Trent Dilfer: Tim Tebow is in ‘quarterback heaven’

In landing with the New England Patriots, Tim Tebow is in quarterback heaven.

At least that’s the opinion of former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, who believes that the Patriots are the closest thing to ideal for the Heisman Trophy winner that seemingly no other team wants. New England is expected to announce Tuesday that it has signed Tebow, most recently cast aside by the New York Jets.

“It’s the best thing that could ever happen to Tebow,� Dilfer, an ESPN analyst, said by phone. “It’s what should have happened when he first came out. He’s a developmental player as a quarterback, and he’s going to a team that believes in developing players. They believe the NFL’s a developmental league, which the good teams do.

“He’s going to take that and sit and watch ... a guy who cares about mechanics more than anybody, Tom Brady. He’s not going to be expected to play, and he’s going to get scout-team reps, and they know how to handle the circus. That’s what they do as well as anybody. They control the circus. They control the information.�

The Patriots also have a head coach in Bill Belichick who’s on rock-solid footing and can take these kinds of risks, and an offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels who was head coach in Denver when the Broncos traded back into the first round to draft Tebow.

Tebow has grown too, having worked for three months with quarterbacks expert Dennis Gile in Arizona, and later with former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke, who trains quarterbacks for IMG.

“Basically, to dumb it down, Dennis unlocked his upper body,� Dilfer said. “Tim had been so locked up. When your upper body is locked up, you cannot be fluid. So you’re going to naturally be choppy. He was choppy with his legs and choppy with his stroke. This guy [Gile] is good with biomechanics, and he unlocked him -- or at least he taught Tim how to unlock himself.�

Dilfer does not expect to see Tebow play this season, however, even in brief, situational relief of Brady, or on gadget plays.

Said Dilfer: “I think what they’re going to say is, ‘What you need is just a year to learn. To be in a learning environment. Learn our way of studying, our way of football, the mechanics. Hone, hone, hone.’ Because once he gets put on the field, now you’re always going to resort back to what you’re most comfortable doing. He won’t be in that 10,000-hour stage yet. He won’t have repped it enough to not resort back to bad stuff.�

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