When Tim Tebow first came on the scene in the national football world, he was a super-hyped freshman with one of the most unique skill sets for a quarterback the football world had ever seen.
In Tim Tebow’s first college season, he had only two games with more than three pass attempts, and a total of five touchdowns and one interception. With Chris Leak at the helm, his passing skills weren’t too necessary for the BCS champion Gators.
But Tebow still found a way to impact the game at quarterback without even throuwing the ball.
Tebow averaged just over six rushes a game as a freshman, and scored a rushing touchdown in his first career rush attempt and six more over the course of the season, including one in the BCS title game over Ohio State.
Why are his fresman stats relevant to his present stance on the Denver Broncos depth chart?
Just like when he came into college, he’s not ready as a passer to be effective based on his competition. It seems rare anymore that a quarterback will sit for a majority of the season anymore, and only Aaron Rodgers and Carson Palmer in the past ten years didn’t register a start for a 1st round quarterback.
But that is the assumed case for Tebow, as his throwing motion, footwork, release, and a host of other quarterback intricies need drastic improvement before he can be a dropback, 15-20 attempts type of a quarterback.
Like his freshman season at Florida, Tebow’s stat columns are likely going to be filled with more rush attempts that passing opportunities. While the won’t use their 1st round pick as a battering ram on every “3rd and 2” or “4th and inches”, Tebow’s versatility could provide them with a solid red zone option to at the very least, add a weapon of a running back who can throw.
The Broncos ranked 25th last season in Red Zone scoring percentage, settling for field goals more than 50 percent of the time. They had only eight rushing touchdowns last season as a team. Tebow won’t make this team one of the best in the league in those two categories necessarily, but Tebow’s strength, intensity, and a need for teams to prepare for him in the red zone adds a greater chance for both of those to go up.
Kyle Orton is likely much more concerned with Brady Quinn taking his job if he should struggle on than Tim Tebow. Tebow is the star of this team for the foreseeable future, and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear Tebow chants in the stands if the Broncos have a rough start.
But with the Jaguars first on the docket for the Broncos in Jacksonville, there could be a huge cry for Tebow to be in the game for his Gator supporters. Tebow won’t start opening day, and most likely won’t get close to a start in his first season. But he’ll be a contributor all season and will continue to be Josh McDaniels pet project for at least a year.
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