Tebow already an all-time great (cont.)

Alex Smith also played in Urban Meyer's system while at Utah, but did not put up Tebow-like stats. Robert Beck/SI

In viewing Tebow's numbers alongside some of these other greats, I began to get a better picture of just how dominant he's been. Consider:

• While Tebow is unlikely to catch Texas' Young in rushing yards (Young racked up 3,127, Tebow has 2,037), he's already rushed for more touchdowns (43 to 37) and thrown for more yards (6,159 to 6,040) and touchdowns (67 to 44).

• Nebraska's Tommie Frazier, who won national titles in 1994 and '95 and placed second in the Heisman voting his senior year, is generally considered the greatest option quarterback of all-time. Yet Tebow has already scored more rushing touchdowns than Frazier (43 to 36) and is within just 226 rushing yards of him despite nine less starts to date.

• Tebow's staggering 67-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio is far better than anyone else's on the list. Tebow's ratio works out to 6.10-to-1. His closest competition: USC's Leinart at 4.3-to-1.

• Florida State coach Bobby Bowden recently drew the ire of Florida fans by suggesting his former star, 1993 Heisman winner Charlie Ward, belongs in the same "all-time greatest" conversation as Tebow. Certainly, Ward was a fantastic player, and he played in a much different offense than Tebow, but statistically, it's not even close between the pair of two-year starters.

You could say I was starting to come around.

Measuring Tebow against other recent greats

Obviously, there are plenty of great quarterbacks who never won a Heisman (like Tennessee's Peyton Manning), and there are plenty of national-title QBs who would never realistically enter this discussion (like Tee Martin). So with my curiosity piqued, I decided to compare Tebow's stats to those of several other prominent QBs from the recent era.

Once again, he's at or near the top of the pack.

Other Prominent QBs From the Recent Era     PASSING RUSHING GREATNESS Player W-L Pct. Yards TDs INTs Yards TDs Score Pat White 34-8 64.8 6,049 56 23 4,480 47 983.38 Colt Brennan 26-11 70.4 14,193 131 42 547 15 859.28 Tim Tebow 22-5 65.8 6,159 67 11 2,037 43 831.0 Graham Harrell 28-11 69.8 15,793 134 34 -182 0 826.59 Chase Daniel 30-11 68.0 12,515 101 41 971 10 766.61 Peyton Manning 39-6 62.5 11,201 89 33 -181 12 740.51 Donovan McNabb 33-12 58.4 8,389 77 26 1,561 19 674.71 Alex Smith 22-3 66.3 5,203 47 8 1,072 15 566.39 Chuck Long 35-13-1 65.0 10,461 74 52 -218 15 531.17 Phillip Rivers 34-17 67.1 13,484 95 34 98 17 515.13 Michael Vick 20-1 56.1 3,504 22 12 1,318 18 434.34

The main things that jump out to me from this list:

• Once again, Tebow's rushing numbers far exceed those of two highly decorated "mobile" quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick.

• To anyone who likes to suggest Tebow is a product of Urban Meyer's system, note how much higher he scored than Meyer's star quarterback at Utah, Alex Smith, despite Smith's higher winning percentage.

• Most of us never fully appreciated just how special a player Pat White was. How different might his legacy have been had West Virginia not blown its shot at the BCS title game in '07 (by losing to 4-7 Pitt, in a game in which White got hurt)?

OK -- I'm sold. Barring injury or some other unforeseen demise (like Florida unexpectedly careening to the Outback Bowl), Tebow will almost certainly finish his career as the greatest quarterback of the past 25 years. That is, unless ...

(NOTE: An earlier version listed White's rushing touchdowns incorrectly.)

What about Bradford and McCoy?

Lest we forget, there's no guarantee Tebow will wind up the most decorated quarterback of this season. Like Tebow, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford has a chance to become just the second player ever to win multiple Heismans. He's already the first player in history to lead the nation in pass efficiency as both a freshman and sophomore and holds two of the 10 highest ratings recorded.

Texas' Colt McCoy has neither a ring nor a trophy, but he was the Heisman runner-up last year, and his team starts the season ranked second behind Florida. Last year he set the NCAA single season record for completion percentage (77.6), and the four-year starter could potentially break another record for career wins (42, held by Georgia's David Greene) with an 11-win season.

Here's how Tebow's score compares to these two on our "greatness scale:"

The 2009 QB Holy Trinity     PASSING RUSHING GREATNESS Player W-L Pct. Yards TDs INTs Yards TDs Score Tim Tebow 22-5 65.8 6,159 67 11 2,037 43 831.0 Colt McCoy 32-7 70.0 9,732 85 33 1,223 17 793.09 Sam Bradford 23-5 68.7 7,841 86 16 54 5 599.4

As you can see, McCoy, who has an extra year as a starter under his belt, isn't far off from Tebow. With another big year, he, too, would likely surpass every big name previously mentioned.

Bradford sits further behind, primarily because of his lack of rushing statistics. In terms of passing, he's thrown for more yards and touchdowns than Tebow and more touchdowns than McCoy. He's also the closest of any other quarterback I calculated to approaching Tebow's TD-to-INT ratio, at 5.38-to-1.

Statistically, Bradford could also pass most or all of the other quarterback greats, though he's unlikely to catch Tebow or McCoy. But regardless of their statistics, both McCoy and Bradford will ultimately need to add a national title to their resume to formally enter the all-time greatest discussion.

Just for kicks: Tebow or Herschel?

OK, OK. I know I said it's virtually impossible to compare players from different positions -- but I was having so much fun with this little formula, I just couldn't help myself. Considering the fantasy system is so favorable to runners, I wanted to see what would happen if I put Tebow's "greatness score" up against one of the all-time great running backs.

Ron Dayne and Ricky Williams sit atop the all-time career rushing chart, but I'm going with the aforementioned Herschel Walker. He's widely regarded as the most dominant rusher since O.J. Simpson, he ranks among the top 10 all-time rushers despite playing just three seasons, and most importantly, he led his team to one national title and very nearly another.

The envelope, please ...

The All-time Great QB/RB Comparison     PASSING RUSHING GREATNESS Player W-L Pct. Yards TDs INTs Yards TDs Score Tim Tebow 22-5 65.8 6,159 67 11 2,037 43 831.0 Herschel Walker 33-3 5,259 52 768.08

It's close enough to be considered a draw -- but again, remember Tebow has another year ahead of him. Once all is said and done, the Florida quarterback may even wind up with more rushing touchdowns than the Georgia legend.

If nothing else, the evidence overwhelmingly shows people aren't tossing around all those grandiose Tebow labels without merit. There is no conclusive way to compare Tim Tebow or Sam Bradford to Dick Butkus or Red Grange (though I'm sure the Galloping Ghost could have dominated a fantasy league in his day). In terms of the modern era, however, the numbers are awfully convincing in Tebow's favor.

So convincing, in fact, that come January there may no longer be an argument.