Tim Tebow Makes His NFL Debut

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We’ve been waiting for it since he won a national championship at Florida during his junior year.  From the moment that season ended and the Gators hoisted the crystal ball, Tim Tebow in the NFL became the hot topic of conversation.  He had an entire year of school remaining (you’re kidding yourself if you honestly thought he was leaving early) and everything about his game was being dissecting in preparation for the day he went to the NFL.

That day came.  It was merely a preseason appearance, but that day came and Tebow didn’t disappoint or overly impress.  In fact, he was efficient on some plays and looked like a rookie quarterback on others.  Every play was picked apart by analysts.  Those that love Tebow will point to the good plays as signs that he can make it in the NFL.  Those that don’t will point to the incompletions and mechanics all the while not remembering that it was his first time on the field as a NFL QB.  Those not sure will see it as the first step and recognize the good and the not so much.  Whatever the case, Tebow will have a microscope on him throughout his career and be criticized more than any other player drafted in 2010.

As a Gator fan, I’m always going to look at what went well first.  Tebow could be playing semi-pro ball in Europe and I’d still want to see him succeed.  That’s par for the course.  The basics are easy: he scored a touchdown and completed eight passes out of 13 attempts.

Tebow’s touchdown was classic of #15.  Survey the field, charge forward, lower his head when a would-be tackler approaches, find the end zone.  Florida fans everywhere cheered.  Denver Broncos fans got a little more excited about what their new toy can add to the offense.  Against first-team defenses it’ll be a little harder, but on that run Tebow showed he’s still Tebow.  And just remember, if Tebow is doing it against first-team defenses one day, it means he’ll also be doing it with a first-team offense.

Completing eight passes doesn’t seem all that impressive.  It’s only slightly more notable when you add that he threw the ball 13 times.  But when you mention that it’s a rookie quarterback appearing in his first game (preseason or not) and he’s been scrutinized as much as he has, completing 62% of his passes becomes something to mention.  Sure, Tebow should complete over 60%.  Accuracy is a must and he has to have it.  I’m not trying to say what he did was some impressive feat that only he could achieve.  I’m only trying to point out that it wasn’t 33% or 45% or even 52%.  More often than not, he got the ball to the receiver.  There was even a drop in there as well, but during the course of a game that will happen.  His mechanics may be shaky, but if he can complete 62% of his passes now, he’s definitely headed in the right direction.

There are also a few things that didn’t necessarily go right, but they are definitely areas where Tebow can improve and based on his drive it’s hard to doubt that he will.  No one is saying you should put your money on Tebow, but they are saying regardless of the shortcomings he may have now, you shouldn’t put your money against him.

In a live game, his sloppy mechanics seemed to revert back.  I’m actually surprised that people seem to be surprised by this.  Tebow developed his throwing motion over years of playing football.  While he’s taken the time to work on it and improve it to benefit himself in the NFL, it was a pretty sure bet that we’d see some of the old Tebow reappear during his first game.  Despite his long delivery, Tebow still performed well enough to hopefully show some doubters that at the very least he deserves the opportunity to play QB professionally.  If Tebow continues to work on his throwing motion, his play will progress.  Remember, the Broncos aren’t expecting him to become an All-Pro overnight.  You shouldn’t either.

Throughout his time at Florida, Tebow tended to lock onto his primary receiver.  He glared down at the receiver from the snap until the ball was in the pass catcher’s hands.  With defenses much faster in the NFL, that’s something he needs to work on.  Tebow needs to make quick reads and scan the field while not giving away where he’s putting the ball.  On the fumble that was overturned, Tebow took too much time and paid for it.  Of course, this is an issue almost every quarterback has when they first enter the league.  The speed of the game is far superior to that of college.  As Tebow experiences it more, he’ll get better at making his reads and getting rid of the ball quickly.

After his first performance in a Broncos uniform, it’s clear where Tebow should be headed.  Straight to the backup quarterback spot.  As Bill Williamson says, it’s already time for Denver to make Tebow the primary backup to Kyle Orton.  I agree.

Brady Quinn doesn’t seem to have much of a future in the NFL.  At least he doesn’t seem to have a future as a starting QB.  Orton has firmly planted his feet as the Broncos starter for the time being.  Quinn, on the other hand, has shown nothing to prove that he’ll push Orton and hasn’t shown that he should be in Tebow’s way either.

Josh McDaniels and the Denver organization hope Tebow is their quarterback of the future.  If it doesn’t work out, so be it, but they are determined to give him every opportunity to get there.  What he needs is time and experience.  During the regular season, Tebow’s time will be limited to plays designed for him while Orton takes the high percentage of snaps.  Because of that, Tebow might not have much of a chance to see the playcalling that will help him improve.  Preseason is his chance to do that.

Although it was only one game, it’s time for Tebow to move one spot up the depth chart.  Give him some time with the second team instead of with a number of players that probably won’t be around in a few weeks.  Let Tebow see better defenses and play with better players.  If the Broncos see him as their future, they might as well take the next step now.

(TBG Note: It’s time to retire Morning Reading.  It may be a Brett Favre-like retirement, but at the moment the time has come.  The motivation behind MR hanging it up is my inability to live up to the “morning” expectations of the column, so until the day that this becomes my real job [I’m waiting for Mrs. TBG to strike it rich so I can do just that] or I bring someone else aboard, MR has been placed on the scout team.)