A Tebow Postscript to the 2011 Season

The end to the Broncos' and Tim Tebow's season was only nominally surprising.

On the one hand, no one expected the Patriots' leaky D to bring it like they did; on the other hand, it's not like Fox and McCoy proved particularly adept at modifying their offensive schemes when defenses figured them out.

At the same time, for all the breathless "Tim Tebow vs. Tom Brady!" pregame hype, it's not like Tebow was responsible for Brady and the Pats offense putting up a bazillion points.

I'll stick with the bigger picture: Tebow led a team that was projected in August to win less than a half-dozen games (and predicted in early October to win half of THAT) to the playoffs and a thrilling first-round win over the defending conference champs. It was a smashing success of a season.

And that's why it's so frustrating to get the return of John Elway's underminey schtick yesterday, when he said that Tebow was the team's starting QB... heading into training camp.

For the record, of the 11 other 2011 NFL playoff teams, not a single one would say that their starting QB only has the job heading into training camp. For that matter, of the 20 other teams in the NFL, maybe a half-dozen (bottom-feeders) aren't already committed to a Week 1 starter for 2012.

Would it have been so hard for Elway to have said "Tim Tebow is our starting QB next season." (1) It should be true; he's earned it. (2) It's not like anyone will hold Elway to that in the event something goes horribly awry in training camp.

What you're left with is the feeling we all had after Week 7 or Week 8 or Week 9 or Week 10 or Week 11 (and on and on) -- that Elway isn't committed to Tebow. Not really, in any case. (We already knew Fox wasn't.)

I'll stand by my analysis from October: Staring at a lost season after that 1-4 start, Elway and Fox figured they would start Tebow, he would flail his way to one or two wins over the next 11 games and the team execs would have the air cover to cut Tebow loose. When Tebow won, the execs' plan was spoiled -- even as they tried to enjoy the ride through the playoffs (knowing full well it was creating a problem for them in the longer-term, if they didn't want Tebow).

If Elway and Fox don't see Tebow as the long-term starter, it is the height of disingenuousness for them to string everyone along. It is laughable that they would be so afraid of public reaction and/or media reaction -- let alone that Tebow would sign on elsewhere and have a good NFL career -- that they would leave their principles at the door and continue to claim to work with him if they really don't want to.

I suspect that they will simply collect the house money they won in 2011 and shift their original 2011 strategy to 2012 -- let Tebow start and hope he loses enough that they can justify benching him and, ultimately, letting him go.

The proof will be whether they refine the Tebow offense -- more sophistication, more counters to what defenses do to adapt, more variety of plays as Tebow improves in other areas. Let's remember that they got to the playoffs with an offense that barely scratched the surface of innovation. (Of course, Fox's own myth-making to the contrary, he's not an innovator.)

I don't believe Elway and Fox want to create something long-term and successful with Tebow, both because they don't believe he can pull it off and, without question, because they lack the gumption to try. I do believe that we're in for many many more months of conversations like this. And I do believe that with a commitment to innovation and to Tebow, the Broncos could be even more successful than this season's run into the NFL's Divisional Round.

-- Dan

Tim Tebow Wins

This has been an insane week for the Tim Tebow phenomenon -- the most insane week ever (and there have been plenty of weeks where I have said, "Wow, it's even crazier than ever.")

There were not one but two big musical parodies (the "St. Elmo's Fire" guy and Jimmy Fallon last night), the "Most Popular Athlete" poll and column after column after column (after column after column...)

It's probably appropriate that the biggest column of them all -- "Believing in Tim Tebow" by ESPN's Rick Reilly, on the front page of ESPN.com right now -- comes on the eve of tomorrow night's game. Essentially, Tim Tebow wins over Rick Reilly -- Reilly being a proxy for the legion of folks who don't buy into Tebow or think the whole thing is overblown. Money quote:

I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

Reilly picked up on a longstanding TimTeblog theme: Tebow's goodness (through action) transcends religion -- Reilly doesn't mention Christianity at all, actually -- and speaks to an essential humanism that everyone can appreciate and be inspired by.

If you want a takeaway of the Tebow phenomenon -- before tomorrow night's game is played and we layer on whether he loses to the Patriots or advances one game from the Super Bowl -- it is that. And to the extent that the message gets across -- from Reilly and others (don't miss this op-ed column in the Orlando Sentinel by Tebow biographer Nathan Whitaker) -- all this Tebow hysteria is worth wading through.

I think that's what Tebow thinks, too -- you never know where someone will find that glimmer of inspiration. Maybe it's seeing a story about Tebow working with a sick kid, maybe it's hearing Tebow talk about working his hardest or being a great teammate. Maybe it's just watching one more improbable play.

But somewhere in that avalanche of media coverage, maybe you -- or anyone -- finds the thing that makes them think or act differently, for the better.

That's why I titled this post "Tim Tebow Wins." Because it has nothing to do with whether or not he wins tomorrow night -- although that's always more fun, and certainly if he didn't win the game last week, we wouldn't be having this week's hysteria. It has to do with his essential belief that winning that comes the way he lives his life and, equally important, from inspiring people -- Rick Reilly, whoever -- to be better people.

-- Dan

Tebow and That "Favorite Athlete" Poll

Tim Tebow's reaction to that ESPN poll released yesterday that had Tebow as America's most popular athlete in December:

"What's that tell me? It tells me they have a lot of crazy polls out there. I hope people see I'm real and genuine. I hope they see that I make a ton of mistakes but that I always get back up and try again."

Get more here.

Tebow Mania Round-Up for the Week

I mostly love Tebow tributes, but the "Tim Tebow's Fire" remake of "St. Elmo's Fire" (below) is really terrible. On to the rest of what I'm seeing:

*This "Tecmo Tebow" T-shirt, however, is awesome. Click the image to buy.


And here's the Tecmo recreation of the Tebow-to-Thomas TD pass:



*Surprise: Tebow was America's favorite athlete in December. (Just a hunch that he'll maintain the title in January.)

*Tebow on TV: You've probably seen the Tebow documentary "Everything In Between" -- covering his stretch between finishing at Florida and the night of the NFL Draft -- but you might not have seen the doc that ESPN did about his senior season at Nease H.S. Both are going to be re-aired on various ESPN channels on Friday and Saturday. Here's a schedule.

*Punditry: CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel praises Tebow's "corny enthusiasm." (It's part of the charm, frankly. As much as anything, because it's actually who he is.)

More as it shows up...

Submitted Without Comment

Remember that old song "St. Elmo's Fire?" The guy rewrote it -- and re-recorded it -- to call it "Tim Tebow's Fire." Just passing it along...

Tebow Leads Broncos Past Steelers

It is a Tebow truism -- perhaps THE Tebow truism -- that just when you think that things with Tebow can't get any more unbelievable or crazy or hysterical or awesome or epic... they do.

This is the essence of faith in Tebow: No matter the circumstances, allow for even a smidgen of belief -- and you can feel free to believe all the way to 100%, but a smidgen will do -- and that belief, that faith in the guy, will be rewarded.

Right up until the end of the 4th quarter, I was pretty secure in the idea that a win or a loss in the game doesn't change the fundamentally incredible accomplishment of Tebow this season in helping a team everyone thought would be terrible get to the playoffs. A win is a bonus.

But then to have Tebow play his greatest game as a pro -- not just the career-high in yards passing (316!), but the verve and accuracy of the throws, plus the gutsy chain-moving runs -- against the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL, capped by that insane overtime-opening, game-winning 80-yard TD pass.

If you consider the moment and the players involved and the stakes, Tebow was responsible for nothing less than the greatest play of the NFL season, by any player, and one of the most memorable plays in NFL playoff history.

Let's do it again: Almost no one will give Tebow and the Broncos a chance against the Patriots next week in Foxboro. That's OK. The season is now not just a success but wildly beyond a success. If folks want to say "Tim Tebow can't beat the Patriots next week," OK.

Just remember: "Tim Tebow can't beat the Steelers in the playoffs."

-- Dan

Tebow Playoff Game Day: All Gravy?

Start with this: Of course we're rooting for Tim Tebow to lead the Broncos to a playoff win over the Steelers.

But that's not the point. The point is that what happens in this game won't define Tebow's season or his career. He's already done that, simply by leading the Broncos to the point where they are even IN the NFL Playoffs... there are 20 teams out there that would love the chance to lose during Wild Card Weekend, rather than be sitting at home.

And so we'll get a best shot. Hopefully, John Fox won't bungle the playbook and the strategy. Hopefully, the Steelers are a bit less cruelly effective on defense than usual.

Tebow tweeted out Hebrews 12:1-2, which features the "great cloud of witnesses" phrase. If that sounds familiar, it's because he used that same passage on his eye-black for his college finale at the Swamp in late-November versus FSU. The game featured 5 Tebow TDs (3 pass, 2 rush) in a huge Gators win. Thousands of fans came to the game wearing eye-black. (It was covered here, naturally.)

Two good reads for you, both from the Washington Post. First, a good overview of the Tebow philosophy. Second, a discussion about the evangelical differences between Tebow and Ben Roethlisberger.

Enjoy the game.

-- Dan

John Elway talking to Woody Paige about Tim Tebow:

"That's human nature, especially when you're young, to become more cautious. He had a tough week before (the Chiefs game) against Buffalo. The key thing for (Tebow) is to go out, put everything behind him, go through his progressions and pull the trigger."

My only question is whether Elway gave the same advice to John Fox, who has shown a risk-aversion ("cautious," to use Elway's word) on fourth-and-short that is more like timidity than "conservative."

The team has nothing to lose this weekend against the Steelers -- there is absolutely zero pressure to win. Hell, if they keep it close, it's as close a moral victory as you find in the NFL.

So here's hoping Elway is as concerned about his coach's decision-making in short-yardage situations where Tebow's mastery is complete as he is about Tebow's decision-making on 2nd- or 3rd-and-long.

(FWIW, I think they should go back to the style that got them into the playoffs: Run, run, run -- run some more, ideally with Tebow carrying the ball -- with a pass from time to time when the Steelers inevitably put 9 in the box.)

-- Dan

Tim Tebow Led the Broncos to the Playoffs

Tim Tebow led the Broncos to the NFL Playoffs.

Let's repeat that: Tim Tebow led the Broncos to the NFL Playoffs.

Go back to August and try that one out. Heck, go back to Week 7 and try that one out.

Let's be clear: No matter how Tebow and the Broncos enter the playoffs -- winning streak, losing streak, whatever -- they are entering the playoffs. They have out-performed 20 other teams, at least as it relates to the most important goal of the season.

The Broncos are going to get throttled next week by the Steelers? Who cares! Three other teams are going to lose in the first round of the playoffs, too. Four of the 12 playoff teams ALWAYS lose in the first round of the playoffs.

The point is that Tim Tebow led the Broncos into the playoffs. The playoffs! The Broncos! A team that, before the season, was expected to win maybe 4 or 5 games as a best-case scenario -- even fewer if Tebow was given the chance to start at QB. "But Tebow is going to get shellacked in the first round of the playoffs!" is the dumbest sports argument of the day. The most important words in that statement are "Tebow" and "playoffs."

Every NFL season is an exercise in expectations management. The overall parity means that most teams think they have a shot at making the playoffs -- their fans would be thrilled if that happened. A few elite teams are "Super Bowl title or bust." The Broncos' expectations -- expectations for Tebow -- were nothing short of "Suck enough to give Elway and Fox the permission to boot Tebow and draft a real QB." (That was the expectation as recently as midway through the Broncos' Tebowfied winning streak!)

The Broncos have -- and Tebow has -- exceeded expectations more than any other team (or player) in the NFL this season. That is -- excuse the blasphemy -- damn impressive... the exact opposite of the cynical chuckling we're seeing today about how the Broncos backed in or how they are going to get dismantled by the Steelers next week.

That's not the point. Not even close to the point.

-- Dan

Why Are So Many Afraid of Tim Tebow?

Great column on Tebow yesterday, by the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins:

So why does Tebow’s expression of faith make people so silly-crazy? Why do they care what he does?

Because he emphasizes the aspect of his talent that is given, not earned.

And that makes people nervous.

She continues:

Belittle Tebow if you must. But the trouble with shouting down Tebow’s religion, never mind the sheer offensiveness, is the same trouble with shouting down any other form of inspired expression. Do that, and you also shout down mystery, possibility, surprise. And some perfectly good questions. You drown out an awful lot that’s of interest, whether you agree with it or not.

So much commentary about Tebow -- whether related to football or religion -- is done with a bludgeon, not with nuance (let alone intelligence or thoughtfulness -- see Bill Maher). This is a great take on what so many seem to feel is a hyper-complicated topic.

Happy new year, everyone. Thanks for your continued support of TimTeblog.com.

-- Dan

Tim Tebow: Marvel Super-Hero

But when is the comic book coming out?

Tebow Mania Enters Week 17

After two weeks of losses, that Tebandwagon has cleared out a bit, hasn't it? The haters get to have their fun. The die-hards stick around, regardless. We'd all rather have wins and big performances -- it's only narrow consolation that fairweather bandwagoneers have moved along to other things.

And yet here is the testament to the mid-season run: Even after two straight losses, Tim Tebow and the Broncos are still in a massively commanding position -- win this weekend vs. the Chiefs, and the Broncos are in the playoffs. And even if Denver loses, if the Raiders lose, too, the Broncos still win the division and host a first-round playoff game.

Let's keep all of this in perspective: If you told NFL pundits (or even Broncos fans) in August that the Broncos would be in position to earn their way into the playoffs and a division title in Week 17, you would have been laughed at. The guffaws would have been even more pronounced if you had brought up this scenario in early October, when the team was 1-4 -- when even John Fox and John Elway figured that inserting Tim Tebow as the starter would only position the team more favorably to pick a QB at the top of the NFL Draft in April 2012.

Then Tebow and the team flipped the script. They won. And won again. And won again. And kept winning, right up until they put themselves in a spot to control their own destiny for a playoff spot (and even have a halfway decent chance to make the playoffs even if they lose).

Somewhere along the way -- as Tebowmania got larger and larger -- the experts and bandwagon fans completely lost sight of where this team was before the season started (or a month into it). The expectation was NEVER that this team was going to win a Super Bowl this season. Heck, the expectation was NEVER that this team was even going to make the playoffs, let alone win the division. Most folks figured that it was a 6- or 7-win team... at BEST.

Instead, Tim Tebow and the defense and Matt Prater have led the fans on the best kind of ride -- the unexpected run into playoff contention by a team everyone else had written off.

Tebow fans figured that he would give the team a puncher's chance -- if only HE was given the chance (and given the chance within an offense that played to his strengths... let's not even get into how/why Fox went away from the successful run-based offense last week) -- the team would have that chance. And that's why you've enjoyed this one so much.

Confounding expectations has defined the Tebow experience in the NFL, ever since his final play at Florida, when the NFL "experts" immediately pounced that he could never be a first-round pick, never be an NFL starter, never be a successful QB in the league... never lead his team to the playoffs (let alone lead them to the playoffs in only his second year).

As we look back on 2011, "Tebowmania" became one of the top stories of the year -- it has been the biggest story in the NFL this season (even bigger than Aaron Rodgers and the Packers -- that doesn't change, no matter what happens next Sunday.

No one can take away the magical run that put the team in a position to simply win a game in the final week of the season to clinch a division title and a spot in the NFL Playoffs.

-- Dan

New Yorker Calls Tebow "Year's Best Sports Story"

The New Yorker's terrific sportswriter Ben McGrath tabs Tim Tebow as the year's best sports story:

Certainly Tebow-mania offers plenty of crossover fodder for the non-sports-obsessed. You don’t need to be a connoisseur of quarterback throwing mechanics to find debates over Tebow’s conspicuous religiosity of interest, or to marvel over the fact that teen-agers on Long Island have apparently been suspended from school for imitating a silly made-for-TV pose. But that’s all just context. What’s great about Tebow is the live-action performance: maddening, baffling, and, just often enough, jaw-dropping. In an era where passing statistics have been inflating to Bondsian levels, Tebow has brought his team to the brink of the playoffs with a style that might as well have come from the dead-ball era. Is it luck? Divine intervention? Here’s to watching and cursing and shaking our heads in disbelief in 2012.

McGrath isn't wrong. (And at the risk of indulging in a bit of #tebowcant, if you look back to last January -- heck, last August -- not many beyond this site's readership would have considered Tebow to be a "story of 2011" nominee. But anyone who has followed Tebow over the past half-decade would know that is the moment precisely to figure it would be Tebow's year.)

-- Dan

John Elway Supports Tim Tebow (For Now)

"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."

-- John Elway, who just weeks ago was entirely ready to bench Tebow (and ultimately jettison him in the offseason) if a few breaks didn't go the Broncos' way and those Ws became Ls.

Hard to tell if Elway is sincere or just resigned -- maybe a little bit of both -- but he clearly learned from his mistake of a few weeks ago that there's no point in publicly doing anything but supporting Tebow, even if privately he doesn't.

(If that sounds conspiratorial -- even cynical -- it's because Elway himself made it so clear just last month how he felt about Tebow. Pardon if I don't swallow Elway's line whole.)

Tim Tebow and Kelly Faughnan, Part 2

Lot of attention today for Jeff Darlington's NFL.com piece about Tim Tebow reconnecting with Kelly Faughnan. I went back into the TimTeblog archives and found this post from 12/11/09, when the Tebow-Faughnan story first came out. Here's my money quote:

I swear, this is what drives me nuts about folks who claim to "hate" Tebow: When you read about that, how in the world can you hate him? I guarantee you that taking Kelly to the show meant more to him than winning an award. Way more.

We can talk all about "Triumphalist Tebow" when he wins or "Tragic Tebow" when he loses (or even "Teary Tebow," from the past week), but here is my favorite:

"Typical Tebow."

And sometimes that's for when he bulls into the end-zone. Sometimes that's for when he tries to incite the crowd. But, most times, it's when he is working in the community and doing things exactly like he did last night.

"Typical Tebow." Ha. I had forgotten I had coined that. Check out the whole post for more details. It's just funny sometimes to see these "new" conclusions about Tebow that we were talking about years ago.

(Don't get me wrong: It was an important angle from yesterday's game to be given a wide audience -- as with Tebow-Faughnan I, it offers more insight into Tebow than anything he does on the field.)

-- Dan

Tebow, Broncos Fall Short vs. Patriots

A few thoughts:

*You can already tell this morning that Tebowmania has settled down a bit following the loss. This is a good thing.

*Tebow played well. The turnovers killed the Broncos -- Tebow contributed to that, and I think based on his postgame statements, he is naturally frustrated at himself for that.

*John Fox is still totally underminey. (See his "broad side of a barn" postgame quote.) And his decision-making remains so iffy -- knowing the game would be a shootout and having gouged the Patriots' run defense, why not go for it early on 4th-and-1 down near the Pats' end zone? Also, the Pats' coaching staff made plenty of adjustments after the 1st quarter -- Fox seemed befuddled about doing the same thing. (He seems content to blame the players/turnovers.)

*The Broncos still control their own fate as it relates to the playoffs. They meet Buffalo next week, in yet another match-up with a team that had the chance (and need) to draft Tebow but passed. The thing to focus on is that a playoff season represents a huge triumph for Tebow and the Broncos.

*Tebow being Tebow: A fantastic postgame story. Tebow doesn't do these things for the publicity -- he does them because they are the right thing to do... because it inspires Kelly Faughnan and maybe inspires other people to do the right thing, too.

*This was not a litmus test. Let me say that again: This was not a litmus test. Not for a coaching braintrust that figured that 6-10 was going to be a really successful season and that fully expected (and perhaps rooted for) Tebow to fail. There is not much shame in losing to the No. 1 team in the conference (even if there is a bit of shame in all the turnovers).

-- Dan

Thursday Tebow Link Round-Up

*The New York Post's Steve Serby has a good Q&A with Tebow. I like that Tebow admires Steve McNair.

*Deadspin's Drew Magary is a hater... sort of... but a hater of Tebow hysteria more than Tebow. (Salty language warning.)

*ESPN's Rick Reilly compares Tebow and Tom Brady. Eleventybillion people will click on it.

*Fathead launched a "Tebowing" edition. Currently, Tebow accounts for about 80% of Fathead's business.

*Yes, yes, thank you for all the emails: I've heard -- "Tebrew" beer.

*FoxSports.com launched an all-Tebow section. Hmm, that sounds like a GREAT idea.

So far, this week's best Tebow contribution (besides the SI cover) has been the Seinfeld-Tebow mash-up.

Tebow x Seinfeld

(via ESPN.com)

The Real Lesson of Tebow: Work Hard(est)

With the explosion of Tebowmania over the past few weeks -- beyond even the craziest stuff from Tebow's final year at Florida -- a few sportswriters have started to recognize the nuance of the Tebow story. Yes, many still bludgeon us with "Tebow! Religion! Throwing motion! The hysteria!"

But then you get reporting like this, from Yahoo's Les Carpenter, which digs into Tebow's real secret -- the universal lesson of Tebow that transcends fans and haters, that transcends whatever religious beliefs you might hold: Hard work.

Not just hard work, but (in Tebow's case) working harder than anyone else, which really translates to: Try your hardest. You cannot expect to work as hard as Tim Tebow; what you can expect is to work as hard as you can (then try a little harder).

Click that link for a great read.

-- Dan

The Most interesting Tebow Quote from NFL "Sound FX"

When people conflate football and religion as it relates to Tim Tebow, there is a lot of talk that somehow Tebow is praying for God to help him at the expense of others. But there was a very telling quote that the NFL microphones picked up. After the Bears got the ball on the onside kick, it appeared that the game was as good as over. Tebow was kneeling on the sidelines and said:

"Dear Jesus, I need you. Please come through for me. No matter what, win or lose Lord, give me the strength to honor you."

Now, was Tebow rooting for the chance to get the ball back and lead his team to a game-tying (or game-winning) score? Absolutely. But note that he accepts the reality that the game could go either way -- win or lose -- and all he asks for is the strength to manage the situation, whatever it might be.

This speaks to the line of Tebology that says his Christianity -- while public and evangelical -- is intensely personal. It has everything to do with finding the inner strength to live his life purposefully and nothing to do with mere wins and losses (although wins are obviously more fun).

I'll try to get video clips -- or links to video on NFL.com -- when it's available. It was an excellent and rare view of Tebow in the mid-game situation. UPDATE: Here you go!

(One other remarkable moment captured by the mics: When Barber fumbled in OT and the Broncos got the ball, it seemed like every Broncos player was totally flipping out. Tebow took the field quietly singing a hymn, as usual a little off-key.)

-- Dan

Tebow Mic'ed Up: NFL Network 9:30 PM ET

Must-see: The NFL footage of Tebow from the Bears game on Sunday -- the league had him mic'ed up, and tonight at 9:30 ET they'll show the clips. Good preview from the DenPost's Klis here.

Tim Tebow on This Week's SI Cover

Today's Tebow Must-Read

I think that after this many years, I've got a pretty well-defined lens with which I view Tebow and the Tebow phenomenon through, and I think a lot of you share that lens (or at least respect my considered view). It's very rare that I see that perspective reflected in the media -- mostly, it's a lot of simplistic screeching. But when I see a take that resonates with me, it's an affirmation that we're not the crazy ones.

Anyway, this take by Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel hits on a lot of the things that we talk about here: That Tebow's outward expressions of faith are not nearly as proscriptive as the critics and drop-by pundits would have you think -- and that there is a humanist message in Tebow.

A few quotes from the column:

This is the beauty and brilliance of Tim Tebow. He puts his faith on display, but never seems to get too direct about it. He shrugs off criticism. He even jokes about it. He is unfailingly polite, accepting of doubters and moderate in his proclamations.

And:

There is no question that Tebow’s faith has played a role in his success. It’s a part of him. It’s what works for him. It’s what drives him. It’s what provides the confidence to overcome all odds – be it in the fourth quarter or in offseason preparation. All the great ones have that and Tebow derives his from his religion.

That’s a powerful message and, it appears, the one that Tim Tebow wants put out there.

This is what works for me, he is saying. This is how I do it. This is what has shaped me as both a successful player on the field and an undoubtedly polite and respectful person off of it.

If you want to give it a shot, then come join me.

And he pretty much leaves it at that. You don’t have to be religious at all to enjoy Tim Tebow the football player, the role model or the well-meaning star.

"You don’t have to be religious at all to enjoy Tim Tebow the football player, the role model or the well-meaning star." That sums it up.

Hoge Finally Gets It About Tebow

Merril Hoge was the loudest critic of Tim Tebow in the media -- and, from his place on the set at ESPN, certainly the most visible. This morning, on the radio, he came around:

“You have a certain skill set. Will you work hard on that skill set and will you give it all you have? You can look in the mirror [and say], ‘I gave it all I had, and I don’t have anything to be ashamed about or embarrassed by.’ That to me is what I see in the Denver Broncos and in Tim Tebow. I’ve been wrong on a lot of levels, and I’ve become now a huge fan in watching not only the Broncos play but Tim Tebow play.”

Read more key parts of the transcript over at OnlyGators. The key idea: Hoge has been converted.

Tim Tebow: Best Win Yet?

Throughout this win streak and 7-1 record as a starter, I don't think I've ever seen Tim Tebow as giddy as he was following Matt Prater's overtime kick to lift the Broncos past the Bears. It was fun to see. What a win -- the most improbable of his 8 as a starter? Yes. But down 10-0 with 3 minutes to go, I actually figured the Broncos would win -- I simply couldn't envision how. Who can? A couple mental blunders by the Bears' Marion Barber were key, but the point, as always, is this: W.