These are some comments that Tim Tebow, Denver's new starting quarterback, said regarding the Bronco's upcoming opponent for this weekend. That opponent is . . . well . . . us. The Kansas City Chiefs. This is the first time the Chiefs will have faced Tebow as the starting quarterback, and, depending on how this season goes, it could be the first of many.
Tim Tebow is, perhaps, the most polarizing figure is the NFL. To some, he represents a calming sense of faith, to others, an arrogant sense of entitlement. Nevertheless, he is the Chiefs opponent this weekend, and I think it fitting that I describe the road that brought him to this point.
The College Phenom
Tim Tebow was, perhaps, the greatest college athlete to ever play football. He is already a legend in college football lure, and the University of Florida already has his statue. He was a two-time SEC Champion, two-time BCS National Champion, two-time first team All-American, one-time Associated Press Player of the Year, and Heisman winner (there are other awards that he won, but for brevity's sake, I will leave it at those). That Heisman, I should mention, came his sophomore year, and he would contend for the title the next two seasons as well, eventually losing to Sam Bradford and Mark Ingram.
The Athlete/Raw Talent
Despite all of Tebow's success and accolades, he was not a highly regarded quarterback prospect entering the 2010 draft. Draft Guru, Mel Kiper Jr., didn't think that any team should take the risk with Tebow, not in the upper rounds at least. Some scouts even speculated if he would be better off converting to perhaps a half back or a tight end. Tebow, however, would hear none of it, persisting that he will continue to play quarterback. "My dream is to be a quarterback," Tebow said. "And I'm going to pursue that as much as I can. I want to be a quarterback in the NFL. It's been my dream since I was 6."
The 2010 NFL Scouting Combine showed his athleticism, but he refused to partake in the throwing drills. What he did do, however, was: vertical jump - 38.5 inches (tied for best by quarterbacks in history), and ran a 40 yard dash in 4.72 seconds. These results seemed to reinforce, however, the reasons why the 6'2" 236 lb Tebow should be something other than a quarterback, especially when scouts took notice to his slow delivery.
But while most analysts were stressing the risk involved on a "project" like Tebow, some liked what Tebow had to offer, even if they couldn't put what he had to offer into words. "Here's my deal on Tim Tebow: arguably the best quarterback that ever played, arguably the best football player that played college football," Mike Mayock, an NFL Network Analyst, said. "I'm going to bet on him because of his intangibles. This kid's got a lot of work to do before he's an NFL quarterback. But if you're going to take a bet on anybody, why not this kid?"
At least one coach agreed.
The First Round Draft Pick
"And with the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select . . . Tim Tebow. Quarterback, Florida."
And the controversy began. The Broncos had traded three draft picks - a 2nd, 3rd and 4th - to move up and get Tim Tebow in the first round. With Kyle Orton the starter and a trade that had brought in Brady Quinn prior to the draft already done, the selection didn't sit well with many analysts. The fans, however, seemed to fall in love and Tebow's jersey would go on to be the highest selling jersey on any rookie drafted that season. Josh McDaniels, then the Broncos head coach, had followed his gut, gone against the grain, and selected Tim Tebow.
The Backup
Tebow's first year with the Broncos was spent mostly on a learning basis. He was to refine his game while mentoring under Josh McDaniels and Kyle Orton. He would see some sub-packages, particularly the wildcat formation, during the game, but nothing more. That was the plan anyway.
For a variety of reasons including poor performance, losing streaks, bad personnel decisions, and yes, questionable drafting, Josh McDaniels was fired midway through the 2010 season. Tebow's biggest, and possibly only, advocate, was now no longer on the team. Luckily for Tebow, the Broncos were so poor during the season, that Tebow got to start the last three games at the end of the 2010 season. He threw for four touchdowns and ran for three more in those three games.
After the lockout of this summer was ended, Tebow got back in camp and the results were not good. He looked worse than he ever had, at times being described as the "fourth best" quarterback on the roster during training camp. Things weren't looking up for Tebow, and when the season started, he was regulated as the third string quarterback behind Brady Quinn, who had clearly outperformed him in both camp and the preseason. While some were speculating if this was Tebow's last year in Denver, the Broncos kept losing with Orton as starter. Denver fans were beginning to buy billboards to show their support for the promotion of Tebow to starter.
As ridiculous as it sounds, it looks like it worked.
The Starter
After an 1-3 start for the Broncos, they were in the process of going 1-4 against division rival San Diego. Down 26-10 in the fourth quarter, and with Kyle Orton being completely ineffective, Denver coach John Fox decided to cave and put Tim Tebow into the game. Not only was this decision an apparent move to satisfy the fan base, but it was also a snub to second string QB Quinn. Nevertheless, Tebow was given his first opportunity of the 2011 season, and he didn't disappoint.
He lead the Broncos to two fourth quarter touchdowns, and was a failed two-point conversion away from tying the game up. Denver would come up just short, however, but the fans were already sold by this display.
Entering the bye week, Fox did something no one during training camp could see coming. He named Tebow the starting quarterback indefinitely. “Well, I think 1-4 has a lot to do with it,” Fox said. “We haven’t gotten it done as a football team. It’s not one guy. It’s not all Kyle Orton’s fault. But we do have to make adjustments, we have to change and we have to do something to win football games.”
But even after taking the risk to name Tebow the starter, it was apparent the Broncos were just seeing what they had. Doing something to "win football games" didn't actually appear to be something the Broncos front office was all that interested in doing, at least in 2011. That became clear when they traded their Pro Bowl receiver, Brandon Lloyd, to St. Louis just days after promoting Tebow.
In his first game after being named the starter, he didn't look good at all, not until the fourth quarter anyway. Against Miami, he was just 13/27 for 161 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the manner of those completions and touchdowns that will be remembered. He engineered a fourth quarter comeback (mostly because of the defense), down 15-0, to tie it up and send it to overtime where the Broncos would eventually win.
As miraculous as that was, not very many analysts were sold, including Bill Barnwell from Football Outsiders. Their warnings of unorthodox playing style being a liability seemed to prove itself in a 45-10 loss to Detroit. Some were saying the Tebow area should be over, but Tebow responded the following week with a 38-24 win over Oakland.
The Opponent
Tim Tebow enters Sunday's game against the Chiefs as a unique type of quarterback. Denver has started to use the option to compensate for Tebow's lack of traditional quarterbacking skills at this point in his career, and it worked against Oakland. While Tebow is only completing 46.4% of his passes, with a season high completions of 18, he has also thrown for five touchdowns and only one interception in three starts. He has also run for 277 yards and one touchdown since the beginning of the season.
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