Tebow’s debut: the good, the bad and the ugly

By Adam Silverstein
August 16, 2010

Considering every other media outlet has or will dissect Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow‘s first game as a professional, OGGOA figured we would take a look at the former Florida Gators signal caller’s performance by breaking it down into three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly. Throughout Sunday night’s game, Tebow displayed much of what helped him succeed at Florida – a strong arm, good pocket awareness, solid decision making and the ability to go through his progressions. However, there were some faults to his game to point out as well (see below).

Keep reading for more details and a video complete with all of Tebow’s highlights.

THE GOOD
Tebow’s first drive (from Denver’s 35): Completing a dump-off pass to tight end Marquez Branson for five yards on 1st and 10 before throwing up a deep bomb to wide receiver Matt Willis that hit him in stride but was simply dropped, Tebow showed solid pocket awareness and arm strength that should have resulted in a the chains being moved quite close to the end zone.

Tebow’s second drive (from Denver’s 26): He avoided the pass rush with a quick pass to WR Britt Davis on 2nd and 11 for a nice seven-yard gain, showing his ability to find open receivers. [See: THE BAD]

Tebow’s third drive (from Denver’s 16): After an incomplete pass on 1st and 10, Tebow completes a six-yard pass down the middle to running back Bruce Hall before hitting WR Alric Arnett deep down the right side of the field for a 21-yard gain and a first down. [See: THE UGLY]

Tebow’s fourth drive (from Denver’s 27): He completes four-straight passes for 17, 9, 7 and 33 yards, respectively, to get the Broncos down to the 7-yard-line. After a toss into the end zone that arguably should have been caught by Branson, Tebow scrambled up the middle with no time remaining on the clock for his first professional touchdown.

THE BAD
Tebow’s second drive (from Denver’s 26): Looking again at Willis on 3rd and 4, Tebow sailed a pass over his head down the right sideline which was nearly intercepted.

THE UGLY
Tebow’s third drive (from Denver’s 43): On 2nd and 9, he is sacked after the offensive line allows Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins a clear path to their quarterback. The following play, Tebow is once again taken down and fumbles the ball, though it is eventually reversed to an incomplete pass. A poor snap salvaged by Tebow carrying it up the middle forces the drive to come to a conclusion.

[flashvideo filename=Video/Tebow_preseason_Broncos_Bengals.flv /]

QUOTES
Tebow on getting booed by the Ohio crowd: “Yeah, I heard it. [Laughing] It got me more excited to go out there and play.”

Tebow on his critics: “I don’t listen too much to what people say. I’m just trying to be focused and be better every day. I try to be a teammate on this team and not worry about what people say.”

Head coach Josh McDaniels on Tebow’s performance: “Tim showed the ability to take what the defense gave him late, in that two-minute drive. He didn’t panic. He showed some toughness getting it in, and I thought he made some loose plays. That’s part of him. You can’t script him in practice, but sometimes he’s going to make those plays and when he makes them, sometimes they’re big ones.”

Quotations above courtesy of The Denver Post.

Photo Credit: Ed Reinke/Associated Press

17 Comments

  1. jason says:

    Brutal hit on Tebow on the Rush TD.

  2. Mr2Bits says:

    I really wouldn’t label him getting blindsided as ugly. Something to note from that is that if Tim still passed from his belt up, that would have been a fumble and not a forward pass. What should be labeled as ugly is the performance by Brady Quinn, man does he ever suck.

    As for the bad, yea it was a pass that sailed on him. I’d also label the Denver second and third string receivers as bad. Ive seen better hands from Deonte Thompson and/or my flag football squad.

  3. matt says:

    If Tim had a little bit of time I think he would have completed several more passes but that OL was terrible! I would like to see him with the starters.

  4. npgator says:

    I thought he looked very good for first game. Compared to Brady Quinn he looked like Tom Brady.

  5. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    If that one guy didn’t drop the perfect pass Timmy T dropped in his lap his stats would have looked even better…that being said I would like to see Tebow as a solid #2 for now….I think he can sit behind Orton and learn and get some PT between wildcat formations and mop up duty.

  6. Timmy T says:

    I thought Timmy did pretty well and could have looked even better if Bengal receivers had caught perfectly thrown balls.

  7. Timmy T says:

    His line should have read something like 11/13 for 165 yards and 2 TDs.

  8. Mr2Bits says:

    Any reason why ESPN and some Denver people are blasting Tebow saying he looked like a rookie, not very impressive blah blah blah, yet they said Bradford(6-13 57yds) looked poised, confident and had a good game?

    From the look of things, Tim is never going to win as there are just too many people rooting for his failure.

  9. Gatorbuc15 says:

    Even though he only played late in the game, I felt that he played very well. Yeah, he has to work on a couple of things, but tha’t what the pre season is for.

    Go Tebow!!!!!

  10. SC Gator says:

    I would hope he looked like a rookie… he is one! It has no bearing on his ability to continue to improve his game.

    This is, what, Brady Quinn’s 4th season in the NFL? Don’t think he gets a rookie flyer for that performance.

  11. O-town Gator says:

    Rome wasn’t built in a day, and just like with John Elway a while back, Timmy’s not going to be an overnight sensation in the NFL – Denver fans ought to realize that. He’ll improve with experience as the season progresses. Had it not been for that dropped pass he would have blown Orton and Quinn away stats-wise.

  12. John Shanks says:

    He looked great on the last drive and rarely threw to his first read, seemed to impress his teammates and coach, and was miles ahead of where he was in the senior bowl. He needs a running back to protect his left side though.

  13. brlgator says:

    Jason,

    Did u mean brutal hit BY tebow not ON tebow. I didn’t watch the game I only saw the espn clip and read about

  14. Both, I’d say. Nice hit.

  15. gatorgrad79 says:

    Adam, won’t the new rule about the 3rd QB entering the game (causing the 1 & 2 to become ineligible for the remainder of play) make it more likey that TT would be the #2? Especially if they plan to use him in goal line packages? Otherwise if he was the 3, they couldn’t bring him in without causing Orton to leave the game for good. I would think pretty boy Quinn is a short timer, especially if they get a shot at a free agent QB, or at least by next year’s draft.

  16. Everything you said is correct. I never believed for a second that Tebow would NOT be the No. 2 QB on game days – he certainly will be. Whether it is for the purpose of being able to come in and play certain situations or him simply beating out Quinn, neither was a doubt in my mind.

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