Meyer is to blame for Tebow's injury. He shouldn't have been on the field. Meyer knows it, but doesn't care. He got the "W."
The entire Tim Tebow situation is appalling. The media is blowing this blame game way out of proportion as some are blaming the refs, the questionable hit, the coach, etc. The worst case of finger pointing I’ve seen to date is blaming the BCS for Tebow’s injury.
When you look at the entire situation, there is only one person to blame, and that’s Coach Meyer. He is consumed by winning and consumed by winning with the son he never had in Tim Tebow. If you look at the start of Tebow’s career, Meyer focused all the attention on him. In 2006, as a freshman, Tebow ran the ball 89 times for 8 TDs as a back-up to stud QB Chris Leak. Whenever Florida was in the red-zone, you knew Meyer would call Tebow’s number. The freshman Tebow had more rushing TDs then any other player on the team. The next closest was senior RB DeShawn Wynn with 6 rushing TDs.
As the season’s progressed, so did Tebow’s stats. In 2007, he ran 210 times for 895 yards and 23 TDs; in 2008, 176 attempts for 673 yards and 12 TDs; and, in 2009, he has run for 55 times amassing 271 years and 5 TDs, compared to star RB Chris Rainey who has a mere 31 attempts and 2 TDS.
The point being made is, Meyer doesn’t give two shakes about his 10 other players on the field. It’s TEBOW, TEBOW, TEBOW. The fans are getting sick of it, the players presumably are sick of it but wont comment, and most importantly, the opposing teams hate it. That’s why when Wildcats defensive end Taylor Wyndham saw a clean shot, he took it and Meyer paid dearly.
Tebow had no business being in the Kentucky game during the 3rd quarter. Florida was clearly dominating the game in all aspects. However, it wasn’t enough. Meyer kept Tebow in for one reason only–to pad Tebow’s stats for his Heisman run.
I’m not trying to take away anything from Tebow’s accomplishments, but his accomplishments were force fed by his coach. A QB like Penn State’s Daryll Clark could have similar stats if he ran the ball as many times as Tebow. QBs and RBs in the Heisman race don’t have rushing attempt numbers anywhere near Tebow’s. It’s a statistical anomaly when the QB has more rushing attempts, yards, and TDs than any other player on the team. All this is a result of Meyer’s will to win.
Meyer’s grip on domination has done an injustice to Tebow and the game. Playing Tebow on Saturday would be a big mistake. His status shouldn’t even be an issue. If Meyer had a well coached team with good balance, he should be able to come out of Tiger stadium victorious regardless of who is under center.
Again, it’s not the BCS, Tim Tebow, the refs or anyone else. The blame goes to Coach Meyer. Congratulations on giving Tebow his first concussion in the name of victory.
