Denver Broncos: 7 Adjustments Tim Tebow Will Need to Make in the Offseason

The New England Patriots did the unthinkable Saturday night; they stepped on Superman's cape again.

For the second time this NFL season, Tim Tebow looked like an average NFL quarterback and New England looked every bit the team to beat in the AFC's quest to the Super Bowl.

Let's face it, "Tebowmania" isn't ready for the big time just yet.

If we can take away anything from the 45-10 loss on the road, is that the Broncos will be a fun team to watch next season, will have a lot of momentum based on who is behind center and a fan base that grew over the last four months. Those are positives when you look at teams who can win next year.

For now, the team and the fans supporting the Broncos and "Superman" are licking their wounds and wondering what went wrong. New England had one of the worst defenses in the NFL over the course of 17 weeks and all of the sudden looked like the greatest wall of defense in the league.

Call it rest, call it confusing a young quarterback, call it the resolve of a Bill Belichick team.

New England looked real and Denver did not.

So now, Tebow begins another offseason with the will to get back to a division title, to learn to improve his game and to continue to motivate and lead by example. If players like Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins bought into the "Tebow Thing," then others follow their leaders.

Right now, Tebow knows there are things he has to work on in the offseason so when he comes back in 2012 the media has new questions to throw his way.

Here are some adjustments Tebow needs to make in the offseason.

Become a More Pocket-Savvy Quarterback

Tebow is amazing when he is on the move and in control of the game.

When the game controls him, he panics and makes mistakes. He needs to trust the pocket around him more and let the game "happen" like it should.

Tebow is still a work in progress and while I hate to use that phrase, it's true. When he learns to stay in the pocket more and trust receivers to get open, he will have more high-percentage passes that turn into big gains.

Throw More, Run Less

And this may be the biggest thing Tebow must learn.

If you can throw more in this league, you win more. We need to see Tebow have the games like he did against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, but we also need him to throw the ball 25-30 times again and complete 60 percent of his passes and average 250 yards per game.

Tebow is a glorified fullback running with the ball, which makes it difficult for defenses to contain him. Once they do, however, there is nowhere for him to go.

Making him more of a threat with his arm will keep secondaries and linebackers honest in coverage.

There Are 10 Other Teammates on the Field

There were times this season where it looked like Tebow wanted to be the only player out there. And while he was able to run for 660 yards in the regular season, he needed every one of those other guys to help out.

Tebow gives credit to his teammates for "making him look better than he is" as he has said in press conferences this year.

But again, it just seems like he wants to play a college game with men who are much better than most of his college opponents.

Continue to learn to lean on teammates so the end result is more viable than the quarterback looking like he must do everything by himself.

Work on the Throwing Motion

He still has that jacked-up wind up that looks like he cannot get the ball out fast enough.

And when he is running to his right and opens up his side to throw, he exposes himself to having a linebacker hit him and cut him in half.

He works diligently on making himself a better player, which is great. But when he reverts back to the college days, it looks odd and defenses have time to find him in coverage and sack him.

Tebow needs more of a dropback style to compliment his running skills. A change will do him good.

Don't Create More Hype

"Tebowmania" was the hottest thing in the NFL this year, but think about it. Was it really necessary? The fans in Denver wanted him behind center and showed their support with billboards, letters, etc. It created a cluster of emotion, both good and bad.

When you have a quarterback as polarizing as Tebow and he does not deflect the "hype," it grows larger. That does not help him with favor in the media and leads to ESPN and other media outlets wanting to engage him more, which is good for him, the NFL and his team.

But there was no control and with Peyton Manning out this year, no Brett Favre in the league and no Terrell Owens sound bites, it makes for a dull season.

Tebow filled those gaps when Denver won so many games in overtime and in the last minutes of the game.

Learn, Learn, Learn

The best thing Tebow has right now is Mike McCoy as his offensive coordinator and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history as team president.

Tebow welcomes the criticism from John Elway and hopefully that lights a fire in him and inspires him to do great things.

There are far worse teachers than Elway to learn from. If the progression this year got Denver to the playoffs, then further progression gets them deep into the playoffs.

The Broncos and Tebow need to take baby steps, but they also need to show more improvement over this season.

Fight Back!

I never think it is a good thing for athletes to clash with the media, but I will make the exception to the rule here.

Tebow is a dream for the media because we see Wally Cleaver sit in front of a microphone and answer questions with the same teenage voice and monotone look.

The media was critical of Tebow all season but also loved and hated him at the same time.Tebow took all the shots the media had to offer and never lashed back. But, what if he did lash back and made people notice?

Quarterbacks in the NFL like Favre, Marino, Elway and Manning all had or have a bit of an edge to them and they responded in kind when they were attacked by media outlets. If Tebow, who has thick skin, changed his tune a bit and challenged the writers and the protractors every now and then, there would be more give and take.