Broncos vs. Patriots: How New England Can Slow Tim Tebow Down

After the New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, Tom Brady told Tim Tebow that the two would meet again.

For that, Tebow called Brady "a prophet" at his press conference, according to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald.

Whether or not that's true, it doesn't exactly take a prophet to figure out how to stop the clock on Tebow time.

Gap discipline

Defending the option really comes down to gap discipline. 

It didn't start well for the Patriots the first time around. Denver got rolling with eight rushes for 73 yards and a touchdown on their first drive, followed by three rushes for 60 yards and another score on the following drive. Denver rushed 15 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. 

The Patriots were able to make in-game adjustments to what the Broncos were able to do, and in so doing, they stopped the bleeding. By switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 base defense, the Patriots were able to hold the Broncos to just 85 yards rushing for the rest of the game.

Ideally, the Patriots would like to execute that game plan for four quarters. Because the option is so run-heavy, especially with Tebow at the helm, the Patriots significantly improve their chances at beating the Broncos if they're able to stay in their lanes.

Edge pressure and a consistent pocket

The Patriots lost defensive end Andre Carter to an injury during the Broncos game, and have yet to find a 100-percent suitable replacement for him. He was a rare breed of end that was able to both rush the passer and stop the run from the right end spot.

One good sign for the Patriots, though, is that they were able to slow down Tebow and the Broncos offense even without him in the game, as Carter went down in the first quarter.

As a left-handed quarterback, Tebow naturally rolls out to his left. If the Patriots are able to get consistent pressure from Tebow's strong side, that will eliminate his natural tendency to roll that direction. The Patriots are going to need a big game from their defensive ends, namely Mark Anderson and Brandon Deaderick, who should both assume a majority of the responsibilities at right defensive end.

But this applies across the board, and connects back to the original idea of gap discipline. Tebow's other natural tendency is to tuck the ball and run. Keeping the pocket around him and containing him within it will be key, as the Patriots severely improve their chances if they can force Tebow to beat them from the pocket.

Early lead

The Patriots have had a very hard time scoring in the first quarter, but didn't have that problem against the Broncos. They scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game on a 33-yard catch-and-throw from Brady to Chad Ochocinco.

If the Patriots are able to score early and force Tebow to consistently make throws down the field to keep up, that will force the Broncos out of their comfort zone. They'd obviously much rather run the ball, as evidenced by their league-leading 546 rush attempts in the regular season. Obviously, the game plan was pretty similar on Sunday against the Steelers, as the Broncos rushed 34 times to just 21 passing plays.

The best-case scenario for New England would be if those numbers were flipped, as long as Tebow has more pass attempts than the Broncos have rush attempts.

Cover deep

As much as most people like to point to the option as solely a running offense, that's simply not the case.

The Steelers learned that pretty quickly in overtime when Tebow hooked up with Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown to cap off the game. In fact, that quick-strike ability proved to be quick enough to earn the quickest ending to an overtime game in NFL history.

On the day, Tebow's passes averaged over 30 yards every time he connected. That is significant in terms of it indicating how the Broncos were getting it done in the passing game. Tebow looked confident on deep throws, and as much as it will be a priority to stop the run, the Patriots have to force the Broncos to drive their way down the field consistently.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter.