Tim Tebow's home starting debut

[Escambia94]

Tim Tebow gets his second NFL start today in a meaningless game for two teams who will be watching the playoffs from their living room televisions. Of course, this games means a lot if you are a Broncos fan or a Tebow fan.

The Texans started off hot and were 4-2 before their bye week only to lose four in a row in November, plus all three of their previous December games. The Texans ride into Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium coached by former Denver QB Gary Kubiak. Houston has a 5-9 record and boasts the #5 passing offense (255.8 YPG), #9 rushing offense (121.9 YPG), and a very strong run defense that is rated #9 in the NFL (101.9 YPG). The one glaring weakness for the Texans that rookie QB Tim Tebow should try to exploit is the #32 passing offense (275.1 YPG).

All the season stats go out the window for the Denver Broncos who are starting Tebow for only the second time this season. The rookie has thrown 9 completions in 17 attempts for 141 yards and 2 TDs in limited action, and has run 20 times for 106 yards and 4 TDs.

Unfortunately, the Texas are very strong against the run and the Broncos have no running game other than their dual-threat QB. Tebow alone has scored 4 of the 9 rushing TDs for the Broncos this year, and single-handedly accounts for 13% of the season’s rushing output. If the Broncos hope to win this game, they will need to open up the playbook for the rookie QB and test that Houston secondary. The Texans have 27 QB sacks and 11 interceptions this year, so I expect a rough day for young Mr. Tebow.

Vegas has Houston as 2.5 point favorites over Denver with an over/under of 49-1/2. Ariane Foster is likely to have a field day against the porous Denver line, and I look for him to spoil the home starting debut for Tim Tebow. This will be another opportunity for Broncos fans to see how they have invested a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round draft pick. I hope you Broncos fans are not disappointed. Go Gators! Go Tebow!

 

[mjfan23]

Anyone watch the first half?

I just looked at the stats. 7/12 but one pick.

 

[Escambia94]

I am watching it online. Here is my breakdown:

1. 1st and 10 at DEN 40 T.Tebow pass short left to K.Moreno to HST 38 for 22 yards (B.Cushing; T.Nolan). Nice.

2. 1st and 10 at HOU 38 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short right to J.Gaffney to HST 17 for 21 yards (K.Jackson). FUMBLES (K.Jackson), recovered by DEN-R.Harris at HST 11. R.Harris to HST 11 for no gain (T.Nolan). Nice pass, bad ball handling by Gaffeny. Houston's defense is man-handling Denver.

3. 1st and 10 at HOU 11 T.Tebow pass short right intended for B.Lloyd INTERCEPTED by J.Allen at HST 0. Touchback. Bad throw, but the first non-bubble screen toss. Denver's OC needs to be fired.

4. 3rd and 7 at DEN 44 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short left to J.Gaffney to HST 45 for 11 yards (B.Pollard). Nice throw out of the shotgun.

[1st and 10 at HOU 45 (Shotgun) T.Tebow scrambles up the middle to HST 44 for 1 yard (B.Cushing; A.Smith).]

5. 3rd and 15 at 50 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short right to E.Royal to HST 41 for 9 yards (J.Allen). Nice pitch and run.

6. 1st and 10 at DEN 22 T.Tebow pass deep right to B.Lloyd to DEN 41 for 19 yards (G.Quin). This was all Tebow. Great throw.

7. 2nd and 10 at DEN 41 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass incomplete short right to E.Royal [A.Smith]. Meh.

[3rd and 10 at DEN 41 (Shotgun) T.Tebow scrambles up the middle to DEN 42 for 1 yard (T.Jamison).]

1st QTR

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT RATING
T. Tebow 5/7 82 11.7 0 1 70.8
CAR YDS AVG TD
2 2 1.0 0

-------------------------------------------
8. 1st and 10 at DEN 33 T.Tebow pass incomplete deep left to B.Lloyd. Throwaway against the onrush.

9. 3rd and 6 at DEN 37 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short left to E.Royal to 50 for 13 yards (G.Quin).

10. 1st and 10 at 50 L.Ball FUMBLES (Aborted) at 50, and recovers at 50. L.Ball to HST 49 for 1 yard (B.Cushing; A.Okoye). Bobbled snap by Tebow and hasty handoff to Ball.

11. 2nd and 9 at HOU 49 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short left to C.Buckhalter to HST 44 for 5 yards (J.Allen). Good rollout, good delivery on the run.

12. 3rd and 4 at HOU 44 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass incomplete short right to E.Royal. Heavy blitz.

13. 3rd and 6 at DEN 13 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass incomplete short left to J.Gaffney (J.Allen). DEN-J.Gaffney was injured during the play. Bad play. Left Gaffney out to dry.


2nd QTR

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT RATING
T. Tebow 7/12 100 8.3 0 1 50.7
CAR YDS AVG TD
2 2 1.0 0

SUMMARY: Tebow needs to stand in the pocket and throw or roll-out and throw. Denver's offense is anemic, no matter who is under center. The announcer stated that Tebow only made one bad throw, the INT in the end zone.

 

[Escambia94]

14. 1st and 10 at DEN 35 T.Tebow pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to HST 15 for 50 yards (T.Nolan). Wow! That deep ball to Gaffney was awesome!

15. 1st and 10 at DEN 20 T.Tebow pass deep left to B.Lloyd to DEN 38 for 18 yards (B.Pollard). Very nice drill to Lloyd while taking a shot in the back.

16. 1st and 10 at DEN 38 T.Tebow pass deep left to B.Lloyd to HST 21 for 41 yards (J.Allen). Holy cow! Jump ball to Lloyd. Poorly thrown with a long wind-up, but still caught at its highest point by Lloyd. Grade could go either way based on result.

17. 1st and 10 at HOU 11 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass incomplete short left to B.Lloyd. Overshoots Lloyd. Good call to throw it away, I guess.

18. 3rd and 8 at HOU 9 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass incomplete short right to E. Royal. Right decision to throw to Eddie Royal, but overthrown. Bad.

19. 1st and 10 at DEN 26 (Shotgun) T.Tebow pass short right to L.Ball to DEN 39 for 13 yards (G.Quin). Yay. Another screen pass. Meh.

20. 1st and 10 at DEN 39 T.Tebow pass incomplete short left to B.Lloyd. Threw it away carelessly with pressure in his face. Almost intercepted.

3rd qtr

                C/ATT	   YDS   AVG	TD	INT	RATING
T. Tebow	11/19	           222	   11.7	0	1	77.1

Summary: 122 more yards in the 3rd quarter alone. These screen passes are sickening. Tebow's long ball is pretty frickin' good, even his ugly jump ball is catchable as long as the receiver wants to meet the ball at the high point.

 

[Gatorfan24]

^^ The jump pass is ugly, but it's pretty entertaining. But yes, he does toss a really good throw downfield.

 

[DRU2012]

He began to really show more of that "Tebow Fire" today, like his guard is starting to come down as he gets more and more comfortable, more and more into it. After one early big run TT came up in typical "full burn mode", stomping and strutting among his teamates, eyes flashing and twisted face yelling "Yeah, Yeah!" (+whatever he actually says at such times, I can never get much more in the way of details from TV), and you could see how it quickly caught them up in it, affected, INfected them...we Gators know it well!
It's real folks, and it isn't just about enthusiasm and charisma (though he's got both by the barrel)--it is the same for his actual skills: there are some unusual wrinkles in his style, but he's a full on athlete and he DOES have phenomenal on-field talent to go with that incandescent personality. Tim Tebow is as much a natural WINNER as he is a natural leader.
This is what we've been trying to tell EVERYONE outside of Gator Nation from the time he became elgible for the draft, and we're saying it to Bronco fans now: "Just let Tebow be Tebow."

 

[Escambia94]

Exactly. Let Tebow be Tebow. Let him run if Moreno or the other RBs are not running. Tebow cannot operate if there is no Denver threat to run. That fact alone might be an excuse for John Elway to trade for a veteran QB to mentor Timmy, unless his new HC or OC can make it work with Orton. His receivers make great plays after Tebow has softened up the middle with some running. For crying out loud--give Timmy a running back to hand the ball off to.

Timmy needs to learn how to sell his play-action fakes on the rare occasion he has run support. Other than that, the rest of his improvement will come with playing time. He is as much a winner as one can expect on a 4-12 team that was severely mismanaged this year.

He can bring a team to the playoffs, but he needs help. His fire and enthusiasm have less impact on NFL players, but a much higher impact than what the pundits will tell us.