Some Thoughts on Tim Tebow and the LSU Game

For the life of me, I can't understand the "Tim Tebow doesn't look as good this year" talk.

Last year, Tebow finished the year 234-350 passing for 3286 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. For you mathematicians, that averages out to 18-27 passing, 252.8 passing yards, 2.46 touchdowns, and .46 interceptions per game. So far this year, Tebow is averaging about 15.8 completions and 25.8 attempts per game. His completion rate has gone down from last year (it's 62% this year compared to 67% last year), as has his yards per attempt (9.39 last year as compared to 8.01 this year), but he's still first in the SEC in pass efficiency (and 24th in the country), 5th in pass yards, and has the least number of interceptions thrown of any SEC starting quarterback. My point in this? To say that Tebow even in a "down" year has still been pretty damn good. In between questionable playcalling by Dan Mullen and a less effective pass blocking unit, Tebow's still done well as the offense has sputtered. He showed in the Ole Miss game that he can throw the ball as well as any QB in the country when given the opportunity, and hasn't played that badly so far this year despite being reigned in. Tebow needs to be let loose, in fact; the offense functions best when Tebow's given the chance to throw the ball and hit his receivers. Going into this game against LSU, the coaches should really consider letting Tebow be Tebow.

Speaking of the LSU game, I have to say that I'm truly excited about this game. It's at The Swamp, and it'll be on during primetime; two top 15 teams going at it in a game that has major conference consequences. Coming into this game, the Gators are just 1-4 against top 25 teams with Tebow at the helm. Compare this to 2006, when the Gators wen 7-1 against top 25 teams with Chris Leak leading the way. LSU is ranked 3rd in the Coaches' Poll, as has looked strong against their competition. They struggled against Auburn, but quarterback Jarrett Lee played lights out during the second half and the Tigers were able to come back against Auburn. Tailback Charles Scott paced their offense, running for 141 yards. For Florida to beat LSU, stopping Scott is a must; he averages 7 yards per carry, and it could be a long night in the Swamp if Florida's defensive line can't control the line of scrimmage. It's going to be a tough game for Florida to win to say the least; if we manage to pull it out, then Florida gets back into the top 10, stays in the SEC Championship picture, and also gets back into national title game talks. If not, then Florida--barring help from Vanderbilt and Georgia--is out of the SEC Championship Game picture in October. More than that, though, it may be time to start questioning Tebow's leadership abilities, as well as the coaching staff. Put bluntly, losing this game would knock Florida down from elite team status.