Tim Tebow: Perfect Storm of Problems Leaves Denver Broncos Fans Wanting More

On Sunday, the Denver Broncos were almost good enough to beat one of the best in the NFL business, the New York Jets.

Down 24-20 with 1:13 left on the clock, Denver had the ball as Kyle Orton tried to put on his best John Elway impression and attempted to bring the Broncos back to win in clutch fashion.

Instead, he was unable to secure a sloppy shotgun snap from rookie center J.D. Walton and Orton looked like a lost loser as he couldn’t fall on the fumbled ball.

In an instant, all the hopes of winning a game against a great team fluttered into the Mile High air.

Even though Orton has arguably been the best quarterback in the NFL (definitely Denver’s MVP), his uncoordinated escapade is not the final lasting impression to leave lingering in the minds of Broncos backers.

Not even Elway, the greatest quarterback and player in Broncos history, could escape the orange and blue boos.

Broncomaniacs are interested in one thing, winning. And in Denver, the quarterback usually takes the brunt of the complaints.

After losing back-to-back games and three of four in all, Broncos fans are wondering what’s the matter with their team.

For one, the Broncos can’t run the ball (even though they had a somewhat productive game Sunday versus New York).

Six weeks into the regular season, Denver, once the benchmark to which all other running games were measured, sits dead last in the NFL at 67.3 yards on the ground per game.

Knowshon Moreno, the first round draft pick in 2009 and the Broncos starting running back, has been grounded due to lingering hamstring injuries this year. And even when he finally got back into a Broncos’ game Sunday, Moreno fumbled the ball and quickly lost the confidence of head coach Josh McDaniels.

Correll Buckhalter, who started the season as the backup back, was supplanted by Laurence Maroney when Denver traded for him in Week Three. Maroney has gotten the bulk of the carries for the Broncos since, but his 2.1 yards per carry (36 carries for 74 yards) have been pathetic.

Yes, part of the blame rests on the broad shoulders of Denver’s young and inexperienced offensive line, but at some point someone must make the Broncos a threat to run the ball once again.

That could be rookie quarterback Tim Tebow, who ran for 2,947 yards (4.26 YPC) as a Heisman Trophy winner in his four years playing for the University of Florida. Tebow was given a chance to run and rumble down INVESCO Field at Mile High Sunday, and his 23 yards on six carries (3.8 YPC) included some tough and exciting ground game.

Another difficulty for Denver is once in the red zone, the Broncos can’t put the ball into the end zone enough. Denver’s 13 touchdowns are tied for 12th in the NFL and despite scoring two-thirds of the time against New York, their 37.5 percent red zone scoring percentage ranks the Broncos at 27th.

Beyond that, I wrote earlier in the season that McDaniels and ex-head man Mike Shanahan were similar because they can get yards but not score. An important part of that piece profiles the differential between points for and points against, showing that when Broncos teams of the last 15 years finished with a differential of 50 or less they missed the playoffs all seven times.

This season, McDaniels Broncos are a -16 in point differential, and sit at 2-4, tied for last in the AFC Worst (West).

When Tebow sat down with MNF commentator and ex-head coach Jon Gruden this summer, Gruden loved how terrifically Tim Tremendous could pound the ball between the tackles in college. While Tim argued he can pass the ball, Gruden compared him to all-world fullback Mike Alstott with his ability to push the ball those last few precious yards over the goal line.

Tebow got his first taste of the NFL end zone Sunday as he took the ball five yards outside to the right and ran it in for his first professional touchdown.

Could Tebow help the Broncos down on the goal line?

Certainly.

But whether or not McDaniels continues to put him in is the question.

And when looking at the state of the Broncos franchise, it’s easy to see why Broncos fans want Tebow at QB.

Denver is struggling, at 2-4 overall and are looking up at the Cheifs, Raiders and Chargers in their division already. The Broncos can’t afford to miss the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season, but it’s looking more and more likely they will.

Also, Orton is not the future of the quarterback position, Tebow is. Even though Orton signed an extension that will keep him in Denver though the 2011 season, no one believes he will be playing QB after the completion of that year, so why not get Tebow some reps now?

One only had to watch the game Sunday to see how completely bonkers Broncos fans went for Tebow each and every time he got onto the field behind center. And when Tebow put the ball in the end zone, the eruption of cheers at New Mile High Stadium were the loudest in the 10 years the Broncos have played in their new home. As the CBS cameras panned to the crowd, one that’s been classified as a “wine and cheese crowd” by many in the local media lately, Denverites were jumping up and down so wildly you would have thought the Broncos had just won the 1989 AFC Championship game.

In the end though, those fanatics that clamor for seeing T-squared lineup behind center in 2010 are silly to do so. Either they don’t understand the complexities of football or they're just so in love with Tebow that they don’t care how the Broncos do as a result of him starting.

Tebow has yet to throw an NFL pass and while he had a couple nice throws in the preseason, one must remember it was against second and third-team defenses, not the superb starters the NFL has to offer at cornerback and safety.

Tebow told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King about his displeasure sitting on the sidelines saying, “It’s been a challenge. But I’m OK with it. Kyle’s been playing so well. All I can do is prepare every week for whatever my role is, continue to learn this offense, and wait for the time when the coaches think I can help the team.”

Eventually Tebow will get his chance at QB fans, but until that day comes, you’ll have to be content with him occasionally getting a chance to run the “Wildhorses” and run the ball.

Hey, it’s better than nothing and it may even help the Broncos win a game or two.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner, Kurtzman is a Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.

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