The NYTimes April 26, 2010 McDaniels and Tebow Know How to Adapt By JUDY BATTISTA Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos have inextricably linked their futures to Tim Tebow, which seems like a dicey decision considering how raw Tebow’s talent is. But this is not the first time there have been questions about how well Tebow can adjust to a new system. A look at how the University of Florida handled Tebow’s arrival may give a hint to how McDaniels, the Broncos’ coach, will bring along a quarterback who will start fourth on the depth chart but is already ticketed for stardom — last weekend, his jersey was the top seller among all rookies by a wide margin and among all N.F.L. players, including Brett Favre, according to NFLShop.com — if not immediate success. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State’s coach, used to be Florida’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. He is the person who imparted to McDaniels much of the wisdom about the spread offense that McDaniels deployed as the offensive coordinator to make the New England Patriots practically unstoppable for much of the 2007 season. But when Tebow arrived in Gainesville in 2006 after having been Florida’s Mr. Football, Mullen wondered how the dual-threat player would fit in what was then a traditional passing offense. So Mullen and Coach Urban Meyer used Tebow as a changeup behind the starter, Chris Leak. Tebow took 8 to 10 snaps a game, with an emphasis on running and play-action passing. They viewed Tebow at quarterback as an extra runner on the field. His very first college play: a designed quarterback scramble at the goal line. What to expect, then, from Tebow in the short term? Think Michael Vick, with more bulk (he is 6 feet 3 inches and 236 pounds, 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than Vick) but less baggage. “We used him in a way that highlighted his talents,” Mullen said. He said McDaniels would slowly build Tebow’s “confidence with what he does well before he puts him in the do-everything category.” “The great thing about Josh is he’s innovative,” Mullen said. “He’s not afraid to think outside the box. He’ll be creative with him. To expect him to be an every-down quarterback right away is asking a lot.” Tebow ran or passed the ball 122 times in 14 games as a freshman, and he was involved in 13 touchdowns — a touchdown more than once every 10 touches. McDaniels has already made clear that he will not follow suggestions that Tebow’s best use in the N.F.L. could be as an H-back, the hybrid of a fullback and tight end. Tebow is going to be a quarterback, McDaniels told ESPN.com, and that is all he is going to be. If so, the Broncos would surely take even a fraction of Tebow’s freshman production as a rookie. By the time Tebow was a sophomore, the Gators’ offense had been transformed into his plaything, taking full advantage of his willingness to drop his shoulder and barrel into defenders. He had one of the greatest statistical seasons in college football history: he passed for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns and ran for 895 yards and 23 touchdowns. McDaniels is highly unlikely to turn the Broncos into a full-fledged spread-option offense like the Gators’ because almost nobody thinks that a quarterback, even one as big as Tebow, could survive the pounding he would take from running the ball repeatedly in the N.F.L. But Mullen disputes the notion that Tebow cannot adjust to a more pro-style offense. Tebow’s long, looping delivery is a work in progress, and he spent weeks before the draft trying to develop the nimble footwork that is essential when playing under center but that is almost nonexistent in the shotgun. One concern about Tebow is that the Gators’ offense did not compel him to work through passing progressions and that his first instinct is to pull the ball down and run. But Mullen said Tebow understood how to recognize defenses and coverages and knew pass protections. And Mullen views New England’s experiment with the spread offense in 2007 as evidence that McDaniels does not have a prescribed offensive style — think of all the coaches who are known as West Coast acolytes — but rather will tailor his offense to suit his players. That could open the door for the Broncos to eventually incorporate something closer to the wide-open college offenses Tebow is familiar with rather than to try to shoehorn him into a more traditional N.F.L attack. “In New England, they felt they had the personnel that matched what we did in Florida,” Mullen said. “Everybody steals from everybody in football. I watch the N.F.L., and it looks like there are less complicated looks than we see in the SEC.” Last summer, Meyer marveled that an offense like his spread had not been used sooner or more frequently in the N.F.L., saying that because so many coaches are recycled, few try anything new. “When we were really successful with the spread at Utah, nobody ever saw it before,” Mullen said. “Josh did that in New England. If you can stay a little ahead of the curve and do something they’re not prepared for, you’re at an advantage.” That may be what McDaniels has in mind — not to turn Tebow into a Peyton Manning-esque drop-back passer, if that is even possible, but to exploit his physicality and ability to improvise. It may not work, and it certainly may take awhile, but it will be a fascinating experiment. “One of two things will happen,” said the former Ravens coach Brian Billick, who analyzed the draft for the NFL Network. “Either he’ll change his mechanics to fit the demands of playing in the N.F.L. Or is he the singularly spectacular athlete that changes the paradigm of the N.F.L. to bring the spread to the game?” Billick suspects it will be the former. McDaniels’s future may hinge on its being the latter. A. Leon Polhill, Gator "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know." - Mark Twain
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