Tim Tebow: Denver Broncos QB's Arm Finally Catching Up to His Legs and His Heart

Little by little, Tim Tebow is turning doubters into believers and proving that he can be, and perhaps already is, a good NFL quarterback.

It's tough to argue with the effect that Tebowmania has had on the fortunes of the Denver Broncos. They were 1-4 with Kyle Orton starting under center. They're now 6-1 since Tebow took the reins of the offense.

Heck, they might be 7-1 over their last eight games if John Fox had put Tebow in from the get-go in Week 5. He nearly led the Broncos back from a 26-10 fourth-quarter deficit against the Chargers in that one.

More impressively, Denver has won its last five road games with Tebow under center, which hasn't happened for a team in the Mile High City since some guy named John Elway was taking snaps for Mike Shanahan.

Not to equate Tebow with Elway, since the former has a long way to go before he's anywhere near as good as the latter, but it's worth mentioning.

Of course, the Broncos' recent winning ways could also be considered the result of Tebow's leadership—easily the most important quality for a successful NFL quarterback to have at his disposal by the bushel. He's brought a distinctive energy to Denver's huddle, inspiring his guys to keep running their routes and blocking downfield, even if his throws may not land anywhere near their mitts.

What's more, that same energy has seemingly infected the defense as well, which has stepped up its game since Tebow took over, especially in key situations late in games.

And now, it appears as though Tebow has finally developed the confidence and competence to be as successful throwing the ball as he has running it. The former Heisman Trophy winner put together his first 200-yard passing day of the season in Minnesota, and, more impressively, he needed only 15 attempts to get there. That's an average of 13.5 yards per attempt—more than double the 5.96 yards-per-attempt average he carried into Sunday's action.

Does that necessarily mean that we should christen Tebow as a good passer and give him all the credit for Denver's turnaround? Not quite.

As far as Tebow is concerned, he had the benefit of throwing against a Vikings defense that ranked 29th in the NFL against the pass prior to Week 13, due in part to a banged-up secondary.

And if we're going to talk seriously about why the Broncos are winning, we have to look at the rest of the team, too. As mentioned previously, the defense has gotten better as the season has progressed. To give Tebow, who obviously doesn't play defense, props for what the Broncos have done on the other side of the ball would be to overlook, if not outright disrespect, the impact that a healthy Elvis Dumervil and a developing Von Miller have had in the Rockies.

While the defense didn't exactly have its best day against the Vikings, giving up 32 points and 489 yards, it did come up with some big plays, including Mario Haggan's pick-six in the first quarter and a late interception by Andre' Goodman that ultimately set up the game-winning field goal by Matt Prater.

As long as we're spreading the love for Denver's success, why not give kudos to Quan Cosby, who gave Tebow and the Broncos offense great field position off punt returns, particularly with a 63-yarder in the third quarter? How about Willis McGahee, the single biggest benefactor of Tebow's legs, who tore up a pretty good rushing defense for 111 yards and a touchdown on the ground?

Oh, and before we forget, doesn't John Fox deserve some pub for the turnaround? After all, he's figured out how to win with basically the same band of misfits who were around last season when the Broncos won all of four games. He's put Tebow in position to succeed amidst a somewhat gimmicky offense while coaching up the defense like he did during his heyday in Carolina.

With all of that being said, there's still no denying Tebow's singular impact and the improvement that he's shown over the course of the season. He's no John Elway, nor will he ever be, but he's shown that he has more than enough desire, energy, leadership and all-around football "it" factor to be a winner now and, perhaps, good passer sooner rather than later.