If a low-scoring, losing NFL team can’t find a way to get Tim Tebow in the game, then new coach John Fox is a stubborn goat so stuck in the 1970s and so hopelessly out of touch with his fan base that one might begin to wonder why the Broncos hired him in the first place.
All we’re saying is: Give Tebow a chance.
“I’m figuring out this team,” Fox said Monday, after his beat-up defense grudgingly surrendered 17 points to Tennessee, but Denver coaches weren’t innovative enough to find the end zone when it really mattered.
Fox doesn’t have it figured out? Really? That sounds like nonsense Josh McDaniels might have uttered after his third game in charge of an NFL franchise. But the excuse doesn’t fly for a veteran coach. This isn’t on-the-job training. They’re keeping score.
“We’re still learning about our team,” Fox said.
At the outset of the fourth quarter, as the Denver offense stood with a first down a scant 2 yards from the Tennessee end zone and eyed the opportunity to put away the Titans, I was wiping barbecue sauce from my chin in a sports bar 1,159 miles away from Nashville. A woman in a corner booth shouted at the television screen: “Put in Tebow!”
Fox obviously couldn’t hear the lady. Tebow watched helplessly on the sideline as Denver took four futile shots at a touchdown. There was one incomplete pass. Three straight runs inside the tackles. No points. No Tebow.
“Every play is a consideration,” Fox said. “When they work, you’re a genius. And when they don’t, you’re an idiot.”
Hey, John. We’ve got it figured out.
You don’t need to know an X from an O to see quarterback Kyle Orton owns a 6-19 record in his past 25 starts. Even a knucklehead like myself can understand Orton could use a little help in the red zone from Tebow. When ticket-buyers are far ahead of the coach on the learning curve, it’s probably a dangerous place for Fox to act like he knows best.
At 3.2 yards per rushing attempt, the Broncos rank 27th in a 32-team league. That’s a particularly discouraging statistic for a coach who built his tough reputation by running the rock.
Tebow might be a best-selling author who can’t read defenses. But, as a rookie, he averaged 5.3 yards on 43 carries. Tebow provides the best run option on this team. So why not make him part of the game plan?
With upcoming games against Green Bay and San Diego, both more talented than Denver, the Broncos could play well and still find themselves at 1-4 and residing in last place going into the bye week on their schedule. At that point, market forces would demand Tebow be given a shot, unless franchise owner Pat Bowlen wants a home crowd that’s less civil than guests on “The Jerry Springer Show.”
Please, Mr. Fox. I beg you. Throw Tebowmaniacs a bone before they begin ripping you to shreds. Fox has managed to keep an undermanned roster competitive in three games. But his conservative style looks boring in defeat.
“Believe it or not, we’re not trying to make it close. Sometimes, I get that label,” Fox said. “We’re not trying to make it close. We’re trying to win.”
OK, so this doesn’t have to become a middle-school stare down.
This is Fox’s team. He picks the quarterback. But what I don’t get is why a team lacking offensive firepower would leave a player with identifiable talent to rot on the sideline.
Even McDaniels was smart enough to realize the peeps needed a Tebow fix. Steal a page from the old Steelers playbook. Put Kordell Stewart on retainer to teach Tebow the secrets of being Slash. Why does this have to be hard?
It’s not only possible to employ Tebow in the offense without benching Orton as the starter; it’s imperative to let Tebow play a role to invigorate the offense before Orton gets run out of town.
It’s too early to make Tebow the starting quarterback.
All we’re saying is: A bad team needs its best talent on the field. To help the Broncos win, here’s betting Tebow would do anything, large or small, whether that’s running option in the red zone, throwing a block during the second quarter or dashing to pick up the tee after the opening kickoff. Give him a chance.
If Fox adamantly refuses to let Tebow touch the football in a game situation when a stiff arm by the Heisman Trophy winner might do the team some good, then he fails to grasp that the coach in an NFL city sick of losing also needs to be a savvy politician.
Be needlessly stubborn on this Tebow thing, and I’m afraid Fox might lose the trust of Broncomaniacs before he even has a fair chance to win them over.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
