Tebowmania: Dissected

Last night I heard one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard in my entire life. After the Denver Broncos pulled off a stunning upset against the New York Jets in which Tim Tebow capped off an impressive 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown I heard from more than one person that this was “the Drive 2.0.” In case you don’t know, the Drive refers to the 1987 playoff game in which John Elway led the Broncos on a 98 yard drive to tie the game which they eventually won in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl. An impressive drive last night it was, but remember not the playoffs and it occurred mid season. Slow down.

The real point of this is to shed a little light on the perception that Tebow alone is responsible for the team’s turnaround. Nothing could be further from the truth. While he has contributed, the real reason for this turnaround has been the improved play of the defense. So let us do a game by game analysis shall we so this can be objective as possible.

Game 1: Versus the Miami Dolphins:
Stats by Tebow: 13-27, 161 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Actually this is the game he had the most impact on. It should be noted however that this came against a winless team starting their backup quarterback.

Game 2: Versus the Detroit Lions
Stats by Tebow: 18-39, 172 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 3 fumbles.
By far the worst game of his season completely overmatched when his draw play was taken away by Suh, Avril, Vanden Bosch and that ferocious d-line of Detroit. The offense left the defense in awful spots all game as they couldn’t advance the ball and gave great field position all day.


Game 3: Versus the Oakland Raiders
Stats by Tebow: 10-21, 124 yards, two touchdowns
Played ok, missed numerous receivers all game. The defense was the star of this though as they caused turnover after turnover against backup quarterback and Carson Palmer who the week before was having tea parties with his daughter. Overthrew Eddie Royal and Eric Decker by miles all game and the running by McGahee was the offensive star.


Game 4: Versus Kansas City
Stats by Tebow: 2-8, 69 yards, 1 touchdown
That’s not a misprint. He threw only 8 passes. The running game bailed them out as did the special teams with Eddie Royal consistently giving great returns and a short field for the offense.

Game 5: Versus the New York Jets
Stats by Tebow: 9-20, 104 yards
Tebow was awful for 55 minutes and made a great drive at the end of the game. Rushing game was held in check I have no idea how the Jets blew this game as they only gave up 10 points. The defense also scored on a pick 6 of Mark Sanchez.

Now some of you may be saying, “Well Brian you can’t measure intangibles!” This is true but allow me to give you the real reason behind the turnaround. That would be the defense. In games before the bye week the defense gave up 28 points per game. In games after the bye the defense has given up 15.5 points per game. Champ Bailey has locked down one side of the field and Von Miller is the young player who should be getting the majority of the hype. He has settled the linebacking corp and the return of Elvis Dumervil from injury have helped improve the pass rush.


As I have said on numerous occasions, this is not an indictment of him as a person, but sometimes you grow tired of hearing someone who has done so little garner all the praise. I even heard someone refer to him as "the spiritual defensive coordinator." Are you f'in serious? While this experiment has worked now it’s nothing more than a modified version of the wildcat and we all saw how well that ended. Make him a rushing fullback in the mold of Mike Alstott. That way you get his between the tackle running, but you also need a quarterback who can actually complete a pass.