Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Raiders.com
By Bear Heiser
Senior Writer
Tim Tebow, a.k.a. the most polarizing figure in the NFL, has now started two consecutive games for the Denver Broncos and has had some very mixed results. Although, he has collectively played about one quarter of what could be considered "good" football.
In Sunday's 45-10 loss at home to the Detroit Lions, Tebow completed a very pedestrian 18-of-39 passes for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
This comes just a week after Tebow led the Broncos to a come-from-behind victory over the Miami Dolphins, in miraculous fashion.
Need we all be reminded that neither head coach John Fox nor team president John Elway drafted Tebow? File that in the back of your mind for the future because, at this rate, the Tebow topic isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Right now we're in the process of finding who the quarterback is," Fox said Monday of his quarterbacking situation. "And I'll leave it at that."
That said, one member of the Broncos media seems to be leading the charge against Tebow.
"[Tim] Tebow played as ineptly as any sorry excuse for a pro quarterback possibly could," writes Mike Kiszla of the Denver Post. "He was laughably bad."
Clearly Kiszla felt that comment needed reinforcement because well, you'll see.
"Those five wonderful minutes against Miami now look like an aberration. Right here, right now, he is the worst quarterback in the NFL."
At this rate, the Tebow bandwagon might not have many riders moving forward.
Tebow has done nothing in 120 minutes of football to show anyone he is capable of playing quarterback in the NFL. As long as his play hovers at mediocrity, Elway and Fox win.
Now this is only a theory, but it would seem to me that because neither of the Johns see Tebow as a franchise quarterback, the only conceivable reason to play him in the first place was in hopes that he fails for everyone to see—even if it meant losing games in the process. Why else would they have traded Brandon Lloyd, who was the NFL's leading receiver in 2010, for just a sixth round draft pick?
Again, Fox and Elway win. They may not be racking up wins now, but they are one step closer to "LWT," Life Without Tebow.
Look, Elway and Fox have a plan for the future of this team and Tebow is the only thing standing in the way. In a way, the Broncos have gone into the tank in an effort to get Tebow out the door faster than he came in.
This is a very, very sneaky move—any way you look at it. Though, if there was ever a guy who could get away with this in Denver, it's Elway.
At the end of the day, the fans in Denver will side with Elway, no matter how much they love Tebow or hate losing games. Elway could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves, if it somehow resulted in a return to the glory days.