Broncos vs. Titans Week 3: 3 Reasons Tim Tebow Should Start This Game

It’s Tim Tebow time.

When the Denver Broncos selected Tebow 25th overall in the 2010 NFL draft, they should have expected what they have on their hands now: a quarterback controversy.

The Broncos have said all the right things. They said they will stick with Orton and that Tebow is merely a backup, at this juncture. There is no reason to believe that he will play anytime in the near future.

But it’s exactly what many fans in Denver want. They chanted for Tebow after the season-opening loss on "Monday Night Football." And there were signs demanding Tebow play quarterback in Week 2.

The Broncos (despite their 1-1 record) should consider a switch to Tebow in Week 3.

1. Denver Broncos Aren't Going Anywhere in 2011 Anyways

The 2011 Denver Broncos roster is too similar to the 2010 roster for the Broncos to expect drastic changes in 2011.

In 2010 the Broncos were the second worst team in the NFL (4-12). And like all NFL teams, the Broncos made changes to their roster from 2010 to 2011. But there just weren’t enough changes.

There are too many of the same faces on the roster for a serious playoff-caliber team to emerge.

To their credit, the Broncos are 1-1. But it was a victory over the lowly Cincinnati Bengals and only by two points (24-22). The Bengals will be in the running for the services for current Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (the prize whatever team finishes with the worst record will win).

The Broncos should make the change to Tebow in Week 3 and for the rest of the season so as to see what they have. It’s important for them to find out if Tebow has anything to offer as an NFL quarterback now, when the times are hard, rather than when the times should be good (especially if Tebow shows himself as an inadequate NFL quarterback).

2. Kyle Orton...it's Not Like He's Tom Brady

Kyle Orton did lead the NFL in passing yards during stretches of the 2010 season and finished 10th in the league in that category (3,653 yards, 247 less yards than New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady).

Orton is a talented NFL quarterback. No debate here. But it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever be an elite NFL quarterback. In today’s NFL, teams need to have an elite quarterback to be a great team because it has become a passing league.

He isn’t a player who will lead a team to multiple Super Bowl appearances like Brady has. He won’t lead a team on a magical run like Aaron Rodgers did with the Green Bay Packers this past postseason. Nor is he a player who can put a whole city on his back the way Drew Brees did for the New Orleans Saints in the 2009 season.

Whether you believe in Tebow, the Broncos showed in 2010 that they did when they made him the 25th overall pick. They put their eggs in the Tebow basket. And now it’s time to see if those eggs are ready to hatch or if they’ll crack.

3. Tebow Is Multi-Faceted

The beauty of Tebow as a quarterback is that he brings many different talents to the position.

Tebow can run the ball, should receivers find themselves covered downfield. He can bowl over a defensive player like a fullback would—although that's not recommended for a quarterback given today’s culture.

He is tough as nails. Who can forget Tebow’s infamous postgame press conference after his Florida Gators lost to Ole Miss in 2008? The man wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do so.

Teammates know that Tebow has their back. They know they have a player who will fight until the end. His work ethic is never in question.

The big question, and why he wasn’t given the reigns to an NFL team from day No. 1 of his NFL career, is that no one knows if he can be a successful NFL quarterback.

Now is the time, Denver. The season is young and the team does have a notch on the victory belt. But this isn’t going to be a Super Bowl team. Let Tebow play and see what you have.