Did Lions End Any Hopes Tim Tebow Had of Being Broncos QB in 2012?

Tim Tebow's performance in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions was an absolute disaster. The second year quarterback had all of his weaknesses on display for the entire NFL to see and you have to wonder what level of confidence the Denver Broncos will have in him moving forward.

On Sunday Tebow was sacked seven times and hit on another seven plays. He completed 18 of his 39 passes (46.2 percent) for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards. And those numbers don't tell the whole story.

Tebow also fumbled three times, losing one, and most of his yards and his only touchdown came in garbage time late in the 45-10 blowout. His quarterback rating was a dismal 56.8 and he averaged an awful 4.4 yards per attempt. 

The Florida product's mechanics were awful, his decision-making lacked any sort of authority, he locked on to receivers while failing to look off the coverage, his footwork was as bad as always and his delivery is far too long. All of those flaws have been pointed out over and over by scouts, but for some reason Tebow-maniacs have shrugged them off, claiming that the quarterback is a winner and a hard worker who would figure it all out.

After Denver's 18-15 overtime win against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7, Tebow was lauded with the kind of praise and hype that few quarterbacks ever experience. What people seemed to forget is that the Dolphins might be the NFL's worst team, and Tebow was horrendous for the first 55 minutes of that game. 

On Sunday, it was crystal clear to anyone watching that the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner was completely over-matched in every phase of the game. He simply isn't accurate enough (career completion percentage of 48.1) to be a starting quarterback in the NFL yet, he doesn't make good decisions with the football and he's just not ready to be under center in the league yet. In fact, he may never get there.

If Sunday's game didn't prove that the Broncos should look elsewhere for a starting quarterback next season, nothing will. 

Tim Tebow is a great kid, a very good athlete and his faith and attitude have provided an inspiration to many, but that doesn't mean he'll every be a successful starting quarterback. If that's not obvious to you at this point, it may never be.