gq: The Year Of Magical Stinking: An Oral History...

The Year Of Magical Stinking:
An Oral History of Tebow Time

Not even Jesus can save his passing game, and yet Tim Tebow somehow dominated the league last season, captivating Denver and much of this God-fearing nation with his messianic confidence and fourth-quarter miracle work. GQ contributor and Yahoo! Sports NFL columnist Michael Silver talks to the kid’s coaches, teammates, and opponents and asks them: How did he do that, and will it ever happen again? The full read is here—our favorite bits below.

Jared Allen, Minnesota Viking: You know what the coolest part about the whole thing is? And the reason people hate it? Because it’s showing that the conventional wisdom of coaches isn’t really necessary. You know, coaches always think they have the winning theory: “Our way is the right way! Blah blah blah!” Well, here’s a dude that they basically had to scrap the whole offense for and go back to running a college [system]. And they have been successful with it. Sometimes people think the game is more difficult than it is. If you find something that works, go with it. And I don’t really think it has to be a nine-syllable frickin’ play.

Brady Quinn, Denver Broncos: If you look at it as a whole, there’s a lot of things that just don’t seem very humble to me. When I get that opportunity, I’ll continue to lead not necessarily by trying to get in front of the camera and praying but by praying with my teammates, you know?

Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens: I mean, it’s an insult to us players. You know, wins are hard to come by in this league, and if I was Denver’s defense, I would feel a certain way—they’re not allowed to [say it], ‘cause they’re all on one team, but people are making it look like Tim Tebow is the kid from Foxboro—which, that couldn’t be more opposite. It’s just crazy that we’re calling him a phenomenon when basically he’s mediocre. Cam Newton’s a way better quarterback than Tim Tebow, and we don’t have a Cam Newton phenomenon.