Rich Gannon played 17 seasons in the NFL, and as a guy who had his best years in his final career stop in Oakland — he was the league MVP in 2002 when he led the Raiders to the Super Bowl — he knows a little bit about what it takes, and how long it can take at times, to make yourself into an NFL starter.
He also knows a little bit about the road that Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow has to navigate.
Tebow played in a spread-option attack at Florida, a run-based offense that doesn’t really translate to the pro passing game. And Tebow has had to adjust his throwing mechanics, from his footwork to his throwing motion to his release point, to adapt to the Broncos’ playbook.
Gannon made even a bigger jump, having played in a wing-T offense at Delaware before signing with the Vikings as an undrafted rookie in 1987. As a result, Gannon waited until his fourth season to start a game and didn’t start 16 games in a season until his 12th season.
“I didn’t really have an understanding, a foundation with the pro passing game, when I came into the league,” Gannon said. “I had to learn my way, learn what it took, master the offense and what everybody does in it.
“That’s always my advice for Tim or any other young quarterback, that you really have to be a student of the game, more than you’ve ever imagined. And once you’ve mastered the offense, master what’s going on on the other side of the ball. Why are they playing this front? Why are they playing this coverage? What should I expect?
“And you can’t put a timetable on that. I think Matt Ryan is as close as we see among the younger guys in today’s game to the Tom Bradys and Peyton Mannings. He’s a younger version of those guys, real students of the game. But he’s not the norm. Most of the time, it’s going to be a process.”
That seems to be the consensus among many football people these days about Tebow. They all like his character, his approach and his work ethic — attributes that were evident in pre-draft interviews with Tebow.
But the passion of the fans to see him play and see him succeed may not match the timeline it takes for that to actually happen.
Gannon also raised another interesting point this week. The 49ers’ Alex Smith, a player who came out of virtually the same offense as Tebow did in college (he and Tebow played for the same coach, Urban Meyer), has seen his development stunted in part because of injuries, but also in part because of the almost constant turnover on the 49ers’ offensive staff as the team has continually struggled.
“And now the Broncos have blown out their coaching staff before Tim made it through his rookie year,” Gannon said. “So all the work Tim did to get to this point is almost for nothing, since I can’t imagine they stay in the same system. And you look at the guys who’ve really succeeded — Manning has been in the same system, Brady’s been in the same system and Brett Favre has essentially been in the same system.
“It mattered for them and will matter for Tim as well.”
So, no matter how the rest of the season goes for Tebow, he could be starting over with the next coaching staff.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
