Brady Quinn has now apologized to Tim Tebow and ripped the author of the GQ article after his remarks about Tebow caused a stir on Tuesday.
UPDATE---Wednesday Feb. 22, 2012-----Brady Quinn has apologized for his remarks printed in GQ article. The interview with Michael Silver was conducted in December 2011 and published this week. Claiming that his words were "inaccurate" Quinn said:
"...the resulting story was a completely inaccurate portrayal of my comments. I have addressed my disappointment with the writer and have reached out to Tim to clear this up."
Quinn added that Tebow, "...deserves a lot of credit for our success and I'm happy for him and what he accomplished. Most importantly, he is a great teammate. I apologize to anyone who feels I was trying to take anything away from our team's or Tim's success this season." Mr. Silver stands by his work. Original story follows:
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Tim Tebow was a third-string quarterback at best when the Denver Broncos came out of the shortened training camp and pre-season for the 2011 campaign.
Ahead of him was starter designate Kyle Orton and former Cleveland Browns QB, Brady Quinn as Orton's back up. Quinn seems resentful of how he got passed over when Kyle Orton was yanked from his starter role as the Broncos fell to a record of 1-4.
Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports set out to interview people including current and former players as well as football analysts and Tebow's former coaches to see if he could understand the phenomenon.
In the current issue of GQ, Silver sets up his premise by asking, "How did he do that, and will it ever happen again?
We have already heard opinions on Tebow's mechanics from some of the interview subjects, along with their attempts to explain the famous intangibles and why the fourth quarter heroics aren't duplicated earlier in games.
The usual suspects are included such as Trent Dilfer of ESPN, Kurt Warner of the NFL Network, Broncos coach John Fox, John Elway, head of football operations for the Broncos, as well as opposing players from teams who were mowed down by Tim Tebow during the seven game winning streak.
What we haven't heard before, or in such detail and with such force, are the candid and in some respects unkind remarks made by Brady Quinn.
Quinn was less successful as a college player than Tebow and then got passed by on the depth chart while Tim ascended to the top of the sports media blitz known as Tebowmania.
He came in third in the voting for the 2006 Heisman Trophy, losing to QB Troy Smith from Ohio State, with Arkansas running back Darren McFadden ahead of him.
Tim Tebow won the Heisman the next year as a sophomore and came in a close third in 2008 behind QB's Colt McCoy and the winner, Sam Bradford.
Brady Quinn began his pro football career with disappointment and it has not gotten much better for the first round pick out of Notre Dame.
After dropping out of the top ten in the 2007 NFL Draft, he was picked up by the Browns and got himself a reported guarantee of $7.5 million with the possibility to earn $30 million over the course of a five-year contract.
He was a second or third-string QB for most of his career with the Browns during head coaching regimes of Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini.
When he was named as starter he did not compile a winning record and was bounced off the field by injuries as well as pushed aside for another QB on the depth chart. He was traded to the Broncos and named back up to Kyle Orton in 2010. He didn't make a start.
The 2011 season offered another opportunity for him to replace a starter but Tebow landed on the field instead. Quinn told Silver how that happened.
"I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just 'cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn't have any billboards. That would have been nice."
While analysts and football professionals strained to explain Tebow's success in the late stages of games, Quinn believes the answer is pretty easy. Luck, combined with defenses getting tuckered out and getting surprised with pass after dozens of running plays explains it, says Quinn.
As for the Christian displays of prayer, Brady Quinn claims that if the job were his, he'd be praying with teammates -- not calling attention to what has been dubbed "Tebowing" on the sidelines, which does not exude humility in Quinn's opinion..
Why Brady Quinn decided to speak in this manner is not known. He is on the free agent market this off season and while he might be a hero in other cities around the country, in Denver where Tim Tebow fever is alive he will be a pariah.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Notredamer
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