Week 8 for Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was nothing short of a nightmare. In Denver’s 45-10 destruction at the hands of the Detroit Lions (6-2), Tebow was sacked seven times and completed 18 of 39 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown.
One of his pass attempts was intercepted in the end zone by cornerback Chris Houston and returned 100 yards for a TD that put Detroit up 44-3 in the fourth quarter.
Tebow’s detractors are hardly moved by his poor showing. They deem it an example of what they’ve long since been saying about the former Florida Gators QB: his throwing mechanics–specifically his low release point and protracted wind-up–are horrible. Additionally, his greatest weapon, running, hardly covers his shortcomings in the NFL, where he cannot outrun or overpower defenders as often, as easily as he did in college.
The Broncos (2-5), as an organization, have nothing to lose by starting Tebow this season. How else are they going to determine, definitively, whether the second-year player is or isn’t good enough to be an NFL quarterback? By having Tebow start over veteran Kyle Orton, the Broncos chose to confront the following question–even if doing so came at the expense of a season: “Is Tebow our savior, the long-awaited heir of John Elway, or every bit as bad as they say?”
And, by the way, Broncos fans, there is a bright side to your starting QB consistently failing, believe it or not. If Tebow performs as poorly as he did on Sunday vs. Detroit–and, to be fair, if his offensive line keeps betraying him–starting him more could enter your team into the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.