The Chosen One

Today is the day I've been waiting for all season. Tim Tebow, who was drafter No. 25 overall in the 2010 draft, has finally become the starter for the Denver Broncos. And it's hard to imagine a better scenario for that first start — coming in Miami (where he played his college ball and the home team is reviled by fans) on a day when the Dolphins are honoring Tebow's 2008 National Champion Florida Gator team.

For three quarters, it didn't look like much. Tebow was under pressure, the game plan was as conservative as possible, and there was little to cheer about. There were two missed field goals and a lot of missed opportunities.

With Denver trailing 15-0 and five minutes left, Tebow came to life a bit. He drove the team down quickly for a touchdown to cut the lead to 15-7 with 2:44 left in the game. After recovering an onside kick, Tebow led the Broncos on another touchdown drive, then added a two-point conversion to tie the game 15-15 with 17 seconds left.

In overtime the Broncos' defense made a play, then Matt Prater atoned for two earlier misses with a field goal to hand the team an 18-15 win. On paper, it's a win for Tebow, and he played incredible in the final five minutes to make that happen.

But through three quarters, Tebow had just 24 yards passing. That's not great. That won't get it done. And, in most games, you have to play better in the first 55 minutes if you want to win.

While I am happy Tebow is in, and the way he won it at the end certainly validated the reasons for making the change, unless he's allowed to throw more early, to run a real offense, it will be difficult for this Broncos team to really compete against better teams.

I have faith in Tim Tebow. A lot of fans have faith in Tim Tebow. Now the coaches calling the offensive plays need to do the same.