Tim Tebow: Why His Regression Was Inevitable

When Tim Tebow took the field against the Miami Dolphins in his first start of the season, we saw a young "athlete" help pull off an improbable win in overtime.

And with the win, the legend of the "athlete" further grew.

Did we expect Tim Tebow to be as successful in the first nine games he played of his second season in the NFL? Maybe not. But who is to say?

As an athlete and a great player, we want him to succeed. We want all athletes to perform to their highest expectations, and when it comes to Tim Tebow, most of the time we get that.

But recently, the last two games to be specific, Tebow has come back down to earth. It is not so much a regression as it is a leveling of his playing field.

Like I have said before, what you get with Tim Tebow is the composite of the total individual. And when it comes to football, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos is the most scrutinized player in the NFL. Every pass, every run, every throwing motion—sports pundits and programs set aside time for the "Tebow Thing," which really is larger than the person who is providing us with these highlights.

The media is not totally to blame for Tebow's "regression" as much as it is responsible of placing such a high pedestal for him that when he loses two games in row as he has, it appears to be a total failure.

Understand, however, he has not played an entire 16-game schedule behind center as a starter yet. He is still learning, and even he has admitted that his teammates make him look better than he is.

But when you stick a camera in his face, he embraces it more than maybe any other football player in the NFL besides Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco.

This NFL season was ripe for Tebow to take. Tom Brady is not as highlighted as he used to be. Peyton Manning is not on every football commercial this year because he is injured. Terrell Owens has been injured, and Ochocinco has been non-existent. And a guy named Drew Brees is a great player but is pretty vanilla.

Someone needed to take the ball in this "lockout" season and make a difference. Tebow did that, but he may not have had the same kind of media impact had Manning played this season, had the lockout never taken place and had other teams been more prominent in the playoff hunt (San Diego, New York  Jets, Chicago).

Tebow's fall was almost predictable. No player stands on that kind of pedestal and survives the rush of attention. And when the fall affected football games, the fall became that much harder.

I don't think there is a feeling of hope of failure for the youngster. He is still growing, and three weeks ago, he received a vote of confidence from John Elway.

But before we anoint him as the next Montana, we need to realize that he needs to fall, dust himself off and succeed again before we can see he is making it truly work.