For a change, Marion Barber was responsible for a Denver game's ending. Of course the catalyst was that Barber made a huge play- for Denver.

Who cares?

The game between the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears ended pretty much the same way all Denver games end- with a Matt Prater field goal and a Denver celebration in Mile High Stadium (or wherever they're playing).

The difference is, this time, Tebow didn't have everything with it.

Oh, sure, he made some huge plays in the fourth quarter, and drove his team from 10-0 down to win the game. But instead of carrying the entire load, his defense won the game by stripping Barber en route to a Chicago game winning touchdown. For three quarters, they had all they could handle because Denver's offense and even the special teams kept trying to screw themselves over. A field goal got blocked, Tebow threw a rare interception, passes were dropped (one would have been an easy TD on a great pass by Tebow), blocks were missed and Denver couldn't get on the board.

Credit the game ball to the D. They won this game. They did all the work. Tebow just put the finishing touches on it.

And that's fine and dandy with me.

When Tebow got to Denver in 2010, the Broncos were a mess. They were getting crushed by middle of the pack teams like Oakland (59-14), Arizona (43-13), and San Diego (35-14). Then there were the embarrassing losses to terrible teams like Kansas City, Jacksonville, San Francisco and St. Louis.

Then he stepped in for the final three games, and Denver won one of them and were in both other games until the very end against Oakland and San Diego- losing by a combined 21 points under Tebow after losing by a combined 66 points with Kyle Orton.

See the difference?

The entire team plays better with Tebow. It could be that they just like him, or it could be a coincidence but the likely explanation is that he has injected them with his own DNA, which doesn't end with U-G-A (no relation to that school up north, it's biology) like most DNA sequences do, but instead with W-I-N. I just hope it doesn't wind up on the NFL's banned substance list, or else Tebow and his teammates will be facing possible suspensions and maybe even bans from the NFL.

He makes his teammates, and thus his team, better.

End of story.

Whether you like it or not, Merril Hoge, that's just the way it is. What? That's not your biggest problem right now? What is? Is it the problem that you can't find a way to buy any more tissues, you're all out? Aw, poor helpless, giant baby. Tim Tebow's a very compassionate man. I'll have him send you a huge box of tissues, with a note taped to the wrapping paper saying "THIS TISSUE PAPER WAS BOUGHT WITH SOME OF MY NFL PLAYOFF PAYCHECK. GET BETTER."

I'm not one to make cancer jokes, because that's horrible and it's not a laughing matter at all. So for those of you that have made fun of Hoge's cancer, don't. However, if I were the head of Hoge's medical practice, I would make him wear a Tebow jersey every time he came to my office to discuss how he's doing. It's public penance, nothing more.

But anyway, MISTER Hoge, would you believe that Denver is in the playoffs? Nah, that's impossible. For Denver to have made the playoffs, Tebow would have had to throw more passes, be more accurate, have a better delivery, and just be, you know, a real QB to quote Deonte Thompson.

It actually is very difficult to believe. Cleaning up the mess somebody started and taking over a locker room in the middle of a season is nearly impossible to do, but then so is coming back down 10 against the Bears' defense with under 3 minutes too go. Taking a 1-4 team to the playoffs is even more difficult to do, especially with teams that are better than they appear on your schedule like Chicago, Miami, Oakland and the Jets. But Tebow did it.

With each week comes another miracle and a huge fallout reaction to it. For Tebow supporters, it goes from surprise (Wow!) to shock (Oh my god!) to disbelief (He did NOT just do it again!) all the way to humorous (Laughing in astonishment). There's one stage after that: the point it gets to where it's just NOT FUNNY. I've passed the point where I was cracking up in shocked disbelief. It's now at the level that you don't exactly expect it, but you have accepted the fact that it's NOT NORMAL. All the calls about Tebow really being Jesus, or god's quarterback, or invincible, were silly- until yesterday.

When I was a kid, about 10 years ago, I would read these short stories by a man named RL Stine. He had this series of books that was called Goosebumps. Each and every one of them began with the normal life of a normal girl or boy, but soon took on the characteristics of unrealistic fiction, usually involving monsters or ghosts or zombies or whatever taking over the story. They all started normal, and then turned abnormal. Or paranormal. One I remember in particular involved a girl with who moved to another neighborhood, only to discover that everybody she had made friends with was dead. So when she tried to kill them, she couldn't, because they had already died.

I feel like this is the sequel.

Why? Because the stuff Tebow does isn't human.

Now, it's turned the other way around. Opponents trying to knock down Tim Tebow keep failing, again and again. He's been knocked down once against Detroit. You can't defeat him again, no matter what you do or how much logic says he should lose. I hate saying this, because it's exactly the kind of talk that might lead to a Denver collapse (or at least a loss to a better team), but let's be honest, he should have lost to Miami. The odds are simply against coming back from 15-0 down with only a few minutes to go against a winless team desperate for their first win. Gator fans and now Bronco fans know that Tebow was literally born to defy odds (see the story about his mother being advised to abort him and adamantly declining) but this is a new level.

On another note, we finally got some great long term news on Tebow. John Elway has agreed to tutor Tim Tebow with his full, undivided attention. No more silly battles for the starting job. No more lockouts. No more debates. No more garbage, period. Now, Tebow will learn everything he needs to from one of the game's best ever QB's and incorporate it into his own game. We know Tebow's work ethic is off the charts. John Elway's about to find that out for himself as well, along with a much better QB.

I'll say this again.

Lots of QB's have better arms than Tim Tebow. Lots of QB's are more accurate than Tim Tebow. Lots of QB's have better footwork than Tim Tebow. Lots of QB's have better deliveries than Tim Tebow.

But there is nobody, repeat, NOBODY in the NFL I would rather have in crunch time than Tebow. Not Aaron Rodgers. Not Eli Manning (eat your heart out, thebone, he's Tebow Jr! Well, that's a bit of a stretch. But he wins crazy games he's not supposed to also). Not Drew Brees. Not a healthy Peyton Manning. Not Matt Ryan. Certainly not Cam Newton (unless the NFL switched the pigskin for the Dell, because nobody runs with or throws a laptop better than Cammy Cam Cam, as Auburn fans overaffectionately call him). Not Ben Roethlisberger. Not even Tom Brady.

No, Denver's got the best winner in the world playing QB for them. Imagine what he'll be like when he doesn't need to pull off all these crazy comebacks every week, and only against the best teams like the Packers or the Saints. It's all very possible with his work ethic and John Elway's QB knowledge.

"The guy wins." Coming from John Elway, I'm happy. Having any Hall of Fame QB give credit is uplifting, but especially one who criticizes Tebow. Even if he's just saying it to shut people up, at least it means that he still realizes that he's got a winning QB because otherwise the demand for him from Broncos fans wouldn't be so great in the first place.

One last thing I want to touch on- Brian Urlacher's ridiculous post game comments.

"He's a good running back."

(The seeds for a humorous post regarding the entire world's thoughts on Tebow have been planted, and the post itself is now brewing.)

Well, that's nice. Obviously, somebody got his head busted open by Tim Tebow's punishing (admittedly short) third quarter run that went for a first down and knocked a trio of Bears down. That same running back you speak of? Yeah, he threw for 200 yards in the fourth quarter, and called the plays that engineered a stunning comeback. But I guess in relative terms, of course, you're right, he is a good running back compared to Marion Barber. He didn't fumble the game away.

No, he won it.

If you want to be precise, he made his teammates better, and his team won it. Or, if you want to credit one single player, Matt Prater (Mr. Ice Veins) won it.

Not Marion Barber and certainly not Brain, oops, I mean Brian Urlacher.

What a weekend it was for offensive players that used to play for the Florida Gators.

Riley Cooper burst onto the scene in Philadelphia, catching what turned out to be the game winning touchdown pass against my beloved Giants (so mixed emotions there).

Percy Harvin had a few big runs for the Vikings, but a couple of them were called back. Nonetheless, he still scored a TD (although Minnesota still lost to Oakland).

Andre Caldwell somehow got behind the Ravens' defense and hauled in a huge touchdown from Andy Dalton to pull Cincinnati back in the game. The Bengals wound up falling anyway, but without Bubba they would have been sunk much earlier.

Mike Pouncey didn't get much credit, because offensive linemen are rarely called on unless it's because they messed up. But he anchored the offensive line as Miami QB Matt Moore picked the slumping Bills apart like a surgeon for a blowout win.

And then, we come to Tim Tebow.

Tebow.

Tebow.

Tebow.

4-1 as a starter, has the Broncos right in the thick of the playoff hunt and has a frightening knack for pulling out comebacks. All people hear about these days is Tebow and how he won't make it, he can't run in the pros, he can't survive with his motion....

Guess what? He's not going to the Pro Bowl, but he is winning games and that's much more than you can say Kyle Orton did. If you want to find the worst starting QB in the NFL, quit looking in Denver. Try the Meadowlands (and not Eli Manning). The Jets, and their comically annoying fan base have done nothing but criticize Tebow for being a fake, and the Jets would shut him down all day.

Well, for the most part, they did. But then Tebow led a 96 yard drive for the game winning TD, highlighted by dropping a bomb on Revis Island and rumbling through Gang Garbage for a 20 yard game winning TD.

So what is it, Jets fans? Is Tebow good or is your team bad?

It's a combination of both- sort of.

There's no doubt Tebow needs work- lots of it. But there's also no doubt that he is a franchise QB, and a long term answer. Tebow's problem lies in the mechanics. His strength is something you cannot teach- knowing how to win. You either have that or you don't. Tebow has it, and has proved it 4 straight times.

Elway, you can draft another QB with better mechanics out of college) but don't look at me when Landry Jones or Kellen Moore throws a late game interception. Instead, spend the time you wasted last offseason trying to make Kyle Orton a franchise QB or defending your ridiculous move by putting Tebow 4th on the depth chart teaching Tebow the proper footwork and motion you want to see. He's already equipped with the Eli Manning/Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers 4th quarter fearlessness and capability of heroics you can't teach- now it's up to you to teach him how to be the drop back NFL QB you were.

The truth is, there are plenty of better passers than Tebow. There are plenty of better defense readers than Tebow. There are plenty of more accurate QB's than Tebow. There are plenty of better QB's than Tebow, period. But nobody- and I mean nobody- is more clutch with the game on the line. There is QB I would take over Tebow in crunch time.

It's just up to John Elway and the coaching staff to install the mechanics to bring him up to par with the rest of the QB's.

And with a guy with a work ethic like Tebow, it's hard to imagine him failing.

Josh McDaniels knew he needed a playmaking QB, and he got one in Tim Tebow.

Then he got fired the ensuing season after his team failed to even meet the "mediocre" bar.

Enter Eric Studville for the remainder of the season, which saw Tebow in his first meaningful action, including a 40 yard TD run and a miracle comeback win over the Houston Texans.

Then along came John Fox, who promptly announced that Tebow was benched- in February. This was after he resurrected a dead franchise and its fan base and gave the fans hope that their team might be able to compete in the future.

As Ryan, I, and other fans with a grain of intelligence expected, Kyle Orton was horrible- so bad that he actually got yanked right in the middle of a game.

The Broncos were 1-4 heading into the San Diego game, when Tebow was shoved into the fire and ordered to clean up the mess that Orton started. He nearly did, bringing the Broncos back from 26-10 down before eventually falling 29-24.

All he's done since then is go 2-1 as a starter, including two more comebacks with his team down at some point in the second half.

He threw for 124 yards and ran for 118 more (including a 32 yard run) in the Oakland win this weekend, and threw for two TD's.

What it all comes down to is this: the Denver Broncos are winning with him at QB.

Sure, it would be nice if Tebow improves. He's got a lot of work to do mechanically, and I don't think even the biggest Tebow fan will deny that.

What nobody can deny is that Denver is right back in the hunt for the AFC West, thanks in large part to Tebow. He's done more than ressurect the team, however; he's ignited a fire behind the Bronco fan base.

The fans are believing in him, and in their team as a whole. It's not just Tebow who's improving- it's the rest of the Broncos, too. Tebow just has this strange and remarkable gift for making his teammates around him play better.

Willis McGahee in particular had done nothing spectacular prior to the Oakland game. He averaged 88 yards per game- certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing unbelievable, either. Since Tebow took the reins in the San Diego game, he's averaged 122 yards per game. Call it a coincidence, but he was 34 yards per game better with Tebow than with Orton as the starter.

But even beyond McGahee, this Broncos team is far improved with Tebow over Orton. Perfect proof of this is the comparison of the two games the Broncos played against Oakland. These teams are bitter rivals (not quite like Florida-Georgia, though) and in the first game in Denver, the Broncos lost three turnovers, the running game never got on track, the defense allowed Darren McFadden to run for 150 yards, and lost 23-20- in Denver, with Orton at the helm.

Fox put Tebow at the controls in a hostile environment at Oakland, but despite throwing an early TD the Broncos trailed 17-7. Tebow threw another TD, but Oakland scored again to make it 24-14.

Then Tebow had enough.

He pulled his team together, yelled at them, and the Broncos suddenyl began playing like a playoff team. Darren McFadden, who had burned the Broncos, was suddenly shut down. Eddie Royal returned to Denver with a bang in a punt return TD. Willis McGahee ran wild for TD runs of 24 and 61. Oakland, led by Carson Palmer, never scored again and Denver won 38-24.

I'm willing to bet that Tebow had an impact on the rest of the team's performance.

So John Fox, you owe Josh McDaniels a thank you and Tim Tebow an apology. How you could honestly believe that your team is better with a human energizer bunny built like a Mack truck on the bench is beyond me, but make another mistake of that level of insolence and it could cost you your job. I haven't forgotten that you announced that he was benched 7 months before the season started. You're just lucky that McDaniels drafted this warrior. Seriously, you're taking over a franchise that needs even the smallest spark- just a hint of life, and- oh, lookie here!- you've got this guy.

But you're too old to have emotion. You like your team to play with the vigors of tired old grandmas on a hot summer day. You, much like Steve Addazio, love to take the fun, the spark and the energy out of your team. Maybe you don't run dive plays, but your teams all played like they didn't want to be there. That's the level of intensity the Broncos had... until you inserted Tebow.

Now, boom! Your team is playing with a purpose, like they want to win. Once again, they've won two out of the three games that Tebow started, and they're back in the AFC West hunt. I keep repeating this for fear that you won't understand.

Say it Fox: Thank you Josh McDaniels.

Tim Tebow was on his knees on the Denver sideline, part of a chain of Bronco players that were holding hands and looking at the ground on the sideline at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. He couldn't watch, not after so much else go wrong during the course of the game.

Maybe he should have peeked.

After all, he missed the kick that turned his 2011 debut into a success- and possibly officially resurrected his career.

Matt Prater made that kick after missing a pair of field goals in regulation and Denver won 18-15 in OT, capping off a furious comeback by the former Gators star QB on a day the Gators 2008 National Championship team was honored at halftime.

But it wasn't all pretty.

In fact, it was uglier than a Georgia Bulldogs football game for 3 and a half quarters.

With Urban Meyer and a bunch of former teammates in attendance, Tebow got off to a Georgia type start, going 4-14 for 40 yards. He did have a youtube worthy 21 yard scramble, but it was his lone highlight. He continued to play like he was wearing a UGA uniform, throwing wounded ducks that landed no better than four feet away from his receiver, holding the ball too long and getting sacked, and even fumbling once, something that happened once in a blue moon at UF.

So with under 6 minutes to play, and the Broncos trailing 15-0, Jim Rome had his anti-Tebow script all written out, and was simply looking for which tie he wanted to wear when he bashed Tebow the next time his B-rated show aired.

Merril Hoge had already turned the game off, and was already thinking of which fancy restaurant to give some of his well earned money from ESPN (for being the network buffoon) in exchange for a nice dinner. Even he gets bored sometimes.

Mel Kiper was actually busy breaking down last night's Michigan State-Wisconsin and Texas Tech-Oklahoma games (amazing finishes in both games, might I add) with the same scholarly approach that he tore Tebow down with, but then he saw the score and smirked.

Joke's on you, clowns.

Tebow then engineered one of the most incredible comebacks in recent memory, driving the Broncos all the way for a touchdown on a beautiful throw to a receiver, that, as Nick Saban would say, wasn't friggin open. DeMaryius Thomas made a great move to find some separation, but fell. Tebow then tossed it right on the money and Thomas caught it as he fell.

So with the score 15-7 Broncos with 2 and a half minutes to play, John Fox elected to go for the onside kick- and got it. Tebow then directed a second touchdown drive, that ended when he took a step to the left, then lobbed it back to Dan Fells on the right side. Fells caught it and went in for the touchdown as Miami players just shook their heads, victims of a perfectly executed screen play that would have suckered the Baltimore Ravens.

But it was still 15-13. Denver still needed the two point conversion. So Tebow then did what he did best as a Gator- he plowed into the end zone to tie the game at 15.

So the game went into overtime.

Each team punted, and then the Broncos defense forced a fumble. Matt Prater came on and booted the clutch field goal through the uprights to even Tebow's record to 2-2 as a starter.

The haters and morons (really, that's the same group of people) see the game as "Tebow got lucky", "Why were they struggling against a winless team in the first place", and finally, "Tebow's still horrible".

Those people can go (insert your profane and offensive phrase of choice HERE).

Honestly? I see the game as an instant replay of Florida-Arkansas 2009, minus the bad calls against the Razorbacks (let's be honest, Ramon Broadway did NOT interfere with Deonte Thompson... and the unnecessary roughness was BS... but of course as a Gator fan I will take it).

Tebow did not play well. Nor did his teammates. Everybody was talking about Tebow's issues, since he was a senior and the talk had already begun about whether he could make it as an NFL QB. Gary Danielson made one specific comment when Arkansas defensive lineman Jake Bequette stripped Tebow that made me nod in sad agreement: "That's going to be a problem." It was. It gave Arkansas a free field goal- one of the many freebies the Gators handed the Hogs that day.

But late in the game, the Gators offense came alive. Tebow directed the tying drive (with the aforementioned referee assistance) and later the winning drive (with no ref assistance). He shook off what was an otherwise horrible day and got the win.

And so my hat goes off to you, Tim. You haven't played perfect football, but you've done everything in your power to get the win.

There's been so much talk about Tebow, as you know, about his issues and his potential problems he would have in the pros because of them. One thing that's been kind of quiet- no, sorry, more like SILENT or COMPLETELY UNMENTIONED- is the fact that he's a winner.

He wins games.

Sure, it was only an 0-6 Miami team, but Tebow found a way to win the game.

He's a winner, always was, and always will be, and no amount of trash spewed by haters can change that.

Broncos 18, Dolphins 15.

And Tebow scored both touchdowns.

Chomp on that, haters.

Kyle Orton is horrible.

Yes, horrible. Not bad, not inadequate, not so-so, not less than average, no, no, no. The guy is horrible.

The first four games of the season confirmed it. He threw 6 interceptions, and 6 touchdowns. Only once did he eclipse 300 yards passing- for 304 against Oakland. Compare that to Drew Brees, who has thrown for over 300 yards all but one time. If you're saying it's unfair to compare Orton to Brees, then wake up, because Brees is the Saints' franchise quarterback, and according to the Broncos and John Fox, Orton is their franchise quarterback. So, they're both franchise QB's, and it's a fair comparison.

But he was just getting going through four games.

In his fifth game, he was simply blunderful, throwing for a fantastic 34 yards on 6 completions in 13 attempts. Yeah, that comes out to be (roughly) an extraordinary 2.5 yards per attempt. His 5 and 2/3 yards per completion was lower than a few other QB's numbers on yards per attempt today. That's how awful he was.

Then Fox throws in the towel, and called on Superman.

And what happened?

He didn't start out to well, but he eventually did get going.

And what happened once he got revved up?

He nearly rescued the lifeless Broncos, bringing them all the way back from a 26-10 4th quarter deficit. Only when the tying two point conversion fell incomplete did the Chargers realize they actually had to start trying.

And even then, victory was no sure thing. Not after a completely idiotic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty allowed the dying San Diego drive to continue. Not after a field goal made it 29-24- with 18 seconds left.

Because Tebow still wasn't done- leading them all the way down to the San Diego 29 before his last second desperation pass fell incomplete- a pass that never would have been thrown had Tebow not broken a trio of tackles, and a pass that sure wouldn't have been attempted by Franchise Quarterback For The Future Kyle Orton. The Chargers would have made an Orton sacklunch on that play, provided he drives them that far, which of course he never would. Not just because he can't, but, well, because he never would have led the Broncos roaring back from such a deficit.

Is Tebow Tom Brady? Is he a top 5 QB in the NFL? Of course not. But nobody starts out as one. They have to work their way up and get there. But frankly, Kyle Orton is not the guy to lead the sick franchise. Tebow is their long-term tonic, but what good is a remedy if you just keep it in your pocket and not swallow it? They have to keep injecting themselves with more Tebow, and in turn, Tebow has to work as hard as he can to improve his mechanics. The experience and NFL football intelligence will come with snaps in meaningful situations. So he must improve his mechanics in order to be better.

But what exactly are his problems?

Before I get to that, though, let's first remember what he was at the University of Florida.

He was our quarterback, our fullback, our short yardage specialist, our head cheerleader, and, honestly, our fairy. He ran around the SEC like Cosmo and Wanda from Fairly OddParents, making big plays magically appear when he seemed to be running out of real estate. Whether that was by unloading a 25 yard strike off balance to a receiver that, to quote Nick Saban, "just wasn't freakin OPEN" or by demonstrating his atomic stiff-arm bomb that would impress Bruce Lee, big plays would happen out of absolutely nowhere.

Of course, the SEC is by far the best conference in college football (that's a debate for another day, but I am willing to take on all challengers in that argument), but the NFL is a whole different level. Tebow has to tone down his aggressiveness. Not cut it out, because changing who you are is a bad idea in the NFL, but do it in moderation. Attempting to run over Ray Lewis on a head to head collision would likely not end well for Tebow.

So what does he have to do?

Sorry to keep quoting TV shows, but it's like that episode in Family Guy where Peter gets hammered out of his mind and crashes his car into a tree. Death (the character) appears and shows him two scenarios of his potential future: continuing to drink at the alarming rate that he does, (where he burns his wife and children with his cigar) and cutting out his drinking altogether (where he lines up his family and offers them a choice of high fives, handshakes, and hugs... in a very creepy manner). In both cases, Peter is appalled at the character he sees, and Death then solves his dilemma for him: moderation, Peter.

Moderation, Tim.

You see clear skies ahead of you on third and four? Take off. You're running down the sidelines and the weakside linebacker readies himself to bodyslam you? Step out of bounds. You have a full head of steam and nearing the goal line and somebody's trying to bring you down at the 2 yard line? Knock him unconscious with one of your bodyshots straight out of Street Fighter. You're scrambling in the backfield with blocking breaking down and nobody open? Get as many positive yards going forward as you can, and take the sack instead of throwing the injured duck that gets converted into the pick 6.

He hasn't really gone overboard yet, but I'm thinking that as his role, stats and national attention as an NFL QB increase, so will his confidence in himself, and he'll start to think that he can do anything. Which can lead to a bad decision. That's happened to plenty of QB's before.

For example, on his hail mary prayer at the end of tonight's game? He danced around in the backfield for how long? That's fine. What if he kept dancing around? What if, instead of letting the ball go, he tried to get away from the guy bearing down on him from behind as well? He might have gotten a better throw. He also might have gotten smashed, picked off, or worse. He has to limit the open field hits he exposes himself to.

And then there are the mechanical issues.

On his second two point conversion attempt, he kind of awkwardly turned and threw an off balance pass in the corner of the end zone. That worked for him at Florida. It backfired here. He had enough time to set his feet, square his shoulders and throw a harder, crisper ball a little more accurately. And even if he didn't, he should use that mobility to either buy some time or take off on a line plunge.

He doesn't have a lot of issues running the ball, but then that comes behind throwing the ball. The issues need to be worked on.

But a little news flash? Kyle Orton is almost 29 years old, and has many of the same problems.

Tebow is 6 years younger with the same issues, plus uncoachable intensity, plus above average mobility (let's hold off on the superlatives here for now), plus the ability to find ways to win... plus the ability to work at something until it's fixed.

Maybe John Fox has indeed wised up. Let's hope so, because making this switch permanently will have fans flooding the gates for games and the stadium sold out, except for haters, Jerry Jones and bimbos, and there are a few.

Haters, tell me this... what positive attribute have your possibly seen that Kyle Orton can bring to this team that Tebow does not?

Imagine for a moment that there were a team in the NFL that was 3-10 entering week 14 of the season.  Now imagine that they had recently fired their head coach, and the QB play out of their starter in the last two weeks looked like this:

Now, continuing with this completely hypothetical situation, let's pretend that an unnamed rookie QB drafted within the first 2 rounds were asked to step into this situation for the next three games.  Rookie QBs already almost universally struggle in their first season, and this is far from an ideal situation to be walking into.  Now, let's pretend that the numbers he put up in these three games looked as follows:

Given this scenario, there would be no doubt in anyone's mind that the rookie should be starting the next game, and the media would be jumping all over him as if he's a lock to be the next big thing in the NFL.

Unless his name was Tim Tebow...

As I'm sure most people reading this site already know, that is in fact the exact situation that Tim Tebow walked into last year, and those are in fact the exact numbers he put up in his first 3 starts as a pro.  Sure, they're not world beating, set the league on fire stats, but for a rookie making his first three starts as a pro they are quite good.  Yet, while any other quarterback would be the unquestioned starter going forward and have an aura of support in the media (imagine the hubbub there would have been around a guy like Matt Stafford if he'd started his career that way), Tebow gets blurbs about how he is competing for the #4 job on the depth chart and gets hit with verbal lashings like "what has he done to deserve the starting spot" and "sorry, you can't live on your entitlement anymore, you have to earn it".

Some theorize that it's one giant media conspiracy to tear down Tebow.  I find that to be over the top.  It's not as if ESPN called together some giant corporate meeting where they all discussed how they can ridicule Tebow.

What we actually have here is a little effect that I like to call "media bandwagoning", which has also extended to "fan perspective bandwagoning".  Saying that Tim Tebow is not a good quarterback or that he's not ready to play in the NFL has become the "cool" thing to say.  It's almost as if, in order to prove that you're an "expert" and not just some casual fan, you have to lambast Tebow and cite all these traditional things that he doesn't do well.  It's the same reason that many media folks who were praising Tebow at the end of last season now speak as if he couldn't quarterback a PeeWee football team right now even though they've barely seen him play at all in the interim.  When they haven't really even seen him play since they were saying "wow, maybe this guy really can be a good NFL QB" a few months ago, how could their opinions have changed so much?

In this way, Tebow's own popularity has hurt him.  It has become accepted as fact that the only reason that Tebow has supporters is because of how loved he is off the field, and not because of his accomplishments on the field.  Tebow bashers look down on Tebow supporters as guppies that can't get past how good of a guy he is and see his oh so obvious flaws, when in reality it is them that can't see past their own old and irrelevant perceptions as to what a quarterback has to be.

Those people look at Tebow's draft position and say he would have been a 4th round pick were it not for one misguided coach, who is now out of a job, that took him way too early.  Their short term (or perhaps self-correcting) memory is incapable of remembering that Tebow was projected as a late 1st/early 2nd round draft pick even when no one thought he would end up in Denver.  In fact, I looked through every "expert mock" I could find from Scott Wright to Mike Mayock to Mel Kiper to a dozen others.  The latest anyone had him going was 44th overall and no one had him going to Denver, which means that even without McDaniels, they all believed he was set to be picked in that range anyhow.

Those people look at Tebow's throwing motion and see a guy that can't get the ball out quick enough to hit NFL passing windows, and are incapable of separating their purely speculative theories from actual reality.  No matter the fact that it had no effect on him hitting those windows when he actually stepped onto the field (or the fact that Brett Favre never had an issue hitting them even though he drops the ball even lower than Tebow does), it sounds logical in their head so it must be true.  Evidence be damned.

Among these folks are Tebow's own coach, John Fox, who seems so content to disregard actual on the field play in favor of how good or ugly something looks in practice that it took him three years to finally decide that DeAngelo Williams was a better running back than DeShaun Foster.

Look, Tebow has not looked good in practice.  I get that.  But it seems that Denver as well as the media seem to be operating under the very poor assumption that Tebow has to look like a perfectly oiled machine in practice to perform well in games.  That just isn't the type of quarterback that Tebow is, nor is it the type that he ever was.  He never has nor is he ever going to look like a prototype quarterback with great footwork, great mechanics, and bullet-proof accuracy in practice and if that is what Denver is waiting for then they'll be waiting forever.  He didn't have those things at Florida either, while John Brantley did, and we saw how that translated to the actual field of play.

If Denver wants to give Tebow one more year to learn, I'm ok with that, so long as they spend the year working on his true weakness (reading defenses), and not his perceived one.  I don't believe he needs another year, but it's worked well in the past for guys like Rodgers and Rivers.  What I have a problem with is this notion that it is now common knowledge that Tebow is a horrible quarterback.

In a way, you really have to feel bad for Tebow.  Sure, it's tough to feel bad for a guy who has millions of fans, millions of dollars, gets to do what he loves for a living, and could probably have any girl he wanted.  But with Tebow you have a guy who has succeeded at every level when stepping out onto the football field, time after time, and yet the universal opinion of him is still that he stinks as a quarterback.  It just has to eat the kid up inside that so many negative things are said about him and he just can't get out there to once again prove people wrong because of the stigma that polish is more important than production.

I think one of my favorite moments from this preseason was listening to the broadcast early on in Denver's week 1 game, as the broadcaster recounted just how awful Tim Tebow looked when he's seen him throwing around, and how he "couldn't even complete passes against air".  He stopped juuuuust short of saying that Dez Bryant would make a better quarterback than Tim Tebow.  As Tebow came into the game and went 6/7 throwing the ball he could do nothing but pick apart his mechanics, which just like Merril Hoge's now infamous report, was nothing more than regurgitated internet lingo that he was passing off as his own ideas.  Sure, those passes came against a second string defense, but surely Dallas' 2nd string defensive backs are better defenders than air, right?

That brings me to my final point.  Remember those stats that I showed you of Tebow earlier?  There are analysts out there that actually have the gall to claim they were indicative of a poor performance because of the 50% completion percentage, and use it as an example of Tebow's allegedly very poor accuracy.  Let's ignore that most rookie QBs have a poor completion percentage in their first few starts (Tebow's was not abnormally low) and really examine this deeper.

The number I want you to keep in mind here is 8.0.  That was Tebow's YPA in those three starts.  For the sake of reference, both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have each only eclipsed that number in one season out of their entire careers.  Mind you, I'm not using this to say that Tebow performed better than either of them, but rather to demonstrate to you the kind of passes that Tebow was throwing in those games.  Denver's defense was terrible, and as a result Denver spent much of those games throwing downfield.  As should make sense to anyone (especially a football analyst, which these guys claim to be), passes downfield are completed at a lower rate.  Tebow's yards per completion during those starts was an astounding 16.0.  For comparison, Peyton Manning's last year was 10.2.  It makes sense that Tebow's completion percentage was low (again even if we discount that he was a rookie making his first three starts), because Denver was throwing the ball deep an inordinate amount.  Tebow's completion percentage has always been high when he's played outside of "oh crap our defense sucks we'd better chuck it downfield every play" situations.

Tebow is seen as a guy with very poor accuracy because, in practice, he can't laser in 15 yard in-routes with 95% success.  Fortunately, there's a lot more to throwing accuracy than that, which is a fact that seems to be lost on many coaches, scouts, and analysts.  Many of these folks differentiate between "accuracy" and "touch", and my question is simply, "why?".  They're the same thing.  "Touch" is just another form of accuracy.  For instance, Cam Newton is seen as having adequate accuracy for the NFL, but he has poor "touch".  If he can't complete a pass over the top of the linebackers because it requires putting touch on the pass then that is poor accuracy.  They're the same thing, and "touch", or as I call it "vertical accuracy" is something that Tebow excels at, and is the reason that Urban Meyer was willing to let him throw a 30 yard go route down the sideline to Louis Murphy on a key 3rd and short late in the 2009 SEC Title game.

Tim Tebow is what he is.  He's a gamer who plays exponentially better in game situations than he does in simulated practices.  He's a guy that makes things happen on the field with a wide collection of talents rather than with precision accuracy or sound mechanics.  And last I checked, when Tebow threw that 50 yard bomb in week one of the preseason that hit his receiver in stride, they didn't take back half the yardage because his mechanics were ugly on the throw.

Ryan already covered this.

And I must say, he did a damned good job.

I don't care.

This is such a flagrant error that I just can't ignore it. I'm back home now, and I have more time to really put this one fact out here. Just one.

Tim Tebow's a winner.

John Fox is not. Or rather, was but is no longer.

He used to be hailed as a defensive genius but after sucking at Carolina for one season too many, he's been fired. Perhaps a part of this was because of the QB play??? Hmmmm???

Face it, Johnny boy. Your knowledge of QB's is extremely limited. You dumped Jake Delhomme, the ONLY winning QB in Panthers history and the only guy who you really had success under for... Jimmy Clausen?

Mat Moore?

This should be evidence enough that you are mentally impaired when it comes to offense. Delhomme WAS your franchise, and you dumped him for a guy that sucked major... uhh... objects at Notre Dame.

How sad.

Maybe you've forgotten, silly me, senility is kicking in now right? that Tim Tebow has killed himself to be a Bronco. He has killed himself in the weight room, in the film room, in practice, and he won the job by week 13 of last year.

He has killed himself to mold himself into an NFL QB. The hours he put in over last offseason working on his throwing motion alone far outweigh the hours you've put in throughout your life evaluating QB's.

He's done what it takes to win.

Unlike you.

You came close a couple of times, the rested on your laurels by being too conservative with everything, and it killed you.

But just like somebody we know, you don't try anything bold.

Gator fans, you want to tell Grandpa Fox what happened to Steve Addazio for never taking any risks?

Put Tebow at QB.

Or you will lose half your fanbase.

If he sucks throughout the first few weeks, then pull him for that NFL reject out of Purdue. But you owe the guy who went 48-7 at Florida a chance to start, especially after his performance the last few weeks of the season.

Oh, and for what it's worth, Tebow had the highest passer rating of any rookie QB last year.

I'm warning you, Fox, there are more Gator fans out in Colorado than you think.

See?

Google Rocky Mountain Gator Club if you don't believe me.

You will get blacked out because nobody will want to watch you.

In all honesty, this is very comparable to getting wasted with all the local pyros and inviting them over to your house and handing out matchboxes and torches as party favors. They're equally stupid and you will most likely end up putting it down on the "regret" category.

I understand that Tebow may need more time to develop, but that's what the preseason is for. I also understand that he may need some regular season time to develop, and that's exactly why he needs to start- Denver is clearly rebuilding in 2011 and why not throw Tebow into the fire?

Give him three games.

If he does horrible- and I mean 6 pick 6's horrible- THEN you pull him.

But for the love of Tebow, Fox, start him week 1.

I really hope that this is your morning pill talking and not you....

Oh, and by the way, on a completely different topic?

Florida just beat Georgia again, securing at absolute worst a 5 seed, if not a 4 or even a 3 seed.

Word has come out today that new Denver Broncos coach John Fox is going to go with Kyle Orton, and not Tim Tebow, as his starter next season (assuming there is a season).

It's only February, so we all know how this goes.  It's entirely plausible, or even likely, that he'll change his mind ten times between now and the start of the season.  But I'll say this, if Fox does indeed stick with that decision, it will be a horrible mistake.

As Gator fans, it's difficult for us to look at this objectively.  However, even when taking a step back, I'm struggling to really see the logic in this.  So let's look deeper.

Kyle Orton spent the first five years of his career mired in mediocrity.  He really came as close as he's ever going to get to "breaking out" in the first half of 2010, where he put up some great numbers under Josh McDaniels.  This makes it less impressive to me, given that McDaniels may be the only true "offensive genius" in the NFL.  For all the talk about guys like Brian Billick and Mike Shanahan, McDaniels is the only one that's ever parlayed that label into actual, consistent production.

When McDaniels was kicked out of town, Orton started looking more like John Brantley than he did the guy who played for Josh McDaniels.  Look at these lines he put up with Eric Studesville at the helm.

Week 13: 9-28 (32%) 117 yards (4.2ypa) 0TD 0INT -- 6 offensive points
Week 14: 19-41 (46%) 166 yards (4.0ypa) 0TD 3INT -- 13 offensive points

Tebow then came in, and while he didn't exactly light up the world, given what he was stepping into, and given that it was his first three games as a starter in the NFL, what he did is in fact quite remarkable.

Week 15: 8-16 (50%) 138 yards (8.6ypa) 1TD 0INT, 78 yards rushing, 1 rush TD -- 23 offensive points
Week 16: 16-29 (55%) 308 yards (10.6ypa) 1TD 1INT, 27 yards rushing, 1 rush TD -- 24 offensive points
Week 17: 16-36 (44%) 205 yards (5.7ypa) 2TD 2INT, 94 yards rushing, 1 rush TD -- 28 offensive points

And of course those games included the miracle comeback against the Texans, and the near miracle comeback against the Chargers.  I'm going to break down all three of these games in a much more detailed fashion in a future article, but this isn't the place for it.

Like I said, not exactly Peyton Manning type numbers, but very impressive given the awful situation he was put into, and given that it was his first real action in the NFL.  Can anyone imagine the insane amounts of buzz that there would have been if a guy like Matt Stafford had started his NFL career in such a manner, rather than starting it with 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions in his first two games?

I'm open to the idea that Tim Tebow is not going to end up being a good NFL player, I really am.  But thusfar, all he's done is answer some of the biggest doubts that many skeptics had (will he be able to run at the NFL level, does he have the arm strength, and will the throwing motion be an issue), while leading his failing, sputtering team to some good offensive performances in games that he was supposed to be doing nothing other than learning in.

Besides, do you really want to be the one to have to tell this guy that he's back on the bench for no good reason?

So what's the logic for going with Orton?  I'm not convinced that Kyle Orton is significantly better than Tim Tebow right now, and his window to improve and his ceiling are of course both much lower.  Orton also certainly does not bring the intangibles and leadership qualities that Tebow does.

So why go with Orton?  Simply put, John Fox is a very conservative coach.

Fox is notoriously loyal to veteran players.  Those of you out there that are bigtime fantasy football players are surely familiar with this.  I'm sure you remember the way that he stuck with an aging Stephen Davis who could barely stand upright while a younger, clearly superior (at that stage in their careers) Deshaun Foster waited patiently for his turn.  Then, Foster got older and DeAngelo Williams was repeatedly stuck on the bench in spite of his terrific ypc and flashes of brilliance in his limited time.

Fox is a conservative coach, and veterans provide a nice security blanket.  Simply put, Orton is the safer option in his mind, even if he's not in reality.

The shame in all of this is that no matter who starts at QB for Denver next year, they likely won't look good.  Fox is no good without a running game, and Denver's running game is atrocious.  I really wish McDaniels had been able to stick around as I really believe Tebow would have thrived under him.  Under Fox though, I think any QB will have a difficult time there in 2011.

One thing is for sure.  This bad Denver team needs a superstar that the fans can get behind, and Orton is not that guy.