This really is one of the cleanest Photoshop face blends I’ve ever seen.

See what I mean? It messes with with your head. Amazing what can be done with photos these days.

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We have been rather effusive in our praise of Tim Tebow on this site over the past month and a half, a fact of which I’m proud – mostly because I think we’ve kept Tebowmania in something resembling proper perspective. For every “TEBOW WON!” article, there has also been an article focusing on the personal attributes that make him so compelling or a generally down-the-center piece focusing on the Tebow phenomenon itself.

In this article, I don’t even really want to talk too much about Tebow (even though I will…that’s just how it goes). Rather, I want to offer up a few plaudits to quarterbacks whose important contributions to the NFL landscape are getting predictably lost in the Tebow Maelstrom.

T.John Skates…this post is for you.

Comparing The Numbers

T.John* Skates is how I will refer to the combination of T.J. Yates and John Skelton, the current signal-callers for the Houston Texas and Arizona Cardinals, respectively. Neither has received 1/1000th the hype or airtime as Tebow, for reasons too numerous to count, but both are playing key roles on teams winning important December games.

Here are the raw numbers over their last 8 games for Tebow and “Skates”:

^ – Skates’ record includes a few games where they didn’t start; 4th Quarter Ws includes games tied at beginning of 4th quarter

Kind of remarkable huh? Who knew, amidst all of the Tebow hype, that T.John Skates was essentially doing the same thing.

Okay, enough with the gimmicky name. The time has come to give Yates and Skelton their proper due. And while the title of this post, and lead-in pictures, are a clear parody of the infamous “What if Michael Vick were white?” article by ESPN, this question seems to me to be far more legitimate.

What if John Skelton and T.J. Yates were Tim Tebow? Well, of course, they’d be getting plenty more pub than they are.

But then again, neither guy is a former Heisman-winning college football hero who polarizes America despite being about as wholesome as wholesome gets. So I’m not saying they deserve the same level of attention that Tebow gets. They don’t. Tebow has “earned” it while these two guys are barely relevant to die-hard fantasy football players, let alone household names.

Still, it seems like they deserve a little taste of the spotlight, especially in light of this past weekend.

T.J. Yates

Yates, who is filling in for the Matts Schaub and Leinart, quarterbacked the winning drive in the 4th quarter of the game that clinched the first playoff spot in Texans’ history.

And he wasn’t just a “game manager” who rode the coattails of Arian Foster and Ben Tate to victory.

Without Andre Johnson, Yates threw for 300 yards against a pretty good Cincinnati defense. His quarterback rating is a serviceable is 82.3, and the Texans are now 3-0 in games in which he has played.

Image credit: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images via Bleacher Report

Needless to say, the silly whispers for Brett Favre had ended.

John Skelton

Skelton, who was so bad last year that Arizona desperately overpaid unproven Kevin Kolb in the offseason, has stepped in for the oft-injured and oft-ineffective Kolb this year to help engineer the Cardinals’ surprising turnaround from NFC West laughinstock to NFC playoff contender.

Skelton is the anti-Tebow – he has a rocket arm and the mobility of a lamp post, and he turns it over way too much – but there is one thing about him that is decidedly Tebowesque: The Cardinals are 4-1 in games he has thrown a pass in this year.

Sure, Patrick Peterson’s amazing punt return ability has helped the Cardinals to overcome Skelton’s 7 INTs, and sure, Larry Fitzgerald could probably make me look decent as a QB; but if we’re going to give Tebow credit for “just winning” then shouldn’t Skelton get a little bit of the same?

Image credit: Art Foxall via UPI.com

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Let me make one thing clear: this is not a Tebow versus Skelton/Yates article; and I’m not trying to crusade against the media coverage of Tebow. Is the incessant Tebow Mania a bit much? Sure, some of it. But it’s a compelling storyline and a lot of people, even non-sports fans, are captivated by it. Seeing as how the subject of said coverage is a guy as upstanding as Tebow, I say keep bringing it on — so long as we remember to give credit to the entire Broncos team for wins, not just Tebow…as Tebow himself does.

No, this is just a quick article to remind everyone that there are other QBs coming out of nowhere this year to lead teams to seemingly improbable wins and playoff runs. Tebow is getting it done, and getting a lot of deserved credit; T.J. Yates and John Skelton are getting it done too, just without quite as much credit, at least nationally, though they deserve it.

So here’s to you T.J. Yates and John Skelton. You may not be Tim Tebow, cultural icon, but you don’t need to be. Just keep doing your best impression of Tim Tebow, football player: make a few good plays each game (especially late, in crunch time), make sure you don’t make too many bad ones, and put the outstanding players around you in a position to win games.

What if John Skelton and T.J. Yates were Tim Tebow? Shoot, in many ways they pretty much have been.

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* – I guarantee that any Indiana basketball fans who say that first name out loud will immediately smile. If you’re not an IU fan, just trust me.

But Tom Brady is sticking by his embattled receiver, and as Jimmy Traina pointed out on Twitter today, @Ochocinco’s Twitter avatar is all kinds of awesome.

I don’t know who did the Photoshop work on this, but please identify yourself if you see this post so credit can be given where due. Excellent work, especially the picture choice for Belichick.

Now if only Brady and Ocho can develop the same chemistry Gibson and Glover had…

Surprisingly, the Rangers kept Washington on as manager last year despite the positive test, although you have to think that he will be on a very short leash this season.

The team’s expectations for 2010, combined with Washington’s now sullied reputation, basically makes this a playoffs-or-bust season for Washington.

It was obviously a dumb move by Washington, made all the more ironic and egregious by the fact that Washington is supposed to be a leader and mentor for noted former drug abuser Josh Hamilton.

Or not.

Beyond that, I don’t really have a lot to add to this story…but I did waste ten minutes playing with Google Image Search and Photoshop to create this:

The situation called for such an interpretation via photo manipulation, so there it is.

My prediction: I give Ron Washington two months before he is out.

I think the loss of Kevin Millwood will hurt the Rangers, who now have to rely on a lot of young and unproven pitchers. Plus, Josh Hamilton continues to be hampered by injuries and they need his bat in the middle of his lineup mashing like he did in 2008. And now, of course, they have to deal with this distraction. Add in the fact that they now have new management, and it all adds up to a very, very tenuous situation for the manager.

Hope the “one time” blow use was worth it Ron.

And the beautiful photoshop work featured in this post is the fruit on our own Ryan Russell‘s labor of Browns love, in response to the most colorful and nonsensical figurative part of Jamal Lewis’ pre-practice rant about Eric Mangini earlier today.

Via the OBR:

“If you look at this like it’s a farm, we (the players) are just the crops. We’re just the crops. We’re just the crops. You’ve got to take care of your crops. You’ve got to nurture them. And if you don’t, when it comes harvest time, your crop isn’t going to be any good.”

Full size picture (Eric Mangini included!) after the jump.

Nice work Russell (who you can follow at @ryansrussell).

(Hopefully I throw it into the wind a little better than Tony Romo, or another blog may intercept this post and run it back for a link on Deadspin.)

Gotta love the mixed metaphors.

Anyway, back to our discussion of Jerry Jones. We all know about the Dallas Cowboys loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and many of you have probably heard by now that Jerry Jones basically called out Marion Barber for being a wuss and not playing with his injured pinkie toe. Yes ladies and gentleman, a grown man who has gotten a face lift and danced in public with Steve Urkel insinuated that one of the toughest running backs in the NFL is a wuss.

He of course backtracked off of those comments once they caused a stir in the media, but you tell me how this is taken out of context (from the Rick Herrin story in the Fort-Worth Star Telegram):

“He can play with that injured toe,” Jones said. “He can play with the soreness and a combination of those things. I see nothing that led us to believe he couldn’t.”

Seems pretty cut and dry to me: Jerry Jones thinks Marion Barber should have been able to play, yet Barber did not even make the trip to Pittsburgh. I’m confused though by how there was not better communication about this injury within the Cowboys organization leading up the game. Hell, I posted in the middle of the week last week that Marion Barber most likely was not going to play, and I’m just a schmuck blogger for a Midwest site who’s lived in Dallas for less than a year. Yet somehow I was more up to date on the status of Marion Barber than the Cowboys owner.

Maybe the fact that Jerry Jones seems out of touch is because he has something a little more pressing on his mind that regular season football. Something like…a $1 billion stadium for which he is currently short about $350 million.

I actually did some Photoshop work for an article that was written on this topic last week. Entitled “Dallas Cowboys Stadium Shortfall: Bailing Out Jerry Jones“, I learned that a little over five weeks ago Jerry Jones hosted a variety of banks to try and secure the final $350 million that he needs to complete his ridiculous stadium in Arlington. The article itself is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at what some of Jerry’s options might be to get the financing he needs, including whether a federal bailout would be a worthwhile use of tax dollars. Because honestly, if the Dallas Cowboys suffer, don’t we all?

Just to give you a little taste, here is one of the images from the article. This one was produced as an illustration of the possibility of Barack Obama funneling some money Jerry’s way, in an effort by Barack to have a better chance at winning the state of Texas in 2012. My favorite part is the expression on Jerry Jones’ face as he is forced to shake hands with a Democrat, and the sobbing Tony Romo in the background:

You can click on the image for a full-size view. To view the other images, including “Jerry Jones Field at He Loves Him Some Him Stadium” which features Jerry Jones grinding up next to a shocked Tom Landry, you’ll have to go check out the article.

It will be interesting to see what actually happens with the new stadium, and with the Cowboys team, leading into the 2009 season. There is absolutely no question that Jerry Jones fully expected to be heading into the new stadium in 2009 riding a wave of momentum from a Super Bowl win in 2008. It was all I heard on the radio this offseason and during training camp.

Now, after 13 weeks of up and down football and an 8-5 record, Jerry Jones is:

• Calling out his star running back
• Short of funding for his new stadium
• Has to be wondering if he has a QB with the stones to win once the games really matter
• Frustrated with his head coach, Wade Phillips

(By the way, after you go read the article about the new Cowboys stadium, check out the link above. It is from 1310 The Ticket here in Dallas, and is a regular bit they do every Monday called Fake Jerry and Fake Wade. It is hilarious.)

Anyway, with the Cowboys taking on the Ravens, Giants, and Eagles in their final three games, and needing to win at least two just have a prayer at a playoff berth, the rest of 2008 is not shaping up to give Jerry Jones much relief. And to be quite honest, his unnecessary comments about Marion Barber’s injury make me think that Jerry may be coming unraveled and starting to feel the pressure of the enormous stadium budget and the reality that his team is merely good, but not elite.