Tim Tebow Cooled John Fox's Hot Seat...For Now

The Denver Broncos are in the driver's seat to clinch their first division title and playoff berth for the first time since 2005.

The drama that unfolded over the Tim Tebow/Kyle Orton quarterback battle after Denver failed to trade Orton resulted a disastrous 1-4 start that saw the Broncos lose three heartbreaking games to the Raiders, Titans and Chargers.

With one game left to play, the Broncos have somehow managed to head into Week 17 with an 8-7 record and a chance to host a home game in the playoffs.

Who would have imagined that the Broncos would be first place in the AFC West going into the final week of the season?

Two major reasons why this team is in the position that it's in, are of course, Tim Tebow, and John Fox.

Fox inherited a team that went 4-12 the previous season, and has turned them into a team contending for a playoff spot.

Although the stats aren't impressive, they don't tell the entire story.

The defense may rank 25th in scoring, but during the Broncos' most pivotal stretch of the season—a stretch which saw them win six consecutive games and go 7-1 during an eight-game stretch—the defense held their opponents to 15 points or less five times.

This team still may not be good enough to compete with the big boys of the conference, But they are much improved from 2010. How many people honestly expected this defense to be one of the main catalysts for the Broncos' unexpected improvement in 2011?

The Broncos have become a dominant rushing team, ranked No. 1 in the NFL.

Fox's midseason change to a read-option attack into the offense in order to aid Tebow's transition from backup quarterback into starting quarterback is nothing short of amazing. Fox does deserve credit for changing up his offensive game plan in order to suit his quarterback's strengths.

As for Tebow, we already know the meaning of "Tebow Time." We've seen it enough this year alone.

Before his most recent outing against Buffalo, Tebow had been the most efficient quarterback in the NFL at taking care of the football. Hell, he leads the NFL at rushing the football with 5.6 yards per carry and his 13.9 yards per completion also leads the league.

Tebow has exceeded expectations by becoming extremely proficient at taking care of the football. He's the perfect quarterback to lead the read-option attack considering his ability to run the football and throw the deep pass.

After all of this praise that I've heaved upon Tebow and Fox, why is the future still uncertain for not only Tebow, but Fox himself?

A lot has already been made about Tebow not being a favorite of John Elway's regime. It's already been talked about enough, so I won't go into detail about that.

But what hasn't been talked about enough is Fox himself.

Is it true that regardless of what happens in the season finale vs. Kansas City, that Fox will return as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2012?

Yes. However, there is still the question of Fox being the long-term answer at head coach.

Fox may not have a hot seat as of this article, but there is no doubt that Fox hasn't done enough yet to solidify himself as the coach of the Broncos past the start of the 2012 season.

The defense has improved and has shown stretches of dominance.

Keep in mind though, that this stretch of dominance was against the likes of Matt Moore, Caleb Hanie, Matt Cassel, Marck Sanchez and a struggling Phillip Rivers.

Against the likes of the elite quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady? This defense had no answer. Absolutely none.

That is a huge problem. This defense may be good enough to stop mediocre quarterbacks and put this team in a position to reach .500 every season. But come playoff time, this team won't have any chance of competing if it doesn't gather the personnel to slow down great quarterbacks.

This was years ago, but it's the same issue. Remember when the Broncos had top 10 defenses from 2003-05 with Larry Coyer as the defensive coordinator?

When matched up against elite quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, they were destroyed in the playoffs.

It was the same issue of not being able to force turnovers and having an inability to adjust and adapt to stop these great quarterbacks from torching the Broncos' defenses.

41, 49 and 34 points given up in those playoff games weren't exactly examples of great defense. Does that sound familiar to what Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers did earlier this season?

As stated before, Fox's adjustment into Tebow taking over incumbent Kyle Orton by installing the read-option attack is nothing short of amazing.

However, this offense has been extremely inconsistent.

They are one of the worst teams in the NFL at third down conversions. They frequently appear unstoppable one drive, then fizzle for two or three consecutive quarters after that.

If you go two or three consecutive quarters of punting the football without scoring on a single drive, you won't last too long in the NFL. The offense ranks 22nd in points per game and 22nd in total yards.

The offenses and defenses are both below average and somewhat one-dimensional.

The offense is heavily reliant upon the run game. When the run game gets shut down early on in a game, it is hard for the Broncos to establish an offense by passing the football.

The defense is dominant against mediocre offenses, but when their backs are against the wall and they're struggling, they have a hard time adapting and adjusting to stop the bleeding.

Case in point?

Look at Rodgers' record-breaking game against the Broncos earlier this season. Look at Brady's masterful performance where he operated the no-huddle offense to perfection in the second half vs. the Broncos. Look at Christian Ponder's 400-yard game in his rookie season vs. Denver.

It feels good to be in a position to clinch something that we haven't experienced since 2005. It's a great feeling to know the strides that this franchise has made since the debacle that was the Josh McDaniels era.

But the NFL is a business. The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-recently league.

But what happens if this team loses on Sunday and Oakland wins their game against San Diego to clinch the division? This will be the third time in four years that this team has choked away the division due to late-season woes.

What happens if Tebow struggles again, the defense has another bad game and coach Fox continues calling a running play on every 1st-and-10 for another predictable offensive game plan?

How will we feel then?

Will the positive feelings that we feel now and have felt since turning the corner on that 1-4 start still remain?

Or will people panic and start questioning Fox's ability to lead this franchise for the long term? Fox will be back in 2012, regardless of the outcome of this Sunday's game.

However what happened in 2011 might not carry over into 2012. Just ask Todd Haley.