Tim Tebow Should Use Lions Linebacker Tulloch's Tebowing as Motivation

Tim Tebow apparently had no problem with Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch Tebowing after sacking him in the second quarter last week in a game where the Lions trounced the Denver Broncos, 45-10.

Tebow said Tulloch was just having fun, not mocking him or his Christian faith. He was just celebrating, having fun with his teammates and I don't take offense to that, Tebow said. I was bothered that I gave up a sack and that I didn't break the tackle. That bothered me.

Good, Tim Tebow, it should bother you. But mocking something that's directly linked to your faith should also bother you, even the guy was just celebrating.

Don't you think another celebration could have happened? Maybe Tulloch could have been more original?

Tulloch explained directly after the game and on Twitter that he was just having some fun at the quarterback's expense.

Football is a form of entertainment, Tulloch tweeted. Have a sense of humor. I wasn't mocking GOD!

O.K., so Tulloch wasn't mocking God or the Christian faith. Anybody can take that however he or she wants. For Tebow, it was nothing. It doesn't warrant Tebow's anger or frustration, which is beside the point.

But, the point is that Tulloch was mocking Tebow. He could have done anything else to emphasize the fact that he got the sack. Go ahead, steal Jared Allen's imaginary fishing reel.

The larger point is that Tebow should use the sheer fact that a player would mock him and something he takes seriously -- even in jest -- and use what happened as motivation to outperform himself. After all, coach John Fox said he needs to improve in the pocket, or Tebow's reign may be over.

ESPN the Magazine's Jemele Hill made a great point. There's a sizable faction [of players] who find the media coverage of Tebow's success and his commitment to his faith nauseating, she said. Tulloch's actions represent an undercurrent of jealousy that some NFL players feel toward Tebow because of the publicity he receives.

And that was never more apparent than in that game against the Lions.

Tulloch must be part of the faction of players who have doubts that Tebow will make it far. Yes, Tim Tebow's mechanics are off. He isn't accurate. The pass rush scares him a little. He has one true comeback win, no consistency.

Tebow doesn't have to come out and say that the mockery truly bothers him and will motivate him going down the road. It's just another motivational tool he should keep under wraps.

Only if the Broncos start to win a few more games and Tebow changes the way he plays can we start asking ourselves if anyone else who Tebows really affects him.