Reality Check Time Tebow Fans

It’s Broncos football time again, and I understand that everyone wants us to win, and many want Tim Tebow to start as our Quarterback and team leader, because they think Orton "suck", Tebow's a gamer, or for whatever reason.  Well let me tell you something.  Who plays QB for the Broncos this year will have little to do with how many games we win.  That is the reality.  Let us look at that reality, shall we?

Reality Check #1: Why did we lose so many games last year?  Was Orton that bad?  No.  What stunk up the place was our running game, our offensive line, time of possession, etc. Orton took more shots than a revolving door.  He played about as well as a QB without a good defense and a decent running game could.  Orton wasn't the problem.  Rookies on the offensive line were the problem.  Ryan Clady recovering from one of the worst knee injuries I've ever heard of was a problem.  Ryan Harris injured all the time was a problem.  No Show Moreno was a problem.  No Peyton Hillis was a problem.  Our Head coach/Offensive Coordinator/Play Caller was a problem.

 Reality Check #2: What's the other reason we lost so many games?  Can any one give me a D (as in D-Fence)?  I didn't think so.  We had no D worth speaking of last year. We were horrible against the run.  We had no pass rush to speak of, mostly because there was no Doom, but not entirely.   We allowed oodles of points.  People ran right up the middle on us consistently.  We generated few turnovers.  We had a bad defensive coordinator not ready for prime time.  Our D was not feared by anyone.

Let's look at Tebow's games.  He played in three, won only one against one of the other horrible defenses in the league last year, the Houston Texans, who by the way we played when they were banged up, dispirited and in a death spiral.  The other two games he lost, one to a mediocre Raider's team and the other to a San Diego team that for all practical purposes knew they had no shot at the playoffs and was playing without their best player (other than Rivers) Antonio Gates. Tebow really wasn’t that great in those three games just as Orton really hadn’t been that bad in the games he played.

So, new year.  Here comes John Elway, John Fox and

Reality Check #3:  New coach, new defensive system, new offensive emphasis on the run.   If the Broncos are going to improve their win total over last year, they need two things to happen: Much better Defense, and a much better running game.  If we don't improve those two things it doesn't matter who plays QB.  Maybe if we had a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning as our Quarterback we could manage without a topflight D and running game, but we don’t have them.  We have Orton, Quinn and Tebow.  Does anyone think Tebow, Quinn or Orton is at that level yet?  Of course not.

Tebow was hurt badly by not having a regular off-season with all the OTAs and minicamps necessary to continue to learn the offense and change his game to fit the Pro-style.  At present that makes Orton, who knows the system backwards and forwards, the better option, unless you want to play for the Andrew Luck Lottery.  Tebow needs to sit, watch, and learn.  He simply isn't ready.  And to be honest, if our D and our running game don't improve, putting him out there would be throwing him to the wolves.  Even Peyton Manning looked mortal last year with a sub-par running game and middle of the pack defense. 

Does anyone out there really expect Tebow can just will his way to victories in the NFL?  He's not playing on the Florida Gators who had some of the best talent in the SEC every year he was there, defense and offense.  He's playing on a Broncos team that lacks depth at critical areas.  I think it's an improved team but only playing real games that count in the standings will tell.  Tebow has loads of intangibles.  What he doesn't have is as good a grasp of the offense as Orton or Quinn.  If we had the Steelers' D and a top five running game than I'd say sure, play him.  However, we don't, at least not yet.

Maybe by the end of the year we’ll be a much better defense with a better running game on offense, but based on two preseason games I'm not willing to say those problems are solved yet.  Both the Cowboys and the Bills broke big runs on us.  The Cowboys were blown up in their second preseason game, and the Bills are -- well, they're the Bills one of the worst teams over the last decade.  We may not know anything about this team until we start playing the meat of our schedule after game 3.

So, Tebow fans, look at reality and thank the Lord Tebow isn't being forced to start when he isn’t ready to be the starter.  I pity Cam Newton and Andy Dalton, I really do.  Those guys are going to get "jacked up" as ESPN used to say, every week.  I doubt they play every game because defensive coordinators and players will be licking their chops to get their hits on them. I expect them to miss multiple games due to injuries.

The best thing for Tebow is to wait, learn, and (as he himself always says) when he gets his chance use that chip on his shoulder to prove his doubters wrong.  Until then let’s hope the D, the running game and whomever we play at QB can raise their level of play over last year.   Tebow not starting is a blessing in disguise.

Go Broncos.