Tim Tebow: Grading Golden Boy's Performance Against Miami Dolphins

Tim Tebow started at quarterback for the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. No doubt you heard something about it.

Ultimately, the day ended up being a success. After struggling for much of the game, Tebow carried the Broncos to an 18-15 overtime win.

But how did Tebow really do on Sunday? Well, let's break it down.

Accuracy

This is the big knock on Tebow, and it's going to remain the big knock on Tebow. There's no arguing that he completed some very clutch passes in the fourth quarter, but he was all over the place in the other three quarters. He had some forgivable misses, and he had some unforgivable misses.

All told, Tebow's final numbers do a pretty good job of telling the story. Despite the flurry of passes he completed late in the game, he finished with 13 completions on 27 passing attempts. That's a 48.1 completion percentage, which is below average.

Grade: D

Footwork

Tebow's footwork has been a work in progress ever since he came into the league, and it still is. There are times when he still looks like a kid playing in a pickup football game, which is to say that he looks nothing like how an NFL quarterback should look.

Is this part of his game getting better? Honestly, it's hard to tell. One thing we can probably take for granted, though, is that additional reps can only help.

Grade: D

Pocket Presence

Pocket presence is another thing Tebow must work on. He's not comfortable throwing out of the pocket, and in fact doesn't seem very comfortable doing anything in the pocket.

The biggest problem for Tebow today was that he simply took too long to make things happen. You may have noticed that he took seven sacks, and that's not an accident. It's also quite discouraging when you consider that the Dolphins came into Sunday's action with a total of eight sacks.

Grade: D

Scrambling

Okay, now we're getting into the good stuff.

If there's one thing we know Tebow can do quite well, it's run with the football. It is therefore not surprising that he had 65 yards on eight carries, with a long rush of 21 yards. That rush was pretty impressive, by the way,

And yes, Tebow is definitely a tank when he gets going. You obviously don't want him to be reckless, but he's as tough to take down as any running back.

Grade: B+

Ball Security

And now back to the bad stuff. For the most part, Tebow does a good job of securing the football when he takes off and runs, but there are times when he does let it hang down to his side, a la Michael Vick.

Also, Tebow had the ball punched out of his hand once on Sunday. Luckily, the Broncos were able to recover the ball.

Grade: C-

Clutchness

And now we're back to the good stuff. After looking like a lame duck for three quarters, Tebow exploded in the fourth quarter. He led two scoring drives with less than six minutes to go, the second of which needed a two-point conversion tacked on to tie things up.

Now, it should be noted that Tebow didn't contribute much in overtime. The Broncos went three-and-out in their first possession of OT, a series that ended with Tebow taking a sack. The Broncos would win on a long field goal by Matt Prater, but they have Matt Moore to thank for that, not Tebow.

Still, you have to give credit where credit is due. He got a little help from some horrific Dolphins defense, but Tebow came up clutch when it mattered.

Grade: A

Overall

There was bad and there was ugly, but there was ultimately good as well. When you think about it, that's kinda the story of Tebow's pro career.

My advice for both Broncos fans and Tebow fans is not to get too excited. Tebow's day may have ended well, but it was pretty awful for the most part. Moreover, you have to keep in mind that he led the Broncos to a win over the Dolphins. They are easily the worst team in the NFL.

Grade: C-