1 » Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow may not be “cashing in on his wildfire popularity” yet (reportedly turning down offers for “multiple national media and endorsement opportunities” as well as a chance to host Saturday Night Live), according to Pro Football Talk, but he will be working with Pizza Hut soon. In a Wednesday press release, the pizza chain announced that Tebow will be a part of the BOOK IT! Reading Program next year. He will read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss on Feb. 15, 2012 during America’s Big Storytime, an event which drew more than half a million viewers in 2011. Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! Program will donate money to the Tim Tebow Foundation on behalf of his participation.

2 » On the football front, Tebow has finally received a complete endorsement from Denver vice president of football operations John Elway, an executive who has been hesitant to fully get behind him up to this point. Elway told the Associated Press on Tuesday that “Tim Tebow’s not going anywhere. I mean, he’s going to be a Bronco and we’re going to do everything we can and hopefully he’s that guy.” He has previously said that he plans to work with Tebow on his footwork and throwing motion in the offseason in hopes of helping him improve heading into the 2012 season.

3 » Whether or not Tebow earns a spot on the AFC’s roster for the 2011 Pro Bowl remains to be seen but there’s no doubt that the fans want to see him in Honolulu, HI. In the fan-based portion of Pro Bowl voting, Tebow finished third among AFC quarterbacks only behind New England’s Tom Brady and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger. His 633,000 votes were 44 percent of what Brady received (1.45 million) and two-thirds of Rothelisberger’s total (935,000). That does not necessarily mean he will make it to Honolulu because the votes of coaches and players will also be taken into account. Tebow finished fifth among all NFL quarterbacks with only Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans’s Drew Brees also finishing in front of him. Carolina’s Cam Newton came in sixth overall and third in the NFC with 625,000 votes. (Numbers are rounded.)

Read three more Tebow BITS…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX Tebow BITS: SNL denied, reading, Elway’s endorsement, Pro Bowl, Piers, Fallon, speaking

Tags: Denver Broncos, John Elway, NFL, Pro Bowl, Tim Tebow

1 » Though he is now at Ohio State, former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer still obviously has an affinity for quarterback Tim Tebow. Speaking with The Gainesville Sun, Meyer explained how proud he was of what Tebow has been able to accomplish this year. “Isn’t it great?” he said. “He did it in high school, he did it in college and now he’s doing it in the NFL. What more do you want? The thing about Tim is he makes the people around him better. It’s the essence of football. It doesn’t matter what style of offense you run. It’s a team sport.” As to those non-believers? “They just don’t want to buy in,” Meyer said. “Even John Elway. It doesn’t matter if you brought him in if you’re Elway or the general manager. Who cares? Just enjoy it.”

2 » Crossing paths with Tebow during his time in Gainesville, FL, former Gators center Joakim Noah (now of the Chicago Bulls) also waxed poetic about the former Heisman Trophy winner. Just one day before Tebow faced the Chicago Bears, Noah was excited to show his Florida pride at practice. “Timothyyyy!” Noah said proudly, according to ESPNChicago.com. “We got to show Timothy a little love here. For all the haters out there, you know the guy is kicking ass. Making me very proud to be a Gator boy.” He added that, while he may not share the same belief system as Tebow, that does not make him any less of a supporter. “It’s a beautiful story,” he said. “He is who he is. There’s no lie about who he is. He’s comfortable. Me personally, I have completely different beliefs than him. But at the same time I respect the fact that he speaks his truth. He speaks his truth and he’s a warrior. He’s a winner. At the end of the day, his teammates respect that.” Noah went on to talk about the two being in a class together and how, being a “Gator boy” he “love[s] the Tebow talk.”

Read four more BITS about Tebow…after the break.
Continue Reading » SIX Tebow BITS: Meyer, Noah, Wuerffel, Brady

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Denver Broncos, Heisman Trophy, Jim Brown, Joakim Noah, John Elway, NBA, New England Patriots, NFL, Steve Young, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Urban Meyer

1 » As quarterback Tim Tebow gets set for his first start of the 2011 season for the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23, everyone seems to have an opinion about how he’ll perform. Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer spoke to NFL.com about Tebow on Tuesday and said he is “really fired up for Timmy,” who he believes is capable of succeeding as long as he gets some help. “Will Tim be a success?” Meyer asked rhetorically. “The question is, will the Broncos be a success? That’s the question. Not so much Tim — will the Broncos improve their play where they can go win a game? [...] I know one thing: A quarterback can only do so much. He’s a product of those around him. If everybody can play a little better, Denver could have a chance to win. Quarterbacks get far too much credit and far too much criticism. He needs to have those guys around him really step up their play as well.” Meyer had plenty more to say about Tebow, which you can read here.

2 » Tebow’s former teammate with the Gators and the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Maurkice Pouncey has all the faith in the world that his good friend can get it done against his twin brother’s team next Sunday. “Hopefully he goes out there and performs and kind of shuts everybody up,” Pouncey told The Florida Times-Union. Another former Florida player who played with Tebow last year in Denver, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, echoed Pouncey’s sentiments. “I don’t know how they’ll do as far as wins, but I can tell you they won’t be disappointed in him,” Gaffney told Sports Illustrated. “You won’t find a guy who’s going to work harder out there and compete any harder than Tim. Last year I got to play with him as a rookie, and I got to work out with him a couple times over this past offseason. I could just see in our workouts that he was a bit more poised over the offseason. He changed up his throwing a little bit, and he was getting rid of the ball a lot quicker and making some great throws. [...] Man, that dude can make every throw out there. It may not always be pretty, but he can make every throw out there and he can throw just as far as any quarterback in the league.”

3 » Asked to motivate Tebow by the hosts of ESPN‘s SportsNation, professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan cut a promo on the show and tore a No. 15 Broncos jersey in half. You can check out a video of it below.

Three more BITS on Tim Tebow (including three videos)…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX Tebow BITS: Pass or fail as a starting QB?

Tags: Denver Broncos, Jabar Gaffney, John Elway, Maurkice Pouncey, Miami Dolphins, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

Take every story written about every backup quarterback in the history of the NFL, combine them, and you probably would not reach the level of attention Denver Broncos second-year reserve Tim Tebow has received this offseason.

While a lot of the diatribes and “insider” stories about him are driven by one thing in particular – page views – it is important to realize that the media cannot be solely held responsible for this barnstorm of criticism and relative subjectivity about one of the most polarizing players in the league. His team has to take some blame, too.

Read the rest of this column…after the break!
Continue Reading » The Silver Lining: Media shares the blame but tornado of Tim Tebow began in-house

Tags: Adam Weber, Brady Quinn, Denver Broncos, Eric Studesville, Heisman Trophy, John Elway, John Fox, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow

Updated 11:45 p.m.

When the Denver Broncos failed to complete a successful trade for veteran quarterback Kyle Orton last week, questions arose about what exactly the team would do now that it might be stuck paying him nearly $9 million in 2011.

The organization answered those queries Wednesday and officially named Orton the team’s starting signal caller, according to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter and the NFL Network, relegating second-year QB Tim Tebow to a back-up role.

Though Schefter and the NFL Network stand by their reports, head coach John Fox dismissed the notion that the team has made their minds up one way or another when he spoke with the Associated Press late Wednesday.

“My story’s been the same regardless of what you hear,” Fox said. “And I’m in those meetings every day and know what’s said to everybody. Nothing’s changed. We’ve been singing the same song as seven months ago.”

Reports coming out near the conclusion of the NFL lockout had Denver looking to get rid of Orton after deciding to roll with Tebow in 2011. Though the former was the team’s 2010 starter and completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 3,653 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 games, the latter earned the final three starts of the season and scored at least a passing and rushing touchdown in each game.

Tebow finished 2010 with 654 yards through the air, five passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 227 rushing yards and six rushing scores. He completed passes at a 50 percent rate but also rushed for 78 and 94 yards in week 14 and 16, respectively.

Many wondered whether Fox and team executive vice president John Elway believed in Tebow going forward, but the former standout QB answered those questions in a May interview with ESPN‘s Ed Werder.

Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: Denver Broncos, John Elway, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow

Since the day John Fox was hired to replace Josh McDaniels as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, the future of 2010 first-round pick and former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has been up in the air.

While most believe – for better or for worse – Tebow should be the hands-down starter whenever the 2011 season begins, there have been plenty of questions about what Fox and new team president John Elway will do with Denver’s quarterback situation.

Both Fox and Elway have made comments that would lead one to believe Tebow will start second on the depth chart behind veteran Kyle Orton; each has also indicated that they completely support Tebow and think he could wind up being the starter this season.

Speaking on his podcast over the weekend, NFL Network’s Steve Wyche believes the decision has already been made up in Mile High.

“I’ve talked to enough people plugged into the situation there to comfortably say that unless Tim Tebow gets hurt in training camp or is absolutely awful, the starting job is his to lose,” Wyche announced.

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, a guest on Wyche’s show who also served as a scout for four years under Fox with Carolina, repeated on the show information he shared in a column early last week.

“If history serves as an indicator of what Fox will do at quarterback, then the high value of Tebow’s intangible qualities puts him at the front of the line,” Brooks wrote. “As an old-school, defensive-minded coach, Fox views quarterback play through a different prism. He has a preference for smart and tough player, rather than a flame-thrower with outstanding physical tools.

“Fox is intent on restoring the winning tradition in Denver but has been reluctant to name the quarterback that will blaze the path. If he stays to his traditional approach, there is no doubt his choice will be Tebow.”

With the NFL’s lockout appearing to be winding down and training camp likely getting underway soon, Tebow’s opportunity to take control of the huddle and lead the Broncos from behind center is approaching.

Photo Credit: Unknown

Tags: Denver Broncos, John Elway, John Fox, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow

There was plenty of back-and-forth about the future of former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow in the media after former Denver Broncos QB John Elway took over the reigns of his former team as executive vice president after the 2010 season concluded. Elway and new head coach John Fox each gave mixed signals about Tebow’s future as well, saying that veteran signal caller Kyle Orton would be the starter if the season began at the time they were asked. Multiple NFL reporters even stated that Elway’s insistence on working out every rookie quarterback was due to his lack of belief in the future success of Tebow.

Elway gave a thumbs up regarding Tebow’s long-term potential late last week, telling ESPN‘s Ed Werder that he is the former Heisman Trophy-winner’s biggest fan and that the Broncos believe in him.

“He’s one of those guys who – if he comes out and is the player we hope he can be – then we’re in pretty darn good shape,” he said. “I think where we are as an organization, we’re going to go with Tim.”

Werder spoke with Tebow over the weekend, and the player expressed how it feels to have the entire Denver organization behind him.

“I believe in them, and they believe in me,” Tebow said Saturday while the 2011 NFL Draft was going on. “To have John Elway say positive things about you is just amazing. He’s played the game at the highest level possible, and I’m excited because he’s going to be a great asset for me.”

Elway has stressed to Tebow that, in order to be successful and win in the NFL, he will have to do so from the pocket, noting that his athleticism would be an added bonus.

“Any quarterback at this level has to be able to do that,” Tebow said. “That’s nothing new to me. It’s what I’m working to do so I can compete and we can win.”

Tebow has spent much of the offseason in Florida but has since returned to Colorado and plans to spend the remainder of his time (until the lockout is settled) taking snaps from under center, hanging in the pocket and practicing with his teammates.

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Tags: Denver Broncos, Draft, John Elway, John Fox, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow

John Elway has had plenty to say since taking over as executive vice president of the Denver Broncos in the offseason. One player who he has been asked about – and commented on – more than any other is second-year quarterback Tim Tebow. After giving mixed signals about Tebow’s future for months, Elway on Wednesday gave ESPN’s Ed Werder what appears to be a thumbs up regarding Tebow’s long-term potential.

“Let’s put it this way, I’m his biggest fan,” Elway said. “He’s one of those guys who – if he comes out and is the player we hope he can be – then we’re in pretty darn good shape. He’s a great ambassador for us as a team. He realizes, and I’ve told him: the bottom line is, ‘You can do all those things and make all those plays that a lot of guys can’t do, and that’s something you have that they don’t – but you have to realize for us to be champions, you have to be able to win it from the pocket and make all those throws from the pocket.”

A new coaching staff appeared to put Tebow’s future with Denver somewhat in jeopardy. Head coach John Fox called veteran Kyle Orton his team’s starting quarterback if the season had already started, and Elway maintained for months that it was possible the Broncos could pick another quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft.

However, he told Werder that Tebow is indeed his guy going forward, although there is a chance Denver could take a signal caller in the later rounds of the draft.

“There’s holes in every young guy coming out,” he said. “There’s not an Andrew Luck, a [Matthew] Stafford, a [Sam] Bradford [in 2011]. Those guys are all very good quarterbacks in my mind, but there are holes in every one of them – as there were in Tebow. I think where we are as an organization, we’re going to go with Tim.”

After conversing with the executive, Werder surmised that though “there will be competition for the starting job, Elway seemed to hint that Tebow is Denver’s likely starter this year – unless the lockout eliminates virtually all of the of the preseason in which case veteran Kyle Orton’s experience might provide him an advantage.”

Combining Elway’s new-found belief in Tebow with the player’s work ethic and attitude going into the season could result in a powerful mixture that the Broncos’ opponents may have to look out for in 2011 and beyond.

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Tags: Denver Broncos, Draft, John Elway, John Fox, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow