While Inferior Quarterbacks Get Jobs, Tebow Waits Wearing His Armor

The quarterback carousel in Cleveland continues. Due to more injuries, the Browns have signed Caleb Hanie. They’ve also brought in Alex Tanney. All this while Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell are both recovering from concussions. Earlier in the season, Cleveland lost Brian Hoyer to an ACL tear. The situation is a mess. Too bad the Browns still haven’t pulled the trigger on the move that makes the most sense.

Cleveland isn’t the only club missing out. While team after team continues to pay inexperienced, below average, losing quarterbacks, Tim Tebow sits and waits. Actually, that would only be partially true. He is waiting, but he’s not sitting around. Tebow is doing what he always does: visiting with and lifting the spirits of sick kids, raising money and awareness for charities, and training just in case someone in the NFL ever awakens from their media induced, peer pressured slumber.

Along with that less than stellar bunch of signal callers in Cleveland, the league is chock full of quarterbacks with less playoff wins than Tebow.

First, the quarterbacks with fewer postseason victories than the former Bronco and Jet:

Derek Anderson

Matt Barkley

Sam Bradford

Tyler Bray

Jason Campbell

Matt Cassel

Jimmy Clausen

Kellen Clemens

Andy Dalton

Chase Daniel

Auston Davis

Dominique Davis

Pat Devlin

Zac Dysert

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Matt Flynn

Nick Foles

Josh Freeman

Blaine Gabbert

Mike Glennon

Bruce Gradkowski

Ryan Griffin

Robert Griffin III

Caleb Hanie

Chad Henne

Shaun Hill

Brian Hoyer

Tarvaris Jackson

Josh Johnson

Landry Jones

Case Keenum

Kevin Kolb

Thad Lewis

Ryan Lindley

Jake Locker

Andrew Luck

Ryan Mallett

EJ Manuel

Josh McCown

Luke McCown

Colt McCoy

Matt McGloin

Matt Moore

Ryan Nassib

Cam Newton

Kellen Moore

Dan Orlovsky

Kyle Orton

Brock Osweiler

Curtis Painter

Carson Palmer

Jordan Palmer

Christian Ponder

Terrelle Pryor

Brady Quinn

Sean Renfree

Zac Robinson

Matt Simms

John Skelton

Geno Smith

Rusty Smith

Brad Sorensen

Matthew Stafford

Drew Stanton

Ricky Stanzi

Ryan Tannehill

Alex Tanney

Tyrod Taylor

Scott Tolzien

Jeff Tuel

Seneca Wallace

Brandon Weeden

Charlie Whitehurst

Certainly, there are some young guys on that list that clearly have a bright future and are more talented quarterbacks than Tebow (like Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford, Robert Griffin, III), but for every Newton and Luck, there are multiple Renfrees, Stanzis, and Tuels. Can these clubs really say they are better off with these names than they would be with Tebow?

Along with that list of those who have not had any playoff success, Tebow is also on par with some big names when it comes to playoff wins. The southpaw has as many postseason victories as Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, T.J. Yates, David Garrard, and everyone’s darling Russell Wilson. Yet, Tebow is jobless.

While the Browns have just signed Hanie who has for his career thrown for only three touchdowns while being intercepted ten times and Tanney who has never attempted a pass in the NFL, Tebow is unsigned. This, despite 17 touchdowns and only nine picks, not to mention 989 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Plus, a successful win-loss record in the regular season and a playoff win.

So why not Tebow? Because he doesn’t throw “right”? Do John Skelton, Rusty Smith, and Charlie Whitehurst throw “right,” or do they just hold a clipboard with an elegance that Tebow could never pull off?

Or is it the big, bad C-word? Tebow’s Christianity–or the buzz that surrounds it–may be be the major factor in the NFL shunning him. C is Tebow’s scarlet letter.

Other Christian athletes are taking notice. Luke Murton has played five years of professional baseball. He finished up this year with the Sioux City Explorers after spending more than four seasons with the New York Yankees organization. Like Tebow, he is working hard every day to improve as a player. Also, like Tebow, Murton makes no apologies for his faith.

“I want my life to be a light to the world,” Murton told Breitbart Sports. “I want people to look at me and see something different. And not because I am special but because hopefully that will bring more people to Christ. Every Christian should be a missionary in the sense wherever you work that is your mission field. We need to be intentional about bringing others to Christ because we better than anyone know how much we need Christ. So baseball is a way that I come closer to the Lord, I help grow my family closer to the Lord, help teammates grow closer to the Lord, and hopefully help show people who God is.”

Murton sounds a lot like Tebow and he can’t understand why the former Florida Gators great is not in the NFL. “The whole Tebow thing gets to me,” Murton said. “Here you have a winner. He has always won but he doesn’t throw “right” they say. I have no idea why he isn’t in the NFL somewhere, but I do know God has a plan for his life. I just pray that he continues to seek God in these trying times and an NFL team gives him a chance. Maybe these teams don’t like winning.”

Maybe not. That’s all Tebow has ever done, on every level, on and off the field.

Murton hasn’t experienced any backlash on the level of Tebow, but he does stand out. Each and every at-bat Murton strides to the plate with Christian music blaring. Not your usual walk-up song for today’s ball player. “Fans are used to songs that are “pumping up” the player walking to the plate, for instance, “the champ is here…the champ is here”, said Murton. “Christian music is pumping up Christ. And as you read in the Bible ‘the weaker we are the stronger we are in Christ.’ So it looks like you are ‘weak.’ To some it also comes across as God being your ‘good luck charm.'”

“I have heard people say that ‘you are just trying to get hits.” And that is the farthest thing from the truth. At the end of the day, I know I need a reminder of what really matters because I don’t want to get caught up in something that eternally means nothing besides the lives we touch.”

Tebow continues to touch lives too. His foundation is currently working on helping typhoon victims in the Philippines and providing much needed funds and outreach for children with serious illnesses. Yet, Tebow can’t touch a football in the NFL.

Just because he isn’t on a team right now, it doesn’t mean Tebow isn’t making a major difference. Murton can relate. One of his greatest baseball memories has very little to do with baseball at all.

“Three of my best friends I have met in baseball two of which were in pro ball and one in college baseball,” Murton said. “One of those guys was a guy that was a ‘Christian’ and a ‘great guy’ but wasn’t really living for the Lord. In 2010, he was my roommate and he got his life on track and began to truly live for the Lord. The difference between just saying he was a Christian and truly giving and rededicating his life to Him. At the end of the year, he told me how much impact I had on his transformation. On the way home, I bawled. I was so overwhelmed with joy that God put me in a position to affect his Kingdom and someone else’s life like that.”

Murton knows what Tebow knows. That’s probably why Tebow can handle this blatant slight with such class and that patented Tebow smile. So, until an NFL team wises up and issues some pads to #15, he’ll be just fine wearing the armor of Jesus.

The Bible talks about the need to “focus on what is eternal and not seen.” Tebow is doing his part. We wait and watch to find out if any team ever focuses and finally sees what they’re missing out on.

COMMENTS