“Orton or Tebow? It’s embarrassing to think the Broncos could win with Tebow!!”
Those are the words of ESPN analyst Merril Hoge, who clearly did not think that Florida Gator legend Tim Tebow could win in the NFL. Tebow is now 3-1 this season and has the Broncos within a game of 1st place in the unpredictable AFC West. Orton, on the other hand, was 1-4 as a starter this season. Those are the facts of the situation.
What the critics are saying? It’s been made clear that Tim Tebow isn’t Peyton Manning. He isn’t the ‘conventional’ quarterback’ that has become standard for the premier teams in the league in the recent era. His team just won a football game in which he completed just two passes. What Tim Tebow can do though is win in an unconventional way. John Fox and the Broncos have done an exceptional job of creating opportunities for Tebow to succeed. Hasn’t the media been praising 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh for doing the same thing for Alex Smith?
The 49ers are now 8-1 with a guy who had nothing short of an average career before Harbaugh got to San Fran and catered to the strengths of Smith. John Fox and the staff in Denver are now doing the same thing for Tebow, and it’s working. Harbaugh may have just managed to usher a new era into the NFL mainstream, one that doesn’t call for a Rodgers or Brady or Manning to win games. If the 49ers can make a deep run into the playoffs with Alex Smith at quarterback (which some people believe can happen), whose to say that Tebow and the Broncos can’t do the same by catering their game plan to Tebow’s strengths?
So what really is Tim Tebow’s value to the Broncos? Are the Broncos winning because of Tim Tebow or are they winning WITH Tim Tebow? One thing is clear, Tebow is winning and Orton was not. Even if your not ready to call Tebow a winner in the NFL, stats don’t lie and Tebow is doing what Orton could not.