As many of you know, John Elway recently gave Tim Tebow his official stamp of approval. Although the season ended with an embarrassing 45-10 loss in Foxboro, Tebow went 7-4 during the regular season as a starter this year and led the Broncos to a playoff win over Pittsburgh. Did Elway really have a choice? Current analyst and former NFL head coach Brian Billick believes he did.
“To me, that was a little weak to say, ‘He is going to be the starter when we go to training camp,’. I think we’re gonna have a whole bunch of liar’s poker between now and the draft and free agency and beyond,” Billick said Monday night on NFL Total Access, noting that he believes the Broncos will acquire a quarterback who could challenge Tebow for the starting role.
The problem with Billick’s theory is that the fans would go completely berserk. Tebowmania has captured the hearts of fans in Denver and everyone else across America. The Broncos’ players want Tebow under center. Not only did he do a tremendous job of winning games for the Broncos this season, but he is a marketing machine. Elway needs Tebow to start for the Broncos as much for business as he does team confidence.
Billick wasn’t done there. Like everyone else, he also criticized Tebow’s mechanics and physical makeup, saying a lot of changes need to be made over the offseason.
“I think the No. 1 thing Tim Tebow has to do, I don’t think he can lift the way he’s lifted before,” Billick explained. “There’s three people that can’t lift the way Tim Tebow does: pro quarterbacks, pro tennis players and golfers. He has got to cut back on that rigid, thick (frame). I know it keeps him alive as a running quarterback, but it does not bode well for his passing, the fluidity that he has to have. So that’s, to me, job one in the offseason, he’s got to change his (conditioning) mindset.”
I think it’s safe to add Billick to the list of those who believe that Tebow’s accomplishments this season were a complete fluke.
