Tim Tebow has turned almost everyone into a believer these days, but one person who still hasn’t bought in is Panthers receiver Steve Smith. During an appearance on the Dave Dameshek Football Program, Smith gave credit to Tebow for winning, but was unwilling to praise him for being a difference maker.
“I don’t want to be one of the those guys like everybody saying ‘oh he’s not this’ — he’s winning,” Smith conceded. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be 3-10 for three quarters and you go into the fourth quarter. Because Tim Tebow is ‘Tebow Time’ I keep hearing, but nobody is giving credit to who deserves it — which is that defense, because it’s playing lights out.”
“Everybody wants to say Tim Tebow is that difference maker,” Smith said, “he wouldn’t be on my son’s flag football team.”
One of the aspects of Steve Smith that makes his interviews so enjoyable is that he’s honest. He is unafraid to give his opinion, even if it will upset people. Two weeks ago he received some backlash for saying Cam Newton was only the third-best quarterback he’s played with. Now he’s picked a new target, America’s hero.
While I agree that the Broncos’ defense has been overlooked the last two months, I believe Tim Tebow is part of the reason that unit has been more successful. Even though I’ll give Tebow more credit than Steve did, I do believe he needs to improve much more as a passer in order to have long-term success in the league. If Tim can become an elite passer, he will be successful. If he can’t, he likely will not.
