Is Tim Tebow Over Discussed?

A player kneels down on one knee along the sidelines of a massive NFL football field. As the special teams unit marches onto the field to set up for a game-winning field goal attempt, the player continues to kneel. He keeps his head down as the opposing coach calls a time out. Staying absolutely still until his team's kicker drives his foot into the back of the ball, the player prays. He bursts into the air with excitement as the ball is driven right through the uprights... the Broncos win. This is Tim Tebow.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past NFL season, you know what kind of an impact Tim Tebow has made in his second season as an NFL quarterback. Tebow made his first start of the NFL season in Week 7 against the winless Miami Dolphins. The Broncos picked up their second win of the season against the Dolphins and wouldn't stop there, suffering only one loss in their next 7 games before limping into the playoffs with 3 straight losses.

Following a thrilling overtime win against the favored, but injured Steelers, Tebow has never been in more of a spotlight than he is now as his Broncos enter the 2nd round of the playoffs for only the 2nd time since John Elway's retirement after the 1998 season. The haters and supporters alike have all been talking and blogging away at how either Tebow is the best thing since Elway himself or how he's ruining the game.

Some people, like me, have declared his "in your face" display of religion and his apparent need to thank both God and his "personal lord and savior, Jesus Christ" after every game to be hypocritical, vain, and unnecessary. Many of those same people also find his statistics to be lackluster and completely unworthy of such high praise. Others find his deep faith and positive demeanor to be a refreshing change of pace in a game dominated by deviant strip club dwellers, dog fighters, and money-minded malcontents. Those people often cite his composure in big game scenarios as reason to declare him a big-time quarterback.

As polarizing as Tebow is, and as good for the business as that is, it begs the question... is Tim Tebow really worth all this talk? Even I am guilty of ranting on and on about the man, but why? Let's look at the stats.

Tim Tebow has started 12 games this season including his playoff win. In those 12 games, Tim Tebow led the game in passing yards only twice. He was outperformed by quarterbacks such as Matt Moore, rookie Christian Ponder, and the man who began the season ahead of him on the depth chart... Kyle Orton. He has thrown for more than one touchdown in a game only 4 times this season and he has never thrown more than 2 touchdowns in a game. Conversely, he has 12 turnovers in as many games including 5 straight games with a lost fumble to end the regular season.

Tebow has been sacked 33 times in 12 games vs Kyle Orton's 9 sacks in the first 5 games of the Broncos season. Opposing units have averaged a full sack more per game against the more mobile Tebow, but is the added running threat really a threat? Top running back Willis McGahee was averaging roughly 80 yards a game under Kyle Orton vs 73 yards a game under Tebow. Tebow's extra run yardage did, however, lead the Broncos to the best rushing offense in the league with an average of 164.5 yards per game on the ground. This outstanding number is, unfortunately, coupled with a meager 11 rushing touchdowns throughout the entire season so it really begs the question of whether or not Tebow's rushing is as effective as some say it is. His extra rushing yardage surely helps with field position even if they were unable to put the ball in the end zone on the ground very often, but Denver's kicker, Matt Prater, ranks 28th in the league with only 19 made field goals in 25 attempts.

Tebow has been efficient throwing the ball, passing for 12 TDs vs only 6 interceptions (including a flukey 3 INT game against the Bills) but his yardage is second lowest in the league (152.1 passing yards per game), which has led to an average of 316.6 total offensive yards per game (23rd in the league), and only 19.3 points per game (25th in the league). In fact, Tebow's passer rating is a meager 72.9 (down almost 10 full points from last year's 82.1).

With his passing game and rushing game neither hurting his team nor raising them to new heights... what exactly has led to the Broncos success? The defense has played some very solid games, but statistically they are allowing 24.4 points per game (24th) and 357.8 yards per game (20th). With all of these statistics in mind, I don't think we should be talking about how Tebow is a savior or how he's the scourge of the quarterback kingdom... I think we should be talking about how the Broncos team seems to be pulling victories out of thin air.

Kyle McQueen is a blog contributor for Gold Star Games, a one-stop-shop for tailgate gear and much more.