Brady Quinn dismisses Tebowmania in GQ interview
(CBS) - Not everyone is a fan of Tim Tebow. He's a polarizing figure, with football fans and even some players questioning whether the unconventional quarterback really has what it takes to make it in the NFL. One place you wouldn't expect to find criticism is the Denver Broncos bench. But in an article about Tim Tebow's year in GQ Magazine, Broncos teammate and fellow quarterback Brady Quinn dismissed Tebow's performance. Quinn basically sums up his interpretation of Tebow and the Broncos' season with, "We've had a lot of, I guess, luck."
The GQ article quotes players like Kurt Warner and Baltimore Ravens LB Terrell Suggs (who calls Tebow "terrible") but it's the quotes from teammate Quinn that stand out. Tebow's late-game theatrics have already become legend, but Quinn provides a much simpler explanation:
The entire game, the defensive line is chasing the quarterback around, and that wears down the pass rush. Meanwhile, the defensive backs are chasing receivers, but you only throw eight passes, so they start to feel lazy. It only takes that one play, that one big pass, for a touchdown.Broncos linebacker Von Miller, who had a breakout year on the defensive side of the ball, shares a sentiment Tebow himself repeatedly told reporters in giving credit to the team as a whole. "I mean, you could just see our team's resiliency in action. Nobody was giving up."
But Quinn's analysis of Denver's season is even simpler. "We've had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply."
Quinn has reasons for being less-than-enthusiastic about Tebow's performance. The former Notre Dame star was the second-string QB in Denver when Kyle Orten was sidelined with an injury. In Quinn's words:
Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle [Orton] got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out. So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just 'cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn't have any billboards. That would have been nice.Quinn also offers criticism of another aspect of Tebow's on-field performance: his very public praying.
"If you look at it as a whole," Quinn tells GQ, "there's a lot of things that just don't seem very humble to me. When I get that opportunity, I'll continue to lead not necessarily by trying to get in front of the camera and praying but by praying with my teammates, you know?"
