1 » As quarterback Tim Tebow gets set for his first start of the 2011 season for the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23, everyone seems to have an opinion about how he’ll perform. Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer spoke to NFL.com about Tebow on Tuesday and said he is “really fired up for Timmy,” who he believes is capable of succeeding as long as he gets some help. “Will Tim be a success?” Meyer asked rhetorically. “The question is, will the Broncos be a success? That’s the question. Not so much Tim — will the Broncos improve their play where they can go win a game? […] I know one thing: A quarterback can only do so much. He’s a product of those around him. If everybody can play a little better, Denver could have a chance to win. Quarterbacks get far too much credit and far too much criticism. He needs to have those guys around him really step up their play as well.” Meyer had plenty more to say about Tebow, which you can read here.
2 » Tebow’s former teammate with the Gators and the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Maurkice Pouncey has all the faith in the world that his good friend can get it done against his twin brother’s team next Sunday. “Hopefully he goes out there and performs and kind of shuts everybody up,” Pouncey told The Florida Times-Union. Another former Florida player who played with Tebow last year in Denver, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, echoed Pouncey’s sentiments. “I don’t know how they’ll do as far as wins, but I can tell you they won’t be disappointed in him,” Gaffney told Sports Illustrated. “You won’t find a guy who’s going to work harder out there and compete any harder than Tim. Last year I got to play with him as a rookie, and I got to work out with him a couple times over this past offseason. I could just see in our workouts that he was a bit more poised over the offseason. He changed up his throwing a little bit, and he was getting rid of the ball a lot quicker and making some great throws. […] Man, that dude can make every throw out there. It may not always be pretty, but he can make every throw out there and he can throw just as far as any quarterback in the league.”
3 » Asked to motivate Tebow by the hosts of ESPN‘s SportsNation, professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan cut a promo on the show and tore a No. 15 Broncos jersey in half. You can check out a video of it below.
Three more BITS on Tim Tebow (including three videos)…after the break!
4 » Not everyone agrees that Tebow will succeed. Former NFL head coach Brian Billick, who is now an analyst with FOX and NFL Network, thinks Tebow has football talent but not enough to consistently win in the league. “I don’t believe, and I haven’t seen anything in him yet to recognize that he can develop to that level,” he told Sports Illustrated. “He can do some unique things. But to go back to the original supposition, can you win a championship with his skill set? I’m old, and I’m an old man, but until someone does it, I’m saying no. […] The analogy everyone’s making is, and everyone’s getting all hot and bothered about it, ‘Well, look what Cam Newton’s doing. Just give Tebow a chance and he’ll do that too,’ [Baloney]. I’ve seen Cam Newton. Cam Newton can throw. Now, can he evolve into that championship-type quarterback? We’ll find out. But at the heart of it, this guy can throw. We don’t know if Tim Tebow can throw.”
5 » Legendary Denver QB John Elway, now executive vice president of the Broncos, recently spoke with NFL Network about Tebow and what he is hoping to see from him going forward this season. “John [Fox] decided to make the move and see what Tebow could do for us,” Elway said. “It’s just a matter of him going out and doing the best he can. He adds that spark, he’s got great intangibles, he’s a great competitor, and I think this is going be a growing process for him.” He also spoke about helping Tebow make a transition to more of a pocket passer. “I think it’s going to come with time,” he said. “Timmy’s got that work ethic to get better. We’ve seen tremendous improvement this year compared to last year in his ability to throw the football and his accuracy. We expect that just to continue to get better and better. Obviously when we have an offseason this next year, I’ll be able to spend some more time with him.”
6 » ESPN, of course, has been all about Tebow since the very beginning and their talking heads have been debating whether or not he will succeed as a starter since the moment the decision was announced. Below are some videos from the network.
Merril Hoge on the decision to start Tebow after Denver’s bye week.
Antonio Pierce said he would rally behind Tebow if he was still a player.
Skip Bayless thinks the Broncos want Tebow to fail.
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