Since Day one I have thought Tim Tebow would be a success in the NFL. I certainly didn't think he would take a 1-4 Broncos teams and turn them into a 6-5 team that is the first team out of the playoff race going into December...so he has even surprised me.
His first start this year was against an 0-5 Dolphins team in Miami. I was especially anxious to see the game since he had been named the starter two weeks prior (bye week), but I couldn't since it wasn't on locally. The Broncos won the game in overtime and I saw the highlights, and heard everyone blast him for how poor he played despite the win...which of course was only due to the Dolphins being horrible they said. Since that game the Dolphins are 3-2.
In his second game the Lions thrashed the Broncos 45-10. Statically, he had his best game: 18 of 39 (50%) for 172 yards and one touchdown. He threw a lot, and they lost. Albeit teams throw a lot when they are behind. He threw his only INT of the year in this game. The Lions are 7-4 this year.
Game #3 was on the road vs. the Raiders. This game I did get to see, and after hearing all the critics for two weeks I was glad I could see for myself. What I saw was that Tebow looked just like he did at Florida. He threw for 124 yards and rushed for 118. Granted it was only Carson Palmer's second game back from his sofa (but he had a bye week before this) and the Raiders committed a ton of penalties the Broncos still won by two touchdowns....and scored 38 points - tied for the most Oakland has given up all year. The Raiders are 7-4, first place in the AFC West.
Then the Broncos played at Kansas City. This is the game where everyone cringed because they won despite Tebow only completing 2 passes. The Chiefs had won 4 out of 5 games coming in but they couldn't win at home even though Knoshawn Moreno and Willis McGahee went down with injuries in the first quarter. Tebow goes to 3-1 as the starter.
The second game I was able to watch was the Thursday night game vs. the Jets. The Jets pride themselves on defense, and they were able to shut down Tebow for most of the game....lots of 3 and outs. But then it came to "Tebow Time" and down 13-10 he leads the team on a 95 yard drive to win the game. That final drive was great to watch, and everyone knew what was going to happen. Everyone who was watching that game just knew Tebow would get it done. The Jets are a good team too, now 6-5.
And then yesterday, the Broncos go to San Diego to face the Chargers who had lost 5 in a row. Tebow fought the entire game, brought the team back from a 10-0 deficit and won in OT 16-13. He had 22 carries, the most in over 50 years for a quarterback, and he had a passer rating 20 points higher than Philip Rivers (who for the last 5 years everyone has said is a Top 5 NFL QB). Now he's 5-1 as the starter.
Just like I said in my October 20th post, he is proving the doubters wrong. He is unconventional, but he just wins. He has 8 touchdowns to 1 interception. That is reminiscent of his Florida stats when he would throw for 30+ TDs and have 3 INTs. The fact is he doesn't turn the ball over and he is clutch. He runs the ball and has some good running backs who milk the clock thereby helping the defense out as they don't have to be on the field as long. Von Miller is a stud and the Broncos defense gets better every week.
The Jets got burned when they blitzed and Tebow ran them over. The Chargers stuck to a 3 man rush and Tebow picked his spots to make the play when they needed it the most. The defense knows what's coming and they still can't stop it. They try to contain him in the pocket and he throws a good pass or breaks out for a positive play. They try to put pressure on him and he throws it away or takes off running for a huge play. NFL defensive coordinators are scratching their heads about defending a guy who can't play quarterback? Well, he can. He's doing it. And I'm pulling for him wholeheartedly.
If you're still not convinced that Tebow is a good quarterback, then take a look at his stats compared to John Elway through the first nine games of their careers. This should convince everyone that it's way too early to say he 'can't play'.
JB
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