Denver Broncos: Why Tim Tebow for MVP Is Not as Ridiculous as It Sounds

Football is not baseball. It sounds obvious enough, but week after week, analysts put up quarterback statistics in an attempt to quantify who the “best player” in the league is.

Why quarterbacks? Because it is supposedly an “easy” position to quantify.

Between completion percentage, yards passed, touchdowns, interceptions and QB rating (not to mention ESPN’s new variation of the statistic), and the fact that the quarterback touches the ball virtually every snap, it makes it easy to point to a quarterback as the most valuable player on a team.  Add in the fact that eight of the last 10 MVPs have been quarterbacks, and it is easy to deem the award a “quarterback’s award.”

If we adhere to that standard, then there is no question that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the most valuable player in the National Football League.

Playing the numbers game, Aaron Rodgers looks amazing:

2011: 215 of 295 (72.9%), 2869 yards, 28 TD, 3 INT, 130.7

Add to that the most important statistic: The Packers are 9-0.

I assume that Rodgers will lead the Packers to a record between 14-2 and 16-0 and win the MVP. But if there were an MVP in the AFC, one would have to give Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow serious consideration.

If you watched Tebow’s latest miracle against the New York Jets, you witnessed a “traditional” Tim Tebow game. He was an inaccurate passer, but he did not turn the ball over. Denver’s defense applied pressure to Mark Sanchez and performed spectacularly, yielding significant yardage only in prevent coverage.

So why should Tim Tebow win the MVP over, for instance, standout linebacker Von Miller? As I mentioned, we have to get used to the idea that the NFL MVP belongs to a quarterback. And, in that sense, you would be hard-pressed to find a quarterback who better demonstrates the ability to win games than Tim Tebow in the AFC.

Tim Tebow struggled for almost four quarters last night. But when head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy decided to “let Tebow do his thing” on the final drive of the game, the second-year quarterback out of Florida led his team on a 95-yard drive, culminating in a game-winning touchdown.

And it was virtually all Tebow. On the final drive, the quarterback was 3-of-5 passing, yet he carried the ball seven times for a total of 58 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown run to seal victory for the Broncos.

Because of Tim Tebow’s late-game heroics, the Denver Broncos are 5-5, 4-1 since Kyle Orton took the bench in favor of “God’s Second Son.”

But how can this be? “Tebow Haters” will tell you to look at his statistics:

2011: 56 for 125 (44.8%), 709 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT, 78.4

It would be remiss not to point out that Tebow has rushed for 388 yards and three touchdowns as well.

Meanwhile, Kyle Orton’s statistics:

2011: 91 of 155 (58.7%), 979 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT, 75.7

Kyle Orton is a traditional pocket passer. His numbers (outside of turnovers) are generally superior to Tim Tebow’s. Yet the Broncos were 1-4 with him as a starter and are 4-1 with Tebow.

Why?

I hate the word “intangibles,” because it makes it sound as though it is impossible to quantify what Tebow brings to the table. It’s simple: Tim Tebow does not turn the ball over. He reads defenses relatively well (as evidenced by reading the all-out blitz by the Jets on his touchdown run). He manages the clock well. He runs the football well. His completions, when they occur, are generally timely and significant. His teammates love him and admire his mental and physical toughness.

If you put all of these things together, the end result is a quarterback who knows how to win football games, which is exactly what Tim Tebow is. And that, folks, is what makes the most valuable player in football.

Without Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts are 0-10. With him, they would have a chance at the playoffs. Peyton Manning has won the MVP award four times. Without Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos were 1-4. With Tim Tebow, the Broncos are 4-1. Prorate this (admittedly foolhardy yet still significant), and the Broncos are 8-2 and running away with the AFC West.

Football is not baseball, and statistics don’t mean in the National Football League what they do in Major League Baseball. Football is about winning as many of the sixteen games as you can on the schedule.

And the NFL Most Valuable Player award should go to the individual (usually a quarterback) who in some way accounts for team's victories.

Aaron Rodgers will win that award. But Tim Tebow should certainly be in the conversation.