NFL: Tim Tebow and 9 Burning Questions with Just 5 Weeks to Go This Season

It doesn't seem to matter how many weeks go by—fans and experts alike are always left with questions about the direction of the 2011 NFL season.

There have been more surprises than I care to count. The Colts being 0-11? I agree, we all knew the Colts would be bad after learning Peyton Manning wouldn't play, but who expected this much of a disaster?

This is just one example of a surprise in 2011. Besides the surprises, how about the performance of some players or the futures of coaches?

Amongst all the questions we all want answered, these nine are some of the most common.

Will the Cincinnati Bengals Make the Playoffs?

At the beginning of 2011, the Cincinnati Bengals were simply a team of young, inexperienced kids playing in a league that would crush them.  Andy Dalton was ripped apart by several draft experts.

After 12 weeks have surpassed, the Red Rifle has led his team to a 7-4 record, and currently sit as the last team to get into the AFC playoff picture.  Will the momentum continue?

It's going to be difficult for sure. The Bengals are ripped a lot for having a very soft schedule, and one of their two quality wins doesn't seem so quality anymore (Buffalo). 

Cincinnati will march into Pittsburgh in Week 13, and still have games against Houston and Baltimore, both at home. It is believable that they can win both of those games.

The young team has shined behind wonderful defensive play and an amazing connection between Dalton and his fellow rookie, A.J. Green. Dalton is garnering Rookie of the Year considerations, and Green is on pace to have a 1,000-yard, 10-plus touchdown campaign.

With the Jets, Broncos and Titans all nipping at their heels, will this young team perform well enough in the coming weeks to secure one of the most shocking playoff spots in recent memory?

Will the Colts Muster Even One Victory in 2011?

The Indianapolis Colts have suffered through one of the worst seasons this franchise could have ever envisioned. If something could go wrong, it did.

Peyton Manning was injured for the year, Kerry Collins couldn't fill in and then got injured, Curtis Painter never performed, the running game continued to be ineffective and the defense, as usual, can stop no one.

Most of their games haven't even been close. Their best opportunity for a win during these last few weeks seemed to have been a home game in Week 12 against Carolina—clearly, that didn't happen.

Coming up, the Colts face the Patriots, Ravens, Texans and Titans. An 0-15 record seems almost inevitable.

Their Week 17 game in Jacksonville seems to be their only hope for a single win, albeit a small one.

Jack Del Rio Is Out—is Tony Sparano Next?

Many will argue that Tony Sparano should not have been re-signed before this season even began. I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with them.

Still, Sparano is hanging on for dear life in Miami. You got to give the guy at least a little credit, given the Dolphins last four performances.

The team is 3-1, with that one loss coming against a tough Cowboys' team in Dallas by one point. In reality, that game could very easily have been won.

Sparano has tossed Matt Moore into the offense, and he's not had a bad season. His first four games were disasters, but let's look at the last four: He's thrown for 901 yards with seven touchdowns and a single interception. That four-game stretch is comparable—if not better—than any four-game stretch Alex Smith has had (more on him later).

Add in that Reggie Bush is looking like a real running back all of a sudden, and this team is playing respectable football. 

Unfortunately for Sparano, it'd take a miracle for him to return next year. If the Dolphins win out, they'll be 8-8, which I don't think will be enough to save their coach's job.

Is Drew Brees Going to Break Dan Marino's Passing Yards Record?

To say that Drew Brees is a freak of nature would be an understatement. He's on pace to set a career-high in touchdowns, but that's not the story of his season.

He's on pace for his second 5,000-yard season. Furthermore, he's about 200 yards ahead of Dan Marino's 1984 pace. 

Three of the teams he's facing down the stretch are in the bottom half of the league in passing defense, those being Minnesota, Atlanta and Carolina. 

It's very believable that he can get it done. In 2008, Brees threw for 5,069 yards, falling only 15 yards shy of Marino's record. With his incredible offensive weapons, it's very likely we're going to see a new record in 2011.

Will Tim Tebow Lead a Broncos' Playoff Run?

I'm nowhere near a believer in Tim Tebow, but you've got to give the guy his due—he wins.

He's helped along by a mighty defense, who have allowed under 20 points in four of five Tebow victories. That is the cornerstone to this team winning ball games. If the defense—particularly, the pass defense— begins to crumble down the stretch, the Broncos will be crushed into submission.

For now, the Broncos have won four games in a row and sit one game behind Oakland in the AFC West. This brings about the question—is Tebow good enough to get the Broncos into the postseason?

This team is a running team, which usually isn't good for a quarterback. However, this is Tebow, and he is a runner. Being 240 lbs., he should be a runner. 

Denver is running an option-style offense, and no matter how ugly and unimpressive the wins are, they're wins. They're not fluke wins either. With Tebow quarterbacking the Broncos, they've beaten Oakland, New York, San Diego and Miami (at home, which is proving to be a not-so-easy win anymore). 

They own tiebreakers with the Jets and Bengals, and if they win against Kansas City down the road, they'll own the tiebreaker with Oakland. We all talked down Tebow, but will he pull off the impossible?

Can Alex Smith Really Lead the 49ers to a Title?

This isn't a slide about the 49ers making the playoffs because that's a foregone conclusion at this point.

As the (most likely) No. 2 seeded team in the NFC, this team is beginning to get a lot of talk about the Super Bowl. Quite frankly, I don't see it happening.

I'll give San Francisco the credit where it's due. First off, Jim Harbaugh is a genius, plain and simple.  The Niners went and got a good coach who knew how to lead a team.

Secondly, the defense against the rush is top-notch and their running game with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter has been effective. These are the things that have won them football games.

Finally, we have Alex Smith. Previously written off as a draft bust, Smith has seemingly turned his career around, having thrown for 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions. His efficiency has been key as well.

Which brings me to the point: Smith is efficient, not effective. Smith may not reach 3,000 passing yards by the season's end, which is generally the standard mark for effective quarterbacks. What I'm getting at is that in the playoffs, teams really breakout, and I think that's when we're going to see Smith's true colors.

I see him going back to that sloppy kid he's been the last several years. When facing Super Bowl talent in the postseason, it's a whole separate ball game.

I'm not cheering against the 49ers, but I doubt Smith is going to be there for what should be a very bright future.

Can Houston Continue to Win with Their Quarterback Situation?

Right now, the Houston Texans are going to be leaning heavily on their powerful running game. It's one of the best in football with Ben Tate and Arian Foster in the backfield.

In addition, they're going to need their defense to continue stepping up. They're the best in the league right now, but the road down the stretch isn't easy.

Games against Atlanta, Cincinnati, Carolina and Tennessee are upcoming. I don't think the defense is going to have many issues, at least no awful ones. However, it is at this point that you have to be a little worried. 

Atlanta, Tennessee and Cincinnati are all teams that are contending for a playoff spot, and therefore looking to expose any weakness on a team. It seems that the Texans are going to be looking to Jake Delhomme to lead the team into the postseason.

We're all not sure if he still has it. A bad passing game (as opposed to at least a halfway decent one) can be detrimental.

How Will the Chicago Bears Fare with Caleb Hanie?

First and foremost, Chicago needs to understand that it should be leaning on its running game primarily, as Matt Forte has proven to be one of the best backs in the league. Secondly, it also needs its defense to continue performing at an adequate level.

That being said, Caleb Hanie is not going to lead anyone to any Super Bowl. He's actually proven that already (he took over in the NFC title game against Green Bay). His first 2011 start last week against Oakland wasn't a complete disaster, but it wasn't great either.

Hanie is going to give a decent game, but he's no Jay Cutler. There's no questioning Cutler's ability on the field, as we've seen how he's led this Bears squad. 

Playoff hopes are very much alive in Chicago, but you can only wonder for how long it'll last with Hanie being the starter while Cutler is out. 

Will Green Bay Go Unbeaten?

Perhaps the most asked question in all of football right now, will the Packers be able to go 16-0?

If you ask me, their last major test is coming this Sunday against the New York Giants. They will be the visitors in that game.

We all watched Drew Brees rip apart the Giants' defense on Monday night, so I expect nothing different from Aaron Rodgers, who is the best quarterback in the league right now.

After that, the Packers get Oakland at home, go to Kansas City, and finish home games with Chicago (minus Jay Cutler) and Detroit. Their defense could come into the question for that last game, but I find that even as bad as they've been, they'll shut down the rest of those teams.

Add on that no team is winning a shootout with Rodgers. It won't happen now or anytime in the near future. Be prepared, the Pack is here to stay.