NFL 2012: Will Broncos' Tim Tebow Improve as a Passer in 2012?

Heading into the offseason as a Broncos fan, the major question on everybody's mind is, "Will Tim Tebow improve enough as a passer to keep the Broncos as contenders?".

In what was widely considered the biggest story throughout the 2011 season, Tebow managed to lead the Broncos to a 7-4 record under his lead, led the Broncos to the playoffs on a division title berth for the first time in six years, all while helping Denver host a playoff game at Invesco while upsetting the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round.

Somehow, someway, despite having some of the worst passing mechanics ever displayed by an NFL quarterback, Tebow led clutch victory after clutch victory, time and time again.

He was 4-0 in games that ended in overtime this season, while leading the Broncos to six-fourth quarter comeback victories.

There is no doubt that despite the fact Tebow cooled down as the season came to a close, it was a successful season for the first year starter.

The question now becomes, "Can he lead the Broncos to the same kind of success in 2012?".

I think most Broncos fans can come to the agreement that the Broncos won't be able to replicate the success they had in 2011, if Tebow does not improve as a passer in 2012.

Denver lost four of their last five remaining games, and in three of those games, Tebow looked absolutely dreadful. In those games, he garnered a quarterback rating that registered under 53.0. He went a combined 26-70 for a 36.1% completion rate.

It's no shock that the combined score in those three defeats were 92-27 in favor of the opposing teams.

It is not just the fact that Denver lost those games while playing for either a playoff spot, or a chance to advance to the next round. It was the way they lost those games which cause reason for concern heading into 2012.

In the game vs. Buffalo with a chance to clinch a playoff spot (before Oakland would go on to win their afternoon game) the Broncos laid an egg against a team that hadn't won a game in two months. They lost 40-14, while Tebow uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times, including three interceptions.

In Week 17 vs. Kansas City, the defense had one of their best efforts of the season, in limiting the Chiefs to seven total points in 60 minutes. However, it all went for waste as Tebow failed the lead the Broncos to more than three points, including one costly fumble early on in the game in the red zone that cost Denver at least a field goal.

In that game, Tebow had his worst performance of the season, when he completed just 27% of his passes for a season-low 20.6 quarterback rating.

We already know how bad the New England game was.

The reason why Tebow's performance was such a cause for concern as the season came to a close, was not only his regression as a passer, but his regression as a runner due to defenses picking up on Denver's read-option attack as the weeks progressed.

In those three losses, Tebow ran the ball 21 times for just 63 yards and a touchdown, which equates to just 3.0 yards a carry.

For those that have an ounce of knowledge as to how Denver's offense runs, Denver's success on offense hinges on the running attack. If the running attack is slowed down, Denver's offense is slowed down.

For a perspective on how successful Tebow was when it came to running the football, on the season as a whole, he ran the football for 5.4 yards a carry, which was the fourth-best mark in the league in 2011.

After covering the regression of Tebow's performance during the final five weeks of the season, what does this all mean?

This means that if Tebow fails to take a great leap as a passing quarterback during the 2012 season, the Broncos won't experience the same kind of success that they experienced in 2011.

NFL teams started to pick up on the read-option attack, and they started shutting it down as the season came to a close. By shutting down the rushing attack, teams forced Tebow and the Broncos to beat them through the air.

With the exception of the Pittsburgh game, that was the case for the Tebow and the Broncos.

In order for Denver to remain as the team to beat in the AFC West, in order for Denver to remain a playoff team period, Tebow will need to make the next step in becoming a better passing quarterback.

I am not saying he needs to be Tom Brady, he simply needs to become a more accurate passer in order to give the Broncos offense a more consistent identity in terms of moving the football resulting in more time being run off the clock, resulting in better field position for the defense by the time Denver punts the football.

The days of winning games by completing less than 50% of your passes will be over in 2012.

If Tebow wants to continue leading Denver to victories as the starting quarterback for the Broncos, he will need to convince defenses that he is a threat to pass the football in addition to running it.