In the 2000 American sports comedy film The Replacements, Washington Sentinels coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) was asked by a reporter what does the team needs to win their final game of the season after trailing 17-0 at halftime. McGinty replied "miles and miles of heart" meant as a message to Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves), the replacement quarterback.
Falco hears him say this and comes to the game during halftime and won the game for the Sentinels.
In an interview with the AL.com, Heisman Trophy-winner and former Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Tim Tebow reiterated that a quarterback with a heart and determination could define a team's performance and eventually change a football team.
"People look at a position and you're supposed to respect the quarterback position as a leader," Tebow said. "They respect heart, and they respect passion, and they respect determination way more than they'll ever respect a position. And I think when he shows plays like that, he wins over guys on his team."
Tebow was referring to Alabama quarterback Jake Coker who is known for his toughness and running style. Because of Coker, Alabama is a "way better football team."
Asked to comment about Coker's style of play, Tebow commented, "I love that. I love that about him last week. He's done it a few times this year. I think that's important for him to do. He doesn't have to do it all the time, but when you're trying to win over a football team -- which I think the last couple of weeks, he's been trying to win over...and honestly this year he's been trying to win over to get them to believe in him because I think that's really important."
Tebow described Coker as a quarterback who brings passion in his every game and is respected by his teammates because of his attitude. He continued, "I think when he (Coker) shows plays like that, he wins over guys on his team. More so than him just hitting somebody, but it's what it does for the rest of the guys that look at him. And they believe and feed off of that. That's the biggest thing that he can bring to the table, and that's what he brought last week when he showed that effort and that heart. They say, 'OK, we're going to rally around this guy,' and it changes a football team."
He added that how a quarterback play could determine the race in the SEC and said a quarterback can actually define the outcome. Tebow said, "A quarterback gives the team a few easy touchdowns and field positions. It's going to be really tough to overcome that when you're playing with such a good defense like Alabama and LSU and the running game. Quarterbacks can win the game, but the consistency factor of not losing it is more important."
Early this month, reports have surfaced that Chicago Bears fans have been flooding the social media with request to replace Jay Cutler as the starting quarterback with Tim Tebow. Indeed, some of these fans are wanting Tebow to be the starting quarterback even after Jay Cutler returns.
Apparently, a recent report from NFL.com had the governor of Texas reportedly campaigning for the Dallas Cowboys to sign Tebow, in order to replace the injured Tony Romo, who is planned to miss about eight weeks of the regular season due to his fractured collarbone.
