Jacksonville fans must be PISSED
I'mma keep it really real right now...
I just think the Jaguars organization is run by folks with clown shoes on.
Listen, I'll preface this with one thing...I have no idea if Tebow will develop to be a legitimately good quarterback...I have no idea if Tebow will continue his magic over the course of YEARS of NFL service...and, I have no idea if he'll be anything better than a gimmick/gadget player...hell, I'd lean more toward him never being more than a gimmick player in the league, but whatever, that is besides the point I'll make...
The Jaguars needed to trade for Tim Tebow.
Why?
-Because the Jaguars are irrelevant. They've never really been nationally relevant. They are basically backpage sporting news and as a result, they tarp off 10K seats per week and still end up in the bottom 1/4 of the league's attendance figures. Making a trade for Tebow gives the Jaguars a their first bit of national relevance ever.
-Because the price for Tim Tebow, for the most part, was cheap.
Listen, before he was drafted in the first round, the general thought on Tebow by the masses was...not an NFL QB and not a guy you take in the first round or second round BUT, once you start getting to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th round, Tebow has value as an athlete, a football player, and even a quarterback.
NOW, you actually get Tebow for his approximate pre-draft value AFTER you've seen him in the NFL and HE HAD SUCCESS! AS A QUARTERBACK!
Now, if he ends up developing into a functional QB...great. You spent nothing to acquire this potential franchise QB.
If he doesn't develop into a functional QB, but still has this unexplainable magic as a winner in the league...great. You spent nothing to acquire this potential franchise QB.
If he doesn't develop into a functional QB, and the magic runs or ran out, you can use this great FOOTBALL PLAYER and use him as a gadget player and you spend NOTHING for it.
Down in Jacksonville, he would have been generally away from the full onslaught of media attention, he'd be back home, could relax, and do whatever the hell it is that Tebow does while as a franchise the Jacksonville Jagaurs do the fiscally responsible thing, the right thing for the city and to bring any kind of interest to the franchise to make it a better, more interesting commodity...
Overall, for Jacksonville, it would have been a NO LOSS move. At best you've made your franchise relevant and you bring the prodigal son home and you are a regular in the playoffs. At worst, you spent a middle round pick on a gadget player that you would have otherwise spent on Matthew Mediore, a hybrid pass rusher from Chadron State that would sit on the IR for his first two years and when he gets healthy, is Mo Drew's gatorade fetcher (look at some of Gene Smith's Round 4 and beyond draft picks).
Just silly...and its just another notch in the belt that shows how awful Gene Smith is as a general manager.