Listen up, Tebow bashers – Here's your NFL lesson for the day

Hall of Fame linebacker Chuck Bednarik was the last 60 minute player. The Eagles legend
played both center and linebacker, and did it famously in Philly's last NFL Championship in
1960. With the game on the line, Bednarik collared Green Bay running back Jim Taylor just
short of the goal line to preserve the win.

The fallout from the Tim Tebow miracle win in Miami got me to thinking about Bednarik.
Concrete Charlie was a 60 minute player because football is a 60 minute game. More
importantly, since college football and figure skating are the only sports where style points
matter, the NFL's popularity thrives on this full 1 hour of action.

There has been an avalanche of criticism about Tebow's play last Sunday. Mark Schelereth,
old stink himself, who seems to spend equal time peddling his hot salsa as he does discussing
football said: “That was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen from an NFL
quarterback; if not for the last five minutes, it would set quarterbacking back 100 years."

Good one, Mark.

Our good friend Merril Hoge, of course, had the most venom. "It's embarrassing to think the
Broncos could win with Tim Tebow," he said this summer. And even after Sunday's win, Hoge
said that "intangibles" don't count and called Tebow's performance the "second worst behind
Kyle Boller," who tossed 3 interceptions in a 7 for 14, 61-yard day.

Somehow Hoge thought Boller's replacement Carson Palmer's 8 for 21, 116-yard 3 interception
performance was better than Boller's and Tebow's?

Or Joe Flacco's painful 21 of 38 for 137 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick performance Monday Night loss
against the punchless Jaguars was better. Or Josh Freeman's 4 interception loss to the Bears
in London was superior. Or Matt Hasselbeck's 14 for 30, 104, 1 TD, 2 pick performance was
one for the ages. Or Philip River's excruciating 2 minute drill against the Jets reaffirmed his
Top 5 best QB status.

The difference between Tebow and all these veteran QBs who apparently are head and
shoulders better than #15 is that Tebow actually won. They all lost and played horribly.
If Tebow had orchestrated Denver's 2 minute offense the way Rivers did, Tebow would
be benched and be forever known as a 1-start wonder. In my 42 years of watching football,
I've never seen a QB play worst in the final 2 minutes than Rivers did Sunday. Yet, where
was the criticism?

Which takes me back to my premise. The NFL is a 60 minute game. Sure, Tebow played
beyond lousy for the first 55 minutes. But who have you ever seen play better in the last 5
minutes when the game was on the line?

Maybe #7 John Elway? People will always remember Elway's comebacks, especially the
98-yard drive against Cleveland. But does anyone remember how badly Denver and Elway
played for the first 58 minutes? I do. It was pathetic.

People forget that Tebow has started only 4 games in his young NFL career. He has won
2 of them, both from bringing his team back from at least 13 points. The same number of
times Elway brought the Broncos back from 13 points during a 16-year career. Tebow's
also thrown for over 300 yards in a game, for all the naysayers who insist he can't throw.

Riddle me this, Batman. If football was a 55 minute game, how famous would Elway really
be? How famous would other clutch QBs be … the Staubachs, the Montanas, the Unitases,
the Laynes. Guys who are in the Hall of Fame today mostly due to their 2-minute prowess
when the game was on the line, when it meant the difference between winning and losing.

Surely, I'm not comparing Tebow to these legends. He has to show this ability consistently
for the next several years. But he has already proved on every level – including early on in
the NFL – that when you need 15 points, he will get you 15 points. When you need a TD in
the red zone with seconds on the clock, he will get you that TD. When you need a 2-point
conversion when the whole world knows you're going to take it yourself, he will get you
that 2-point conversion. And when you need a win, Tebow has proven on every level he
will get you that win.

Sure, it's one game. And Tebow admits he has a lot of work to do. But look what he's done
already in 4 games when 99 percent of the coaches, GMs, and hapless retired running backs
(who never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season or averaged even 4.0 yards a carry) turned
expert analysis, insist that Tebow is no starting NFL QB.

If Tebow isn't good enough to start at QB in the NFL, then how did he lead a team to the
biggest comeback in the last 2 minutes of a game than anyone since the 1970 merger?

The truth is, the NFL is great because it's a 60 minute game where every second counts.
Our most treasured memories are the ones when the game is on the line and we have
lumps in our throats. When we look to a player who's not afraid to have the ball in his
hands. When we rejoice watching our hero lead the team to the most improbable of victories.

The Drive. The Catch. The Hail Mary. They all have something in common. They all
happened in the last 2 minutes of the game. When it came down to winning or losing.
Those plays created legends of Elway, Montana and Staubach.

Like him or not, Tebow possesses the same "intangibles."

Hey, Hoge. Intangibles do count. They're that indescribable ability to win football games
when everything is stacked against you. But you'll never understand that because you're
too busy studying mechanics and stats. You won't find intangibles in game film. It's
deeper than that.

In the NFL, winning is what matters. For some reason, 99 percent of the experts have
missed that about Tebow.

Those who are stuck on style points instead of victories should go lace up your figure
skates.

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