Tim Tebow Is Injured and a Season Shudders

by cocknfire on Sep 26, 2009 9:55 PM EDT in SEC Football

It's impossible to know how serious Tim Tebow's head injury is and whether it will keep him from playing for the Gators at LSU in two weeks or for a longer period of time. Some of those answers will not come until tomorrow, and even then it might not entirely be clear when the front-runner for best college football player ever will again take the field.

But there are a few questions beyond Tebow's status that will also have to be asked. First, why was the 2007 Heism@n Trophy Winner even playing in the second half of a game that was over by the time the first quarter ended? Tebow was already reportedly ill, and his backup John Brantley showed again Saturday that he is a more than capable replacement.

Second, just how badly would Florida's season be affected if Tebow is down for a substantial period of time? After all, there's a difference between leading drives against season-opening cupcakes and during prolonged mop-up duty against Kentucky and going to Baton Rouge for a critical conference showdown. It's not that we know that Brantley won't be able to handle that attention; it's just that we don't know that he can.

In the SEC, one drive can be the difference between a championship season and a berth in the Capital One Bowl. Tebow being absent for any extended period of time would mean Brantley would have to come up with that crucial drive at athe moment when a season hangs in the balance. We know Tebow excels in those situations; does Bradley?

Of course, the key concern we should have as fans of the game and as human beings is for Tim Tebow and his health. But once we know everything we can about that, there will still be plenty of questions left to be answered.

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I’m not upset that Tebow was in the game – you may have felt the contest was over, but I sure didn’t, and Meyer is even more paranoid than I when it comes to volatility in the college game. (The questionable aspect to me was going five-wide when the running game had been so effective all game and Tebow was clearly under the weather – the pass-wacky drive in the second quarter was probably the worst our offence had all night.)

It’s much too early to look ahead, but – that said – I’m cautiously optimistic; Brantley is a solid player (now in his third year at UF) who would take over a formidable run-heavy offence backed by an excellent defence and special teams. Weaker teams than that have won national titles (most recently Florida in 2006, in fact – every point we scored that year was won with blood and tears and divine favour.)

by peachy rex on Sep 26, 2009 10:21 PM EDT reply actions

I don't know. Games do change...

But this one didn’t look like it would, mainly because there was no reason to believe that Kentucky could mount enough offense to get back in it. Moreover, and this is where I think you’re right, Meyer should have at least been running the ball and killing the clock, especially considering how well the Gators were running the ball. He could have done that with Brantley in there, especially with Tebow a little sick. Meyer should be kicking himself right now.

Anyways, I hope Tebow’s ready to go soon. Even if Meyer is a sociopath, Tebow’s a good guy, and college football is more exciting with him around.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Sep 26, 2009 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Perhaps it’s a lingering hangover from the Zook years – he loved to sit on miniscule second-half leads, and always seemed stunned when they disappeared late in the fourth. It was like a cliched horror movie… the monster always came back to life just when the horny coeds thought it was finally dead.

by peachy rex on Sep 26, 2009 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

As long as he is able to recover 100%

thats all that matters, im not worrying about the gators, Tebows a great a person and doesnt deserve to have the rest of his career ruined becuase of a hard hit that ended in a freak fall.

by Hook85 on Sep 26, 2009 11:23 PM EDT reply actions

If Tebow has to sit out any games

we can at least feel a little better that we probably won’t need Brantley to put up 30+ points to win. Our defense is stifling, and if Tebow misses time, it should unify the defense into an even stronger unit – “win one for the Tebow” might cement the best defense in school history.

I also think the game was over in the 1sst quarter, but you have to give the guy some playing time. Meyer probably leaves him in a series or two too long each week, but that’s been the case from the beginning.

by skigator93 on Sep 28, 2009 10:57 AM EDT reply actions