Everyone has an opinion about Tim Tebow these days, but two of the most informed comments this week came from Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who offered a defensive player's perspective, and the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith, who revealed what a wide receiver playing with the Denver Broncos quarterback might be thinking.
The veterans were asked on NFL.com's "Dave Dameshek Football Program" about the unusual challenges presented by Tebow and the Broncos' read-option offense.
"We had to go up against a guy similar to him in Cam Newton as far as all the option-type looks and things like that," said Hall, whose Redskins lost to Newton's Panthers, 33-20, in Week 7. "It was just so hard to revamp the defense to key in on the quarterback. You never really have to account for the quarterback as far as running the ball, but when you add him to the mix, you almost have to take your safety out from the middle of the field just to even up the odds because no one accounts for the quarterback."
Smith said the adjustment can be equally jarring for Tebow's teammates on offense.
"Here's the hard part about that. You want to win, and you also want to be involved in the winning process," Smith said. "A running back doesn't want to pass block all day, and a receiver doesn't want to run block all day. If you're running routes, you have the expectation of getting more than one pass or bad ball.
"So I'll take the win, but you set yourself up for failure if you can't adjust. If you just run the ball, run the ball. Then all of a sudden, when you have to pass, you guys don't know what to do. You don't have the timing down."
