5 Things John Elway Will Have to Work Most on with Tim Tebow

After the Denver Broncos' first loss in a long time at the hands of the New England Patriots, glaring holes in Tim Tebow's game finally revealed themselves to the public.

John Elway, a Bronco front office member, has yet to give the young QB that vote of confidence for being next year's starter, but he has promised that he would use the offseason to work with Tebow on the areas he's weakest in.

But after watching him play against New England, Elway might have bit off a bit more than he can chew. Let's explore the top areas where Tebow must improve to retain a starting job with Denver.

Knowing When to Throw the Ball Away and When to Extend the Play

On a monster 4th-and-17 in the fourth quarter, Tim Tebow faced a huge pass rush from the New England front four.

While he was able to wiggle his way out of a few tackles, Tebow ran backwards—28 yards backwards—and took a sack that gave the Patriots the ball at the Denver 34.

Yes, it was 4th-and-long, and it was do-or-die for the Broncos, but Tebow was also stopped in the backfield when he tried to whip around New England's Mark Anderson—an attempt that would cost him 10 yards.

Tebow needs to learn when he can make the extra play and when to throw it away.

Countless times, we've seen him run around the field, burning precious seconds off the clock, only to end up throwing the ball out of bounds anyway. Tebow must increase his IQ as a quarterback and get rid of the ball before it's too late.

Passing Form/Mechanics

Is it just me, or does anyone else notice that weird, Michael Jackson-eqsue snap-kick he does after every pass?

By the time Tim Tebow finishes winding up his arm to deliver a pass, I could've actually found something good on Netflix to watch.

It takes an elite QB like Peyton Manning less than half of a second to get the ball out of his hands once he's located an open receiver. Tebow simply has got to move faster.

Look at how Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees get the ball out—compact and quick. Tebow needs to learn to sit in the pocket, plant his back foot and launch the ball accurately and quickly to his receivers.

Oh, and as for his snap-kick passes?

They're not only a shot to his on-field swagger, but it's a huge injury risk should he get hit in mid-pass.

Reading Defenses in Passing Situations

When it comes to reading defenses, Tim Tebow is a half-genius. I say half, because he's incredibly gifted at picking apart a defense with his feet, but he is surprisingly incompetent at doing the same thing when he's got to pass the ball.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think Peyton Manning?

Audible.

Manning's got at least 15 different plays he can change to after he gets behind the center.

Why? Because he can read defenses and adjust accordingly.

In order for Tebow to reach his fullest potential, he's got to absorb everything that John Elway teaches him about reading defenses.

There were plays that went dead—and by dead, I mean that every receiver was covered and Tebow had nowhere to run—because the New England defense was set up beautifully. The young QB's got to learn to read what the defense is throwing at him, or else he won't be in Denver for long.

Yes, reading defenses is something that comes with experience, but in order to satisfy Elway's insatiable hunger for a competent QB, Tebow's got to jump that learning curve.

Accuracy and Arm Strength

Every time Tim Tebow throws a pass, it looks as though he's just exerted his last drop of energy into delivering the ball.

That's got to stop.

This goes back to adjusting his mechanics of passing the ball. Quarterbacks across the NFL, NCAA and even high school leagues will tell you that the distance and zip of the pass comes from the back leg.

Unfortunately for Tebow, his hind leg hits a bolt-action snap-kick every time he makes a pass.

As a result, many passes sail over the intended target's head or go into the dirt like a horrible baseball pitch.

He doesn't need to be able to bomb the football 85 yards at a time, but he needs to learn to put some zip on his pass.

It took the ball more than a second—yes I counted—to get the ball to his receiver on the sideline. He's not a weak kid. Add some force into that pass, young man.

Consistency

No matter what planet you're on right now, you can't possibly believe that Tim Tebow is a great QB.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Tebow fan.

But at the same time, I'm a realist. And realistically speaking, the young QB has a lot of learning to do before he can possibly, maybe reach Pro Bowl status.

And the biggest of lessons he must learn is to be consistent.

You see Tony Romo getting ragged on for being brilliant one game and negligent the next. We've seen Eli Manning go through inconsistent phases in his career.

Tim Tebow has to kick the monkey off his back before it's too late.

To make a nearly perfect comparison, he's like the Robery Horry of football (so far). He sits around doing the bare minimum for the first three quarters, and then he's like an unstoppable force in the fourth.

But what happens when, like against the Patriots, the lead is too great. The Bronco defense is good—great for that matter—but they couldn't stop Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and New England poured the points onto them.

He's got to find a way to put points onto the board each quarter.