We’ve posted a couple of items recently regarding Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly’s “recommendation” of Tim Tebow to the Bills, with the caveat from Kelly that he isn’t qualified to determine whether Tebow should be drafted in round one or round two.
And we were content to let it ride until we saw a suggestion from Ed Kilgore of WGRZ-TV in Buffalo (an NBC affiliate) that we believe Kelly is “urging” the Bills to take Tebow. Kilgore accuses us of not having the facts straight and, in so doing, Kilgore completely misrepresents the facts.
We’ve never said that Kelly is “urging” the Bills to take Tebow. We’ve only repeated that which Kelly himself said -- that he “would be comfortable” recommending Tebow to the Bills. And then we explained how Kelly shouldn’t be making any player personnel recommendations to the Bills. And then we shared the quote from a high-level scout who believes (as do many scouts) that the periodic propensity of retired players to pop off about such matters does a disservice to the scouting process.
Kilgore says that Kelly claims he would need to see Tebow work out personally before actually making a recommendation. Of course, that’s not what Kelly told Vic Carucci of NFL.com.
Bottom line? We firmly believe that former players should resist the urge to talk about such matters because it undermines the efforts of the folks currently charged with scouting and selecting players. Though Kelly has the right to say whatever he chooses to say, the best way to help his former team is to say nothing publicly about what he would like to see his former team do. We say that because the average fan believes that Kelly is qualified to make such recommendations because he played the game at a high level, and the average fan doesn’t realize that the duty of distinguishing between one player and another is far more delicate and difficult.
Also, the average Bills fan who is inclined to piss and/or moan about the Bills’ personnel decisions will be inclined to point to Kelly’s words if, for example, they pass on Tebow in round one and round two -- and if the Bills continue to struggle at the quarterback position.