Tim Tebow: Broncos Fans Must Keep Expectations of QB Grounded in Mile High City

If you read any Bleacher Report on Tim Tebow, you will see a very animated comment section. Most of those comments are positive, as people have felt that the Broncos should have gone to him as the starter sooner.

In truth, the NFL sample size has been limited. Basically, people didn't mind the overall numbers that Kyle Orton put up as a starter, but were less than impressed with his record. There is a point to be had there. Orton won the first six games of the 2009 season, but the Broncos have won all of seven games in what works out to almost two full seasons since.

The move to Tebow is fine. Personally, I feel that it's a bit premature, but Denver's season is lost at this point. They are three games behind San Diego and two behind Oakland (with home losses to each). Even Kansas City stands a game in front of Denver.

So, even if Tebow isn't the quarterback that would lead the Broncos to the better record in 2011, they are not going to be competitive with Orton. They haven't been yet, so there is no reason to think that Orton will all of a sudden turn the team into a contender.

But Broncos fans need to be patient, or Tebow will be crushed.

First of all, I have noticed something with Broncos' fans, and I have spent a lot of time around them in my life.

Since John Elway's retirement after 1998, they have been very impatient with the quarterbacks that have started for the team. The fact of the matter is that Joe Montana to Steve Young or Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers transitions are exceptionally rare.

Actually, anything close to that is very rare.

Orton and Tebow are much different quarterbacks. Orton is a drop back quarterback that's best in the pocket. He's certainly the one with the more traditional skills. I am not crazy about that argument to say that he's better than Tebow, but there is a point there.

Tebow is at his best when he's moving around, creating plays on his own. That's going to take the rest of the Denver offense some time to adjust to.

Also, Tebow is basically a rookie. He's technically in his second year, but has played sparingly in his first year and a half.

Quarterbacks tend to take time to adjust to life as an NFL starter. So, he won't step in and be another John Elway, or have the kind of success that he had at Florida. If people are expecting that, they are going to be quickly disappointed.

The Broncos have weapons, but they aren't a very good team. Looking at the remainder of their season, it's hard to see them going any better than 5-11 at this point, and even that might be too optimistic.

It's fine to be hopeful going forward. When your team isn't winning, being hopeful going forward is one of the only things you can do.

But the expectations for Tebow need to be realistic. If they're not, he'll be just another in a line of post-Elway quarterbacks to fail in Denver.