Time for Eagles coach Chip Kelly to end the Tebow experiment

IF GOOD SENSE prevails, as it usually does for Chip Kelly, then the Tim Tebow era in Philadelphia will end with final cuts, due Saturday at 4 p.m. Oh, there were some fun times: the fourth quarter against the Colts in the preseason opener, and . . . well . . .

Anyway: How could Kelly let such a good thing die?

Well, because Tim Tebow does not throw the football very hard, or very accurately, or very quickly.

These, for a quarterback, are called liabilities. Shortcomings.

Deal-breakers.

Now, before anyone wails about Tebow-hating - oh, too late? - understand that there is no conspiracy by the "liberal media" bent on trashing a clean-cut, conservative role model.

The press does not despise Tebow because he's Christian; heck, it's rumored some of that liberal media might have loose religious ties themselves.

In fact, the press does not despise Tebow for any reason. He's a pretty nice guy trying to fulfill his dream.

Rather, if anyone senses discord in the reporting on Tebow, understand this:

The press is exasperated with Tebow.

More precisely, the press resents the outsized mania that always accompanies Tebow. His allure is logical: A happy, wholesome young man with good looks and a nice smile who had lots of success in college and showed guts as a younger NFL player. He is, in many ways, an anomaly in a league better known for domestic violence, gun violence and cheating.

Sentimentality often obscures reality. He never should have been a first-round pick for Denver. He never should have worn a Jets uniform, and he never should have been signed by the Patriots in 2013. And, certainly, he never ever should have been given a spot on the Eagles' preseason roster, having thrown eight passes in NFL games in the past three years, the last two spent out of the league as an SEC television analyst.

Sure, after some private coaching, Tebow's release now is quicker, his mechanics are more fluid, and his arm is stronger than when he was with the Jets.

"I've seen improvements in his throwing motion since we got him in April," Kelly said yesterday. "Sequencing his throwing motion, so he's gotten a lot more accurate. He's got a big week this week."

"I'm improved. I'm a lot more comfortable," Tebow agreed. When pressed, he acknowledged he remains a work in progress: "It might be a decision on this play, a read on this play, footwork on this play."

The problem is, Tebow getting better doesn't equate to Tebow being good. He is 10-for-19 for 97 yards and a 67.2 passer rating in three preseason games. This, playing late in preseason games against the worst the NFL has to offer. This, from a 28-year-old former first-round pick with 16 starts and 35 games played.

The press doesn't hate Tebow. The press hates having its time wasted.

Anyone who watched the first three preseason games or, better yet, anyone who attended the joint practices the Eagles ran with the Ravens two weeks ago, understands why attending to Tebow has been a waste of time.

During the practices, at any given time, one of the several quarterbacks in camp might be seen throwing a pass: Joe Flacco, effortlessly strong; Sam Bradford, elegantly accurate; Mark Sanchez, mediocrely mediocre; Matt Barkley, good enough; Matt Schaub, remarkably still not too bad.

And then it would be Tebow Time.

You would see his hitch, now minimized; his reload, as a window closed or a passing lane disappeared; and, finally, his offering, better now than in college at Florida, or in Denver or with the Jets, but still consistently lacking NFL velocity, spin and trajectory.

Again, this is no personal attack. Tebow's devotion to his faith and his right to express it have been challenged by people in the press. But, really, if he could consistently get rid of the ball and complete a 20-yard out, the blowback would be minimal.

It is unfair to question Tebow's genuineness and absurd to think less of him because of it.

It is, however, perfectly rational to resent having to deal with the Cult of Tebow over and over and over again.

Now that preseason practices have been closed to even the well-heeled sponsors, the two most telling public moments of Tebow's tenure came Saturday night in Green Bay. Kelly, who swore Tebow was not on the roster to run gadget plays, sent in Tebow to run two two-point conversion gadget plays.

One was a run. One was a pass. Kelly blamed poor blocking on the stuffed run, but both failed, miserably.

That's because Tebow, while an outstanding physical phenomenon as a quarterback - an oddity, really - he is nothing more.

Suggestions that he might play running back, receiver, tight end or safety could only be seen as insult to actual running backs, receivers, tight ends and safeties.

Of course, the suggestion that Tebow might play quarterback in the NFL might insult that group, too.

Kelly said he signed Tebow in April because Tebow had improved. Indeed, Tebow has gone from worst to bad.

On its face it seemed like a natural fit: an athletic quarterback running an offense that includes read-option components.

Except that Kelly's offense relies on accuracy and whippet-quick decisions. It's a video game, not canasta.

Various theories have been offered as to why Kelly really signed Tebow after Tebow's promising tryout in March.

Perhaps Kelly saw a glimmer of potential, a glimpse of the run/throw fool's gold other coaches saw.

Perhaps Kelly sought to use Tebow to deflect attention from his other, more dynamic moves - trading LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles for two talented, injured players; letting Jeremy Maclin walk; trading Brandon Boykin.

Well, if that was the plan, it worked. Here we are again, talking about the worst player on the roster; who, if sanity reigns, will not be on the roster much longer.

"I continue to live one day at a time," Tebow said. "That's very biblical."

Godspeed.

On Twitter: @inkstainedretch