Comments (1)

By Mark D, December 12, 2011 3:23 pm

If this was any other season, Matt Prater would be a superstar and people would be talking about John Fox’s brilliant defensive mind. But all you keep hearing about is Tebow, Tebow, Tebow. Look, Tebow deserves none of the credit here. When you look at the first 5 games of the season the Broncos were 1-4, including 2 defeats by 3 points and a loss by 5 points. Since Tebow took over of the 7 wins 3 of them have been by FGs in OT. Another game won by a FG in regulation, and 2 games won by a touchdown. Include that the lone Orton win was by a FG, and Matt Prater has won the game for the Broncos 5 times now.

The win on the 11th against the Bears takes the cake. Matt Prater hit FGs from 59 and 51 yards to win the game. Morten Anderson appears to be the only kicker to ever have 3 or more FGs of over 50 yards in a single game back in 1995. Against the Vikings with the Broncos down by 3 he kicked a 46 and a 23 yarder. Against the Chargers he had the teams last 9 points, a 41, 24 and 37 yard field goals.  Against the Dolphins in Tebow’s first game as starter he had a 52 yard FG.

Without Prater the Broncos more then likely lose half the wins that they have now. We’re not even talking about chip shot field goals either, especially when it’s at 40 yards or more. Prater has been an absolute beast this year. His 3 FGs made at 50+ yards for the year nearly matches the total amount of FGs he’s made at 20-29 yards (4). It’s also not unheard of for a kicker to get a lot of publicity for kicking a lot of game winning FGs in a row, but Prater is getting none.

The reality with Tebow is that the team is winning by the absolute thinnest of razor margins. It’s like playing Jenga, you know that the base can no longer support any additions up top. Yet your friend just keeps pulling blocks out without a care in the world and nothing is going wrong. Right now it seems luck and general insanity is all going the Bronco’s way. But at some point it’s not going to anymore. Much like these teams that have been flash in the pan lately (Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins) the Broncos are in for a rude awakening next season.

They are going to be facing a much tougher schedule next year (and the AFC West will probably be much improved too) because of the amount of wins they are going to have at the close of the season. Meanwhile they will probably be stuck with a middle of the first round at best draft pick, and if they make the playoffs the pick will be even worse. So a team that’s winning by luck is hardly going to be able to add any talent via the draft, and they have a QB who can’t hit the side of a barn.

I think for long time Giants fans, this rings a lot like the period that Danny Kannel was starter for the team.

Comments (0)

By Mark D, September 13, 2011 9:37 am

Last night during Monday Night Football in the fourth quarter ESPN went to a long shot of the crowd (and by crowd I mean 3 to 6 people) who while on camera proceeded to chant Tebow. While Orton had his struggles last night, blaming the loss on him is a bit much. Especially considering from all reports that Tebow looked awful in the preseason compared to both Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn. While it isn’t new for a struggling team to be chanting for the 2nd or 3rd string QB to be put in, or them to start chanting during the first game while it was still winnable is a bit new.

Tebow has been the darling of ESPN since his college days, a charismatic star with a questionable level of talent. So is it crazy to wonder if ESPN just happened to find a few drunk Broncos fans last night chanting for Tebow? It gives them something to talk about, and keeps their created monster in the news. Speaking of news, it also gives their nonstop talking heads something to gab about in between games since the Everything Sports Network is Football talk 90% of the time.

Tebow isn’t going to save the Broncos, and there’s a reason he’s not starting. There were times last night when Orton was able to get the ball away with Raiders breathing down his neck (nice O-Line Denver) when a younger QB might rush the throw or a mobile QB might hold the ball too long. Even with Orton’s fumble, there were plenty of chances for another less experienced QB to screw up.

While there will always be a vocal part of the Denver fanbase that wants Tebow in (just try bashing him on twitter) most of them realize why he isn’t a starter or even the backup QB at the moment. Leave it to ESPN to try and push the issue via their hijacking of Monday Night Football. More and more, ESPN is using it’s popularity to push their own points. Without controversy there is nothing to talk about. With 3 networks and the 24/7 ESPNews all needing something to talk about, it’s no surprise that Tebow is front page news. But in the end it’s all manufactured. Tebow is a product of ESPN as much as this controversy. The reality is that if the Broncos want to win, Tebow will be nowhere near the field.

If your sitting there chanting and arguing that Tebow should be on the field, your nothing but a tool for ESPN. Your not thinking critically at all, and your just parroting them. There’s no special magical ability that Tebow has that is going to make the defense stop the run, or magically make his WRs catch every pass. Get over it.