ShareThisIt's too easy to dump blame on Florida football coach Urban Meyer for not fixing Tim Tebow's passing mechanics -- something that some in the national media seemed eager to do as the NFL Combine kicked off last week.
Not that Meyer doesn't deserve some blame.
Truth is, at some point during the past four years, Meyer should've demanded that Tebow hold the ball higher and shorten his long, slow, loopy throwing motion.
It would've made Tebow a better quarterback.
Then.
And now.
It also would've shown potential recruits that playing quarterback for the Gators gets you ready to play in the pros.
Meyer knew all of that. He watched Tebow in practice every day. He saw the obvious flaws in his quarterback's mechanics.
And, to his credit, he did try to get Tebow to tweak his drawn-out delivery, as far back as his sophomore season.
But Tebow didn't feel comfortable with the changes and kept resorting back to his natural instincts, which were good enough to win a national championship, take home a Heisman Trophy and set all kinds of records.
So Meyer relented. He took no for an answer. If you want to fault Meyer for anything, fault him for that.
But the real responsibility -- the bulk of the blame -- must go to Tebow himself.
This is his life, his career and his future.
If, as he has said repeatedly, playing quarterback in the NFL was his dream, he should've done whatever was necessary to make that dream come true. And he should've done it before he was done in Gainesville, where his brains and brawn allowed him to overcome his sloppy fundamentals.
He should've embarked on this project after his sophomore season, after winning the Heisman, after firmly establishing himself as a college football star and someone NFL scouts need to watch.
Given his intelligence, athleticism and work ethic, Tebow surely could've re-trained his muscle memory and been well on his way to correcting these flaws before the start of his junior season -- if he had made the commitment.
He could've told Meyer to not let him get away with his old mechanics. He could've spent hours every day, all offseason long, working on them. Heck, he could've driven to South Florida and sought the advice of Joe Namath or Dan Marino, two retired Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks known for their quick releases.
My guess is, they'd have been eager to help.
Instead, Tebow waited until now.
He waited until he was finished at Florida. He waited until scouts at the Senior Bowl panned his footwork and throwing motion. He waited until just weeks before the Combine to get serious about refining his skills and giving himself his best shot to impress NFL teams.
In fact, Tebow, who has been working with former Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL offensive coordinator Zeke Bratkowski, decided not to throw at the Combine. He'll wait until his pro day, March 17 in Gainesville, to unveil his new-and-improved footwork and passing mechanics.
That probably won't affect his draft position.
And since there's no real chance Tebow will actually play in the pros next season -- except, perhaps, somehow in a wildcat formation -- he'll have at least another year to learn how to properly hold and throw a football to fit the speed and tenacity of the NFL game.
So it's not too late.
It's not too great a challenge.
Based on everything we've learned about Tebow these past four years, we know he can do this.
But if he can't, if he waited too long to fix his flaws, if his delivery deprives him of his dream, he has only himself to blame.
(Ray McNulty is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida. For more of his thoughts on sports, you can follow his blog at www.tcpalm.com/mcnulty. He can be reached at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com.)
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