Tebows epic win

If you haven't heard or aren't familiar with football, or perhaps look back at this some time later, Tim Tebow had an Epic/Historic win the other night.

Selected by everyone to lose, given no chance and no hope, turned on seemingly by teammates and possibly his coaches, backed into a corner with no where to go.

Granted, he did have major shortcomings in the weeks loss before to the Kansas City Chiefs, the weeks before that he didn't so so well either. But in these cases, I think he was truly handicapped in what he was allowed to do and what he was willing to risk. I think he held back in a lot of regards not wanting to ruin his teams chance of winning.

But Sunday night, that all changed.
He was challenged by his VP of Operations, Hall of Famer QB John Elway to "pull the trigger".
And he did, in a huge way. He unleashed the kind of offense and QB passing numbers everyone didn't think he could put up. Against a Defense ranked #1 in all of the NFL. Against the defending AFC Champions. In a playoff game. He threw for 316 yds with his throws averaging 31.6yds a pass. for 2 TD's and one TD running with 50yds rushing as well. Everyone looked at the passing numbers and saw 316 aka John 3:16 his verse. Biblical significance or not, he also threw for 316yds in '09 in the Championship game vs Ohio State.

His throws were crisp, on point and fit in tight places that a Professional QB is expected to be able to throw in. There were some ducks that were thrown, some passes that weren't so hot, but he did what was needed to win throwing the ball.

Not to mention, he won the game in Overtime in 11 seconds with an 80yd TD pass which was a record in and of itself. Quickest OT game ever and with the new OT rules.

By the way, the other record he broke was John Elway's most passing yards in a playoff debut. When John was told this on the field by a reporter, he said "I love it, perfect". This, coming from a guy who was non-committal to his QB who won 6 in a row, who managed more wins in 5 games than his previous QB of 2yrs.

Tebow is unconventional. His throwing motion, his playing style, is all unconventional. Add to that his Faith, his outspokenness for the Gospel of Christ. His good character, his morals, his beliefs, his unwavering outspoken praise of Jesus. Even his drive and desire to win is unconventional. This overriding factor, that x Factor isn't enough to get even his toughest critics persuaded.

Even after all he has accomplished there are still critics. There are still haters. There are still people who wish to see his demise. I guess the press just needs a good subject matter with a big enough target to be able to try to hit. Hit as they may, this target doesn't return evil for evil. He takes full responsibility, is humble and continually tries to improve.

After each game, he takes the time to meet with a child through his foundation who may be terminally ill or severely ill. He says that no matter if he wins or loses, this is what truly matters and it does.

David's next Goliath is the Patriots. They already beat the Broncos a few weeks ago handily. Now, the Patriots have the coach who originally drafted Tebow on their staff to help them. Help as he may try, I'm not sure it will help as things have changed in a short amount of time. Their offense was totally overhauled by the new coach John Fox. The plays they are running are probably entirely different. Who knows, he may have some personnel insight but this team never performed like this when he was at the helm.

The Broncos are without several important starters due to injury (Safety Brian Dawkins and an Offensive lineman who broke his leg, possibly Eric Decker one of his favorite Wide Receivers). Now, they are playing at Foxboro (Pats home) this time around. Now, much more is at stake, a trip to the Conference Championships.

This time around, the Patriots are facing a resurgent Tim Tebow and a Broncos team with a little swagger in their step. Can Tebow unleash on the Pats like he did with the Steelers? That has yet to be seen. But, I do feel they have a better opportunity this time around. Given last weeks passing performance, that could open a lot of things - more passing, more running because they think he'll pass. Who knows. But if you give Tebow a second chance, you better hope you're prepared because he's a fast learner and a hard worker.

The Patriots are one of the top passing teams, but their defense is not good at all. If the Broncos can run the ball and sustain some long drives to run out the clock and keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands (one of the greatest QB's of all time and someone I like) they most certainly have a chance. The Patriots are coached by a great coach, are at home and have the experience in these situations. But, I still like the Broncos chance. Never count the underdog out, this one was 9pt underdogs last week at home!

Oh, the other thing this Epic win did from a few days ago, it sure quieted a lot of bashing and chatter around me. With that kind of performance, no one can say anything. Let's hope this weekend he does it again!

By the way, I was the only one who picked him to win against the Steelers in our Football Pool at work :o)