Another week in the NFL means another week of the Tim Tebow watch. The only thing that might parallel the excitement/annoyance of Tebow would be the Suck for (Andrew) Luck campaign and even that might pale to the amount of attention given to the Denver Broncos starting quarterback. However, it’s that word “starting” that might not last given his performance today.
Against the Detroit Lions in a first half where the Broncos have been outscored and actually dominated 17-3, it’s been Tebow’s performance that’s mostly at fault for the Broncos inability to do anything after a first drive that netted a field goal. Tebow is 4 of 13 for 37 yards and 0 touchdowns and he’s ran four times for 15 yards. In other words, he’s not been effective in any way shape or form.
Non-surprisingly it conjures memories of the first three full quarters against the Miami Dolphins. Sure the Broncos rallied back to win, and it was a gutsy performance at the end of the game. But a team can’t handle being put in such a hole week after week only to try to come back in crunch time. It’s a fruitless strategy that has no long-term dividends for the Broncos.
The front office, however, is going to have to give Tebow every chance to succeed in order to call him a failure. The reality is that the media frenzy around Tebow is so big that if there are any signs of life or flashes here and there and they pull the plug early, this cloud of “can he or can’t he?” will last into yet another year. I can’t imagine John Elway or John Fox wanting that one.