Tim Tebow, the backup quarterback who struggles to accurately throw a football, has survived the latest round of cuts to get the New England Patriots roster down to 75. With Week 4 of the preseason around the corner, Tebow figures to have one last shot to prove he can hack it.
In his first two preseason tilts Tebow was terrible, completing a combined five passes in 19 attempts, while getting sacked three times. In the second game he was a woeful 1-for-7, and managed to throw for negative yardage. Despite all that, and the presence of Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett in front of him, Patriots owner Robert Kraft is rooting for Tebow to succeed.
Both Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick had nice things to say about Tebow on Tuesday, according to USA Today, but Kraft said he is leaving roster cuts entirely up to his coach.
"We want to make sure we have the 53 best people to help us win games during this year," Kraft said. "I'm rooting for (Tebow) and I'm in his corner, but I have the privilege of letting Bill make those decisions. He's got a pretty good record doing it."
Belichick was less wordy, simply saying of Tebow, "He's great to work with, outstanding."
Tebow knows he hasn't played well in his two opportunities so far, but did not get down when he was left on the sidelines for the entire Week 3 preseason game against the Detroit Lions. He acknowledged he can't control what happens with roster cuts, and is focused on what he can affect.
"I can control my attitude, my focus every single day," Tebow said. "Those are the things that I'm going to worry about."
Defensive end Rob Ninkovich intimated Tebow has a chance to make the roster because of his playmaking ability, even if he doesn't look smooth during practices.
"Practice and games are a lot different," Ninkovich said. "Can go out there and make some big plays in a live situation that's not in a controlled environment like practice (and) you're going against another team? You don't know what they're going to do and it's just you out there either doing it or not doing it. So you've got to make sure that you're out there doing it."
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