflict on this one.

Tebow Tweet of the Day: Dickie V

Submitted without additional comment:

Do not rate Tebow by stats-like Jeter he just wins! 17 in a row Baby! That =Heisman!

-- Dick Vitale (aka @dickiev) via Twitter.

Tim Tebow and the Anti-Promise of 2009

I absolutely love this "did-they-or-didn't-they" storyline about the alleged shouting match between Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes in the Florida locker room after the Mississippi State game.

Urban Meyer denies there was anything more than the proverbial clearing of the air and people taking responsibility, but -- as Ben Volin put it -- something happened.

And that something was good. Very good.

I call it "The Anti-Promise," and it completely redeems the problem I had with Tebow for not talking with the media after the Mississippi State game was over.

Why? Because this wasn't about making a speech to the media or Gator Nation. This was about getting things right within the team dynamic, when things had obviously been very wrong.

And if Spikes -- leader of a defense that had been carrying the Gators through the SEC season -- wanted to call out Tebow? All the better.

And if Tebow -- in his frustration -- wanted to shout back at Spikes... shout back at the entire team? All the better.

It was obvious from the Georgia results that whatever happened in that locker room, it had a galvanizing effect on the entire team, particularly Tebow and Florida's offense.

This rallying cry won't be etched into stone outside The Swamp -- heck, Meyer basically disavowed that it even existed, beyond everyone "taking responsibility" for their performance.

But it will prove to be just as pivotal of a moment as Tebow's "Promise" after the loss to Ole Miss a year ago.

Tebow and the team are locked in. And, when things get iffy, they can draw on that open -- if hostile -- exchange of commitment in Starkville to refocus their efforts and plunge forward.

Tebow didn't need to say anything to the media after the game -- he said everything he needed to in the locker room... and his teammates did the same thing. And you saw the result in Jax.

Tebow Quote of the Day: Understatement of the Year?

Two contenders for Understatement of the Year from Tim Tebow:

"It does feel good to execute a little bit better."

versus...

"I think this game started us in a little bit of a new direction."

Hard to pick between the two. The former is about the past; the latter is about the future.

Either way, I agree: I think the red-zone execution problems are behind them, and the championship mentality -- the necessary swagger -- is back.

Tim Tebow Back On Track

I would like to say that I predicted Tim Tebow's break-out (or perhaps break-through) performance yesterday, but it is more intellectually honest to say he merely "progressed to the mean" -- the previous weeks' underperformance was bound to get balanced out. And, wow, did it.

It was as close to what you would call a "classic" Tebow performance as you can get:

*4 TDs, with 2 passing and 2 rushing.
*Efficient 15/21 passing (with a couple WR drops)
*Success in the red zone and no turnovers.
*At least one bit of history-making (TWO, in fact)
*Rivalry-game win, extending an unbeaten season.
*Enough to get back to the top of the Heisman conversation.

Can't ask for much more, can you?

More coming throughout the day and tomorrow, including quotes, analysis and more.

But I tweeted this immediately after the first TD drive (thanks for the re-tweet, Orlando Sentinel), and it rings even more true this morning:

"My friends: Tim Tebow and the Florida offense are back."

Tebow's Eye-Black: Phil 4:6-7

Tim Tebow is wearing "Phil 4:6-7" on his eye-black against Georgia: Phillipians 4:6-7

Here's your quote:

"Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts, offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Jesus Christ, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel."

"Don't worry about anything." Seems pretty appropriate after this week of questioning Tebow's effectiveness in the red-zone and with the offense. Hmm: Message for the fans?

(And based on the Gators' first two drives -- ending in two TD passes from Tebow to Riley Cooper -- "don't worry about anything" seems pretty prescient.)

Tebow Gameday: Cocktail Party Finale

This will be Tim Tebow's fourth and final Cocktail Party against Georgia. Freshman year was a win. Sophomore year was the infamous end-zone stomping. Junior year was Revenge.

And senior year?

First, it will be about winning the game. Second -- and not unrelated -- it will be about getting the offense back on track in the red zone. And that might just mean less Tebow, not more.

From today's Gainesville Sun game preview:

One change we might see is less Tebow running in the red zone. He's has been UF's No. 1 weapon inside the 10-yard line throughout his career, but defenses are loading up the line of scrimmage and waiting for him now. He was stuffed on the goal line several times in last Saturday's game.

Addazio said it may be time for the tailbacks (and others) to share the load. It worked against Mississippi State in the fourth quarter. Tebow lined up under center and handed off to Chris Rainey, who ran untouched into the end zone from 8 yards out.

"We have some really good football players, and we want to utilize them," Addazio said. "We want our tailbacks to carry the ball down there more. We trust those guys.

The proof will be in the play-calling, particularly on that first series inside Georgia's 10:

*Tebow as ball-carrier... or Demps-Rainey-Moody?

*Tebow in shotgun... or under center?

*Touchdown... or field goal?

*Heisman afterthought... or Heisman re-contender?

Again, I'm predicting a huge breakthrough game for Florida and Tim Tebow. TDs in the red zone. Plenty of effective passing. Scoring galore (at least, by Florida -- I expect the Gators' D to be as lights-out as it has been all season). And Tebow re-emerging as a Heisman contender.

Haven't felt this confident since before the Kentucky game -- wow, it's been a long month.

Tebow NFL Watch: Dungy Supports

"As a coach, I always like winners. Tim Tebow doesn't have the classic throwing motion, he doesn't have the accuracy, maybe, right now that some people are looking for, but I think when he gets into a pro system that really stresses throwing the ball accurately, the big thing is he makes the people around him better. And he's won. ... I think he's going to be a great player in the NFL."

-- Tony Dungy, on Tim Tebow's NFL prospects. I will completely unpack this next week, but I like the analysis from my Sporting News colleague Mike Tunison.

Let's repeat the general point -- the one that Urban Meyer makes all the time: System, system, system. It's the same with Vince Young. It's the same with Alex Smith (see last week).

And it's why, to have a successful NFL career, Tebow has to be with an innovator like Bill Belichick, who has no interest in using Tim Tebow as a full-time starting QB -- but every intention on creatively unleashing him on the league.

Halloween: Anyone's Kids Going as Tebow?

Anyone's kids dressing in a Tim Tebow costume? (Um, any adults going as Tim Tebow?) Send pics, and I'll post the best ones on Sunday.

Tebow vs. Cannon, Via Wright Thompson

I extend a huge welcome to a very special guest contributor: ESPN.com senior writer Wright Thompson -- for my money, the best sportswriter in America today. Thompson has just published a (typically) phenomenal piece at ESPN.com about Billy Cannon, the LSU All-American celebrating the 50th anniversary of his most famous play... this weekend. Must-must-read! Thompson graciously offered an exclusive Cannon-Tebow analysis for TimTeblog.com. It is my thrill to have him here. Enjoy:

****

It’s hard to imagine today’s players being old. I look at Tim Tebow and don’t much think about how he’ll handle the rest of his life, what demons he’ll face, where his journey will take him. We see these guys now, burning like a star, then they’re gone. Some show up on Sundays. Some have their names on car dealerships and insurance companies in college towns. But many just disappear. I don’t mean they’re forgotten. The legend never burns out. I mean the men themselves. They live in their own shadow. There is no way they could possibly better, or even live up to, that legend. Yet we are surprised when they don’t. Walking out of the Ole Miss game last weekend, I found myself next to a former star Rebel. Once, I’d owned a t-shirt with him on it. Now he was drunk and wobbly and I found myself wishing I’d never seen him again. But that’s not fair. There is life after they walk off the field for the final time. That’s why, while reporting the ESPN.com story of Billy Cannon, I found myself thinking of Tim Tebow.

It first hit me last year at the College Football Hall of Fame ceremony in New York. I stood in a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria and watched two young women ogle a picture of him as a young man. They stared at him and one of them said, “What a stud.”

I realized.

Cannon was the Tim Tebow of the 1950s.

Intense locker room speeches; Cannon wasn’t scared to grab a teammate by the jersey. Ridiculous plays. Rock star looks. Besieged in public. Unavailable therefore desired by women (Tebow because of his V Card; Cannon because he was married.) A commenter on the Cannon story just posted this: In his younger days he kind of looks like Tim Tebow.

There’s your thought as the 50th anniversary of Cannon’s Halloween Punt Return approaches. The way your grandparents feel about Cannon, one day you’ll feel about Tebow. I wonder where he’ll go between today and 2059. Maybe he’ll grow old gracefully. Maybe he’ll fall and never come back. Maybe he’ll fall and one day, as an old man, find peace and redemption.

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at [wrightespn]-[at]-[gmail]-[dot]-[com].

Tebow Links for a Friday Afternoon

Some great must-reads about all things Tim Tebow -- as if my deconstruction of Lil Wayne's Tebow name-check earlier today wasn't enough...

*Chris Brown from Smart Football and a fellow regular contributor to Yahoo's Dr. Saturday has an incredible post breaking down Florida's issues with pass protection. You'll feel smarter reading it.

*Clay Travis of Fanhouse on Tebow vs. Herschel Walker.

*Ben Volin from the Palm Beach Post polls some Heisman voters and gets some feedback on Tebow. Money quote: "If he puts up mediocre stats, but no one else emerges, I’ll vote Tebow."

*Wright Thompson from ESPN.com with an incredible story -- perhaps the definitive story -- on Billy Cannon, who was, arguably, the Tim Tebow of his time.

(Psst: I'm trying to get Thompson to file something special for TimTeblog.com about the comparison between Cannon and Tebow. If so, I will post as soon as I get something.)

All four are great ways to kill your Friday afternoon, getting ready for tomorrow afternoon.