Seahawks fans: You think you have problems at quarterback?
Jan 6, 2012, 6:12 PM | Updated: Jan 9, 2012, 10:30 am
(AP image)
How would you like to be John Elway?
OK, so maybe it would be nice to have two Super Bowl rings and millions of dollars. But what is the former
quarterback and current executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos supposed to do at the quarterback position in the offseason?
The Broncos lost an important home game last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs largely because quarterback Tim Tebow was horrible. Tebow went 6 for 22, throwing for just 60 yards, one interception and no touchdowns. Yet Tebow has been known to win those
types of games.
He led the Broncos to six comeback wins in the fourth quarter and overtime this season, doing it with very mediocre statistics and awful quarterback mechanics.
But here’s the real problem that Elway faces: If Tebow was a bad guy, a problem in the locker room and with the fans, it’d be a no-brainer – he’d be fired the second the season ended. But the fans in Denver LOVE Tim Tebow. They love him so much that fans are renting out billboard space begging head coach John Fox to play him.
I played with John Elway for four years, one at Stanford and three in Denver. He doesn’t want Tim Tebow as his quarterback. He wants someone in his own image.
In spite of Denver’s loss to Kansas City, the Oakland Raiders somehow found a way to screw it up and lost to San Diego, allowing the Broncos to back in to the playoffs. The Broncos are nearly as big an underdog as
the Seahawks were last year against the New Orleans Saints.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are heavy favorites to win Sunday on the road in spite of their injury problems. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hobbled with a badly sprained ankle, safety Ryan Clark is out because of a
blood disorder and running back Rashard Mendenhall blew out his knee last week. Even though the Steelers are supposed to win by two scores, don’t count out the Tim Tebow/Mile High magic.
Talk about problems for Elway – What if the Broncos pull out the upset and Tebow has another one of his 125-yard passing days and runs for the winning score? He can’t play quarterback!
Elway knows he needs a long-term solution at the position but if he pulls the string on Tebow, the most beloved athlete in the history of Colorado sports (I mean Elway, not Tebow), may have a mutiny on his
hands.