Tim-may!

About three months from now, the NFL Draft(also known as Spring Christmas in "The House That Dave Built") will be getting underway and there are many storylines coming into this year's ceremony: Do the Rams go Jimmy Clausen or Ndomukong Suh?, What's up with Sam Bradford's shoulder? What are Mike Shanahan and Pete Carroll going to do in their NFL returns? Those questions and many more are sure to arise after the event that usually kicks off Draft Fever: The Senior Bowl.

Now, with Clausen and Bradford being underclassman and Suh not participating as well, all the talk around Senior Bowl practices have surrounded one man: Timothy Richard Tebow.

The nationwide hub-bub over whether Tebow will have success in the pros have gone on since Tebow hoisted up the Heisman as a sophomore back in 2007. Since then, Tebow's game has been dissected more than Heidi Montag's face, with guys like Scouts Inc. draft guru Todd McShay picking apart every facet of Tebow's game from his sloppy mechanics to his awkward throwing motion. McShay even went as far as to say, on Mike and Mike this week, that Tebow was probably the 7th or 8th best QB...........at the Senior Bowl. That's not even including Clausen or Bradford or Jeven Snead(the assumed top 3 QBs) in this year's draft. That puts Tebow behind guys like Cincinatti's Tony Pike and West Virginia's Jarrett Brown, whom also have their laundry lists of flaws.

The truth is, Tebow isn't as polished a passer as any of the other quarterbacks in this draft. He played in an offense that wasn't exactly the Run 'N Shoot at Florida in terms of versatility in the passing game. He wasn't asked to be Peyton Manning in terms of reading a defense and making a varied amount of throws. Instead, Gators coach Urban Meyer built a system around Tebow's unique blend of size, speed and strength and all Tebow did was utilize that system to win four bowl games including two national championships, the Heisman and a showcase filled with a number of other awards.

Tebow is a winner. Clausen has the gun. Bradford has the accuracy. Tebow simply just wins. It isn't pretty, but it works. That being said, the dog and pony show Tebow has led for four years at Florida isn't going to work in the NFL and, if Tebow is going to succeed, he's going to have to put that trademark work ethic to good use and become something resembling a polished passer within the next three months. The team that drafts Tebow, ideally, is going to have to have these three criterias:

*QB stability(i.e. a proven veteran PLUS a capable backup) - If you're drafting Tebow, you want him to learn the position for at least two or three years and avoid being thrown onto the playing field early. Ideally, you want him to learn from a season veteran who has been under the current system for quite some time and has some experience tutoring young QBs. You also want to have a solid backup who can come in if the vet goes down so that Tebow isn't thrusted into dangerous grounds before he's ready. If Tebow's crying after losing an SEC Championship game, there's no telling what his psyche is going to be if injuries force him into the lineup and he gets booed mercifully after stinking up the joint. By veteran though, you want a guy who will be able to pass the torch in a couple years. You don't want Tebow ending up in a place like Baltimore, where he'll have no shot of ever seeing the field. You want to be able to groom Tebow to be a capable QB that can take over or at least compete three years from now. Under this first requirement, you can eliminate Buffalo(he'd start by Week 3 with that band of QBs and swiss-cheese OL), San Francisco(see Buffalo), Washington(probably taking a more pure passer), New England(nobody behind Brady), Jacksonville(see Washington), and Denver(see Jacksonville).


*Offense needs to have Wildcat experience AND lack a true power run game: With the advent of the Wildcat offense, QBs with a more athletic skill set as opposed to a more natural passing skill set(see Vick, Michael) can find a way onto the field. Tebow is like a bulked-up version of Vick. He's a gifted runner with some passing chops but rather than dominate with speed, agility and a cannon arm like Vick did, Tebow's running style is more of a north-south smashmouth running style. Now, if you already have a guy who you can hand off in a short yardage situation and have him run it up the gut, you really don't need Tebow. If you're Dallas, you don't need Tebow if you already have Marion Barber. Miami would have been a perfect landing spot for Tebow, but they already tabbed their Wildcat QB when they took Pat White last year and, quite frankly, Dolphins fans would start flipping over tables at the Early Bird Special if Miami goes QB high for the third straight year. Still, with an offense that is well-versed in the Wildcat, Tebow can see SOME action on the field in a formation that will suit him for now until he develops as a passer. In this requirement, you can pretty much rule out any team that doesn't use the Wildcat much(San Diego, Atlanta, etc.) and the aforementioned Cowboys and 'Phins.

*Team has to have the patience to not take Tebow before Round 3 - Look, a guy with Tebow's popularity is going to force many GMs into getting desperate and jotting Tebow's name down in the interest of selling tickets(I'm looking at you, Jacksonville!). Tebow's not ready to be an NFL quarterback. He's had the chance to declare the past two seasons and didn't do it because he knew his iconic status would get him picked high and the pressure to succeed would almost certianly crush him. Now, as the loveable underdog, Tebow can take all the media hits and sneak into a good situation on an up and coming team(like Troy Smith did in Baltimore). Plus, by waiting to pop the cork on the Tebow bubbly 'til Day 2, it allows Day 1 to focus on the more superior prospects like Suh and Clausen and Eric Berry. Granted, it also means Chris Berman will have to kill more time with his tired schtick of corny nicknames, Buffalo cabbies and circling the wagons and trying hard to be the voice of the fans, but I'm sure he'll make due. It's hard to rule out anyone with this requisite because we don't know how the Draft will shake out. If there's a few curveballs and some solid players drop, then teams won't be in a crunch to nab Tebow early to win the crowd reaction contest. However, if many of the big names get snapped up quick, we might see Tebow on Day 1.

So, after carefully going through each team, I came down with one potential landing spot for Tebow:

The Philadelphia Eagles.

I know, I know, Tebow is bound to get eaten alive by the drunken sports fans in Philly, but hear me out. The Eagles already have a proven QB in Donovan McNabb, who has been under Andy Reid and his scheme since 1998. I know what you're thinking: "Oh, but the Eagles are trading McNabb...". No, they're not. Every year, we hear McNabb's leaving Philly and every year he enters camp as an Eagle. He was supposed to go to Baltimore years ago. Never happened. He was supposed to go back home to Chicago. They got Jay Cutler instead. Now, you're hearing he's reuniting with Brad Childress in Minnesota if Favre retires. One, Favre's not retiring and two, the Eagles aren't dumb enough to trade him within the NFC.

"But, what about Kevin Kolb?" What about him? Kolb's not beating McNabb for the starting job anytime soon, even with his semi-competent performance in relief this season. If the Eagles take Tebow, that essentially sets up Kolb vs. Tebow for the Eagles' starting QB job in 2012. Have you seen anything from Kolb that makes you think the Eagles have all the faith in the world in him to take the job by then. If the Eagles aren't willing to dump McNabb for Kolb heading into Kolb's third season, what makes you think they'd have more confidence in Kolb as he collected dust on the bench the next couple of seasons? Also, what makes you think Kolb is staying if he continues to sit behind McNabb? Let me tell you something: If Donovan McNabb is an Eagle in 2010, he's going to be an Eagle for life. With this slate of QBs coming in(and a decent bunch coming next year) there aren't going to be many teams that will be willing to deal for an aging McNabb. Minnesota this season is the best opportunity McNabb has of leaving Philly and, again, it's not going to happen.

Now, as for Tebow as an Eagle on the field, he'd be the short-yardage back the Eagles have missed forever. The Eagles have become world-renowned in their ineptitude by the goal-line and on a critical 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 situations. They've tried many options as their power back savior(Duce Staley, Correll Buckhalter, Leonard Weaver, Joe Klecko) and all of them have been topped by scatbacks like Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy. The unique thing about Tebow as a Wildcat QB is that the position has typically went to speedy recievers(Brad Smith/Josh Cribbs) or light-footed QBs(Vick/White/Seneca Wallce). You hardly ever see a Wildcat QB who runs 6'3, 240lbs and runs anywhere between a 4.6 to a 4.8. In the winter months(and Gabe, as a man who watches Brandon Jacobs a lot can attest to this), nobody wants to try to take down a big man running with a head of steam. Tebow lining up as the Wildcat QB with the option to run or pass(especially with return of Tebow's former college safety blanket, TE Cornelius Ingram) makes the Eagles much more explosive and versatile and no longer a mortal lock to settle for 3 in the red zone. You're telling me an offense of Tebow, McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin with a healthy, road-grading offensive line doesn't give defensive coordinators fits, especially in December and January?

Now, there are other candidates in the discussion. If Favre leaves and the Vikings get McNabb, Tebow would be a nice fit in Minnesota alongside that huge left side of the offensive line, AP, Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice. Pittsburgh also comes to mind because they are a smashmouth running team and Tebow's blue collar style fits in perfectly there as well(although with Big Ben and Dennis Dixon, his chances of starting in 3 years are nil unless a. Ben goes to jail for rape and b. Dixon's knee explodes again).

We can all say what we want about Tim Tebow. He's sensative. He's a bit too religious. He's a gimmick. The fact is, the man ended his Florida career as perhaps the most accomplished college athlete in history. Does he have flaws? Absolutely. So does every prospect in this draft. Will he put up huge numbers in the pros? Not a chance, but Vince Young's numbers were never gaudy and all he's done is win in Tennessee. It wasn't too long ago that we all thought Vick was a can't-miss QB prospect who would transcend the game. You know what happened there? The can't miss kid missed....badly. In a sports world tainted with bad guy knuckleheads like Vick or Pac-Man Jones or Gilbert Arenas or Barry Bonds, can't we all come together and root for a good guy underdog?

Even if that good guy underdog is a Bible-thumping, pro-life shilling, noodle-armed crybaby?

(What? It had to be said.)