Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos Has Building Blocks, but Must Improve Next Season

What a season it was for the Denver Broncos.

It was a roller coaster ride filled with great memories, fun times and its share of disappointments. The Broncos went from a floundering team with a 1-4 record, to re-igniting passion in football in the Mile High City. This season is one where the Denver Broncos organization will be faced with a decision and choice of what the future holds.

This team turned around their season with speculation that head coach John Fox could be one and done in Denver—to a first-year playoff berth after last season's 4-12 finish.

In the middle of the season, the Broncos went on a remarkable run going 7-1. However, some of the hype lost steam when the Broncos closed out their season losing three consecutive games and backing into the playoffs.

When no one believed in them and the Broncos faced the No. 1 defense in the league against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Broncos pulled off one of the biggest upsets in playoffs history.

The Broncos looked fantastic in the Wild Card Round, and then hit a brick wall against a potential Super Bowl contender in the AFC on a cold night in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The New England Patriots finished off the Broncos season and ended the magical run that was 2011.

Standing back and looking at the season as a whole, there are some great developments and huge building blocks. There is an improving defense. There are consistent special teams specialists in Matt Prater and Britton Colquitt.

The Broncos are a work in progress on offense–in Tim Tebow, a first-year starter who had flashes of brilliance and disappointing showings. There are some playmakers at wide receiver—a beast named Demaryius Thomas—and a young offensive line who will only improve. Along with the youth on offense are the experienced, seasoned players like captains Willis McGahee and Chris Kuper.

These Broncos look poised to make big waves in the division in years to come. The Broncos must move forward, grow and groom to take this team past the Wild Card round to deep in the playoffs.

The haters will still hate on the sensational Tim Tebow, who has made one of the biggest off-field contributions to the lives of those people who root for him, believe in him and look up to him. 

ESPN.com columnist Rick Reilly wrote about Tim's philanthropy and his giving back to those in need. He not only brings this positive influence to a game whose owners locked out its players haggling over labor agreements and squabbling over billions of dollars, but he also brings a fire and passion to the game and to his team.

Tim has been a leader on and off the field—even though he was not named a captain by head coach John Fox.

Tebow now has one full season under his belt of starts in the NFL (16 since the end of last season), and Broncos fans expect him to improve. He will likely be working with John Elway during the offseason on footwork, mechanics, etc.

He will have a full offseason with him as the expected starter—taking reps with the first-team and work hard at recognizing defensive schemes, making reads and executing the offense.

Outside of Demaryius Thomas, who I will affectionately name, 'The Beast', the Denver Broncos are noticeably thin at wide receiver.

Eric Decker has been hit-and-miss this season with some great catches and more than his fair-share of dropped passes.

Eddie Royal has been consistently inconsistent since his super rookie season, and 2011 was no different. He had some nice kick returns for big gains and at least one touchdown, but he has failed to really develop into a true slot receiver that the Broncos can depend on to extend drives and march the football down the field.

Matthew Willis, D'Andre Goodwin and others have also struggled all season long.

This is an area with a great need to improve. Tim Tebow has struggled a lot this season: He has been hesitant—not wanting to throw interceptions, and as a result has frequently thrown the ball away or struggled with accuracy.

However, much can be said of having confidence in the receivers to throw to. Many times, the Broncos' receivers did not get separation, had dropped passes bounce off their chests or out of their fingertips, and this is a big area that must improve this offseason.

At running back, the Broncos need to find a complement for Willis McGahee.

McGahee had an outstanding season this year—he was a bright spot for the team. However, running backs are short-lived in the NFL—just ask Knowshon Moreno. Moreno has been riddled with injuries his whole career. The Broncos need to get help for McGahee at running back. Lance Ball and Jeremiah Johnson should remain backups and role players, but they cannot complement McGahee.

On defense, the team as a whole made some great strides.

They beefed up in the front and got one of the most-gifted defensive talents in this season's NFL draft in Von Miller. The pass rush on the outside is one of the best in the NFL. Up the middle, the Broncos need a game-changer who can bring pressure in the face of quarterbacks and stuff the run. They need a monster who will aggressively attack offenses.

The other place to improve is the secondary. Much of the season, the Broncos started rookie safeties. Both Quinton Carter and Rahim Moore struggled a lot this season. They were confused often, out of position and burned on plays.

It was atrocious at times.

They will only get better next season. However, the Broncos will likely need either a big time trade or free agent acquisition to go along with a draft pick or two to improve the secondary.

Champ Bailey is rightfully going to his 11th Pro Bowl in two weeks, and he anchored the secondary. He was hardly challenged by offenses and he was superb all season. However, Andre Goodman—the cornerback opposite of Bailey—was victimized a lot this season. I think it is time for the Broncos to finally use a top pick on a top cornerback to go along with Bailey.

The Broncos need to shore up the secondary to stop the best quarterbacks in the league. 

Chris Harris, the team's third cornerback, made some big time plays this year. He should be relied on to improve and contribute next year as well.

All in all, the Broncos have lots of decisions to make this offseason, and must aim on improving in 2012 around the guys who have made big contributions. The Broncos should continue to work with Tim Tebow.

They need to see some maturation out of the second and third-year players. Finally, they need a second great draft out of EFX (Elway-Fox-Xanders) to add depth and talent.