Tim Tebow Shouldn't Be the Question John Elway is Getting Grilled About
By Jason McIntyre
* Tim Tebow took over for Kyle Orton and helped guide the team to a 7-4 record. Thanks to a few late comebacks, he put Denver in position to reach the playoffs, even though they backed in, losers of three straight.
* He was brilliant in a playoff victory of Pittsburgh.
* He fills the stadium like nobody has in Denver since Elway.
* Nationally, the Broncos are relevant because of Tebow.
* Expect NBC and CBS to brawl in the offseason over airing Tebow’s games. I suspect he’ll get a Monday Night Football appearance (or two).
* Have you seen his contract? You’re not cutting the fans’ favorite player with no backup plan in place.
* He’s obviously flawed (47 completions in his career), but the guy has started 14 games in two years. Patience.
There are bound to be growing pains next season. Defenses have an entire offseason to study him. I expect some regression. But putting a short leash on Tebow would be silly. Hell, all Tebow questions right now are foolish. This shouldn’t be a question or debate. The real questions are free agency and draft-related:
* Do you go with a defensive back or tight end early in the draft? Right now, I like Coby Fleener as Tebow’s checkdown/safety valve, while Thomas stretches the field.
* What to do with Brady Quinn? His contract’s up.
* You’re bringing back Eddie Royal, right?
* Kicker Matt Prater must be retained as well.
The Broncos will have a pretty nice trio of backs next year: McGahee, Lance Ball, and finally-healthy Knowshon Moreno (who I think is overrated). Things looked gloomy for Tebow at receiver after they traded Brandon Lloyd, but then Eric Decker blew up, Demaryius Thomas got healthy and played up to his potential, and now the 2012 receiving trio (assuming Royal stays) is above average.
Denver, depending on what you think of Tebow, could be the favorites in the AFC West next year. The Raiders are bringing in a new coach. The Chargers will play well early, then be awful, then good, and then collapse, as usual. Not sure how to read the Chiefs yet – they could bounce back very strong with a healthy team, or everyone could find out Matt Cassel isn’t starting material and the team endures a QB controversy all season.
The beauty of all this for Denver? You don’t have to nuke the team to build around Tebow and his “different” brand of QB. You’ve got a formidable defense (at home, at least), and when everyone’s healthy, a solid group of WRs/RBs. If Tebow fails badly in 2012 and you have to bring in a new QB for 2013, the entire team isn’t in rough shape. The transition shouldn’t be a difficult one.