If Tim Tebow doesn't get his career back on track soon, he could be out of the NFL before you can say "Tebowmania."
After attempting 271 passes while leading the Denver Broncos to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs after the 2011 season, Tebow only threw eight times last year as a member of the New York Jets.
Although it's unclear why the Jets were so reluctant to let Tebow test out his arm, the quarterback's mechanics are usually blamed. Tebow's throwing motion has plagued him since his days at Florida, and some coaches are convinced that he'll never succeed as a professional unless he alters his form.
This offseason Tebow spent time working with instructor Steve Clarkson, and the quarterback guru tried out an unconventional approach on the unconventional signal caller.
Clarkson, who has also worked with Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Leinart, told Newsday that he thought many of Tebow's problems were related to his footwork. Tebow's feet, Clarkson said, were not on the same page as the rest of his body. So to help Tebow develop a more fluid motion, Clarkson introduced elements of Tai Chi into their sessions.
"There was a lot of Tai Chi that we kind of put into his workouts where we really taught him to make his body work as one unit," Clarkson said. "Most people who watch him will say for the most part that he has his moments when he throws in rhythm, he throws quite well. It's when he had to reset himself, that's when he would tend to get off balance and the ball would come off in an unnatural manner."
Clarkson also said "the things that [Tebow] needs to work on are very coachable and actually very minor," so maybe all it will take for Tebow to solidify his motion is a little Tai Chi.
Tebow isn't the first NFLer to incorporate martial arts into his training. In fact, the San Francisco 49ers used to employ a part-time martial arts trainer. George Chung, a black belt who has sometimes been called the "Bruce Lee of the NFL," reportedly helped several players improve their technique.
