Tim Tebow: John Elway's Comments Prove Broncos Like Tebow as Brand More Than QB

It's no secret that Denver Broncos vice president of football operations and legendary quarterback John Elway didn't exactly give current signal-caller Tim Tebow a ringing endorsement this past season. With that said, his most recent comments prove he still isn't sold on the polarizing player.

In an "oral history" of Tebow compiled by Michael Silver of GQ, Elway has several interesting things to say about the unorthodox gunslinger. Rather than talk about what Tebow can or can't do on the field, Elway decided to mostly discuss Tebow as a person and a brand.

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He has changed the culture of that locker room. The way he handles his life, the way he is with people, the way he is with media — everybody wants to fight over what he is on the football field, but for the NFL, for the Denver Broncos, he’s perfect. He’s a great kid. You know, people want him to be successful. And so do I. Everybody in this building does, too. If he’s the guy that can be our guy for ten, fifteen years, that’s a hell of a deal for us.

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While it's obvious that Elway thinks Tebow is a great representative for the franchise, his comments shouldn't be misconstrued as an endorsement of Tebow as a quarterback. Most already realized that Tebow was a great role model as well as a cash cow for the Broncos, so nothing Elway said was overly provocative.

Elway did speak a little bit about Tebow's progression as a passer, and while he seems to think that Tebow is heading in the right direction, there is no indication that he thinks Tebow is going to be the guy over the long haul.

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I get encouraged when I see him working within the system and throwing on time, with good feet. That, to me, is where he’s getting better. Consistency and accuracy is gonna come when he gets consistent with his feet.  It’s like a pitcher: The front foot comes down on the same spot every single time. He’s just never really worked on that.

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It seems to me that Elway essentially thinks so little of Tebow's skills as a pure passer that he's happy simply when Tebow is mechanically sound. Notice that he also said that he is encouraged when he sees Tebow playing within the system. There was no mention of Tebow playing within the system consistently, though.

The Broncos truly are in a strange situation. On one hand, while Tebow did manage to lead the Broncos to a playoff victory, there are likely better options out there at quarterback. At the same time, though, he is probably the most-talked-about player in the league. Even if a better choice were to present itself at the position, the organization would likely be vilified for tossing Tebow aside.

Tebow completed just 46.5 percent of his passes in the regular season, but he did rack up 18 combined touchdowns through the air and on the ground, and he threw for over 300 yards in a shocking playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and their supposedly elite defense.

There is something about Tebow that makes him successful, and even though his mechanics are flawed and he doesn't play like any other quarterback, he tends to get the job done. Elway is a traditionalist, though, so it makes sense that he is unwilling to commit to Tebow beyond saying that he'll be the starter in training camp.

Basically, Elway loves Tebow the person but is lukewarm when it comes to Tebow the quarterback. That shouldn't be too surprising since that seems to be the overwhelming sentiment in society as well. Not everyone thinks Tebow is a good quarterback, but it's pretty much impossible to deny that he's a great role model.

I believe that Elway wants Tebow to succeed because he's a great ambassador for the team and the sport as a whole, but he clearly remains apprehensive about Tebow's capability of becoming great.

Elway is taking a wait-and-see approach like the rest of us, and there's nothing wrong with that. Elway seems to have softened a bit in his criticism of Tebow because he understands how important he is to the organization, but until Tebow takes significant steps forward on the field, Elway certainly isn't going to anoint him.