Tim Tebow Is Owed a Commitment by John Elway to Be Broncos' Starting QB in 2012

Statistics notwithstanding, the Denver Broncos are 6-1 since Tim Tebow took over as the team's starting quarterback. By beating the Minnesota Vikings on the road on Sunday, the Broncos took the AFC West lead. Despite that, Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway isn't convinced.

When Elway declared a couple weeks ago that the Broncos were no closer to finding their quarterback of the future, Tebow fans were understandably upset. Tebow and the Broncos have continued to win since then, but Elway hasn't exactly backed off his previous stance.

Elway refuses to commit to Tebow past this season despite repeated attempts to get him to do so. While it is understandable that Elway may not feel completely comfortable with Tebow since he didn't personally draft him, I think it's fair to say that Tebow has earned a vote of confidence from Denver's legendary former quarterback.

If Elway is looking for a more conventional quarterback, then Tebow obviously isn't his guy. No regular starting quarterback attempts fewer passes than Tebow, but no signal caller runs the ball as often or as effectively as Tebow either.

While Elway was a great passer, he wasn't exactly the most orthodox quarterback in his own right. He ran around plenty and had to get creative early in his career when he didn't have the best supporting cast. When it all came down to it, though, Elway just wanted to win.

That may have been his mentality as a player, but it doesn't seem as though Elway has that win-at-all-costs attitude as an executive. Denver hasn't been winning simply because of the play of Tebow, but he has run the offense very effectively, and for that he should be commended.

There is no question that the defense has been excellent lately with the exception of Sunday's game, and running back Willis McGahee has been a big part of the team's offensive success. The threat of Tebow keeping the ball on the option makes McGahee that much better though, and the offense sustaining drives helps the defense as well.

It's difficult to say whether Tebow can develop into a better passer or whether he will ever be a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, but for the way the Broncos are constructed right now, Tebow is an ideal fit. That construction isn't likely to change by next year, so Elway should at least give Tebow some job security.

Perhaps failing to commit to Tebow is all part of Elway's plan to keep the second-year signal caller motivated. If there is one thing Tebow doesn't need help doing, however, that is getting motivated.

It wasn't that long ago that football people would have turned their noses down on pass-happy spread offenses. That type of offense is now becoming the norm in football though. Who is to say that the spread option isn't the next in a long line of successful offensive philosophies?

Tebow is never going to be Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning, but he is playing well enough to lead the Broncos to victory right now. Considering the fact that most felt the team was severely lacking in talent early in the season, I would say that Tebow deserves a nod of approval.