Tebow had played awful for 7½ quarters, getting sacked 13 times and throwing everywhere it seemed but to his receivers. So, the Broncos decided to quit trying to turn Tebow into a prototypical pro passer and instead modified their offense to fit Tebow’s unique skill set.

They all but dusted off the Dead Sea Scrolls in bringing back the option to the NFL, a style that made Tebow the best combination quarterback in NCAA history while at Florida.

In back-to-back wins at Oakland and Kansas City — something even Elway never accomplished — Tebow operated an offense that ran the ball 93 times and threw it 30. The Broncos gained 543 yards on the ground and 182 through the air.

Tebow completed just two passes against the Chiefs, but one was a 56-yard strike to Eric Decker for the winning score as the Broncos (4-5) climbed within a game of the Raiders in the AFC West.

Fox told NFL.com this week that if Tebow were running a conventional offense “he’d be screwed.”

Asked about that comment Wednesday, Fox backtracked: “I think at the time we were watching the second half of the Detroit game and the point was that him or any other quarterback in that situation, down 24-3, is not enviable and is not a good spot to be in. There’s a lot of different ways to put it.

“Or any game that you’re one-dimensional and you have to throw the ball 30 times in a half and the other team knows it, it’s not good.”

On the other hand, running the ball 30 times in a half would suit Fox just fine.

“This week is going to be about stopping the run,” said Rex Ryan, whose New York Jets (5-4) visit Denver for a Thursday night game just four days after an emotional loss to New England. “Obviously going against Denver, their priority is to run the football. You have to stop it or you don’t have to worry about playing pass defense or rushing the passer because they won’t throw it.”

Ryan’s extensive college coaching resume early in his career gives him lots of experience in defending the option, as does his time with Brad Smith operating the wildcat for the Jets. So he tapped into that know-how during the short work week.

Since Tebow supplanted Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback, the Broncos have rushed for an NFL-high 915 yards and moved up from 23rd in the league in rushing to second. Tebow has gained 283 of those yards.

The Broncos ran the ball 87 percent of the time at Kansas City last weekend even though their top two tailbacks, Willis McGahee (left hamstring) and Knowshon Moreno (right knee), got hurt in the first quarter.

“This past game was really interesting,” Ryan said. “They only put the ball up in the air eight times, but that’s all they needed to do. They were able to move the ball really effectively on the ground. The 55 rushing attempts, I think any true football fan appreciates that kind of style of play.

The Broncos’ offense that likes to do little else but run, run, run and run will have to do it without one of its top runners. Former first-round draft pick Knowshon Moreno’s season is over after the tailback suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament Sunday at Kansas City, coach John Fox said Monday.

To fill Moreno’s roster spot, the Broncos signed running back Jeremiah Johnson off their practice squad.

In their ideal scenario, the Broncos will go into Thursday night’s home game against the New York Jets with starter Willis McGahee, backup Lance Ball and Johnson.

But McGahee’s status remains tenuous because of a hamstring injury he suffered early in the first quarter of the Broncos’ 17-10 victory over the Chiefs. McGahee, who is expected to practice today, was cleared to return to Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium but was held out in hopes that rest would help ensure a full recovery in time for him to play against the Jets.

“He’s a guy we’d like to have healthy Thursday night,” Fox said of McGahee.

And no wonder. McGahee has been among the NFL’s best rushers, averaging more than 100 yards per start before he was injured Sunday. The Broncos fared just fine without McGahee and Mo-reno against Kansas City. Ball rushed 30 times for 96 yards — a big part of the team’s total of 244 yards.

The shuffled tailback rotation will do little to change the run-first mentality, at least until an opposing defense finds a way to force the Broncos to pass, something neither the Raiders nor Chiefs could do in the past two games. The Broncos have averaged 40.7 rushes and only 24 passing attempts in the four games Tim Tebow has been their starting QB.

“We were looking for balance. We might have gone a little over the other edge,” Fox said, laughing.

The knee injury is a major setback for Moreno, the No. 12 pick in the 2009 draft who has struggled to stay healthy. He didn’t play in two games in September because of

a hamstring injury and had been used primarily as a third-down back. He gained only 179 yards on 37 carries this season. But he was showing flashes Sunday of the potential he showed during his college days at Georgia, particularly when he hurdled Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers during a 24-yard run.

“He had that hamstring early in the season and battled back from that, and was getting back into the groove,” Fox said. “He was having a really, really good day (at Kansas City). It’s unfortunate. But he’s tough-minded and will battle back from this.”

Johnson is in his second year in the NFL but has yet to record a rushing attempt. He spent one week on the Broncos’ active roster in mid-September, playing on special teams against Cincinnati.

But in his role as the scout team tailback, he has impressed Denver teammates and earned the trust of the coaching staff.

“The upside with Jeremiah is he’s been with us,” Fox said. “He knows the nomenclature, he knows the teammates. He’s given our defense a real good look and been helpful in getting us better against the run.”

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com

---

Tale of the tailbacks

A look at the Broncos’ running backs heading into Thursday night’s home game against the New York Jets:

• Knowshon Moreno: Suffered season-ending knee injury Sunday in 17-10 win at Kansas City.

• Willis McGahee: Broncos’ leading rusher suffered hamstring injury against the Chiefs and didn’t play after the first quarter. Coach John Fox hopeful he will be good to to go Thursday.

• Lance Ball: Career backup gained 96 yards Sunday. Gets his first NFL start if McGahee is out.

• Jeremiah Johnson: Signed off practice squad Monday to take Moreno’s spot on active roster.

More inaction for Moreno

Knowshon Moreno’s season-ending knee injury, suffered Sunday at Kansas City, is the latest disappointment in his Broncos career:

• 2009 — Moreno, a first-round draft pick from Georgia, missed the start of his first training camp because of a contract holdout. Then he suffered a sprained knee during the first quarter of his first preseason game. The tailback missed the remainder of the preseason.

• 2010 — Moreno suffered a significant hamstring injury to each leg. The first injury happened on the first day of training camp, forcing Moreno to again miss an entire preseason. The other injury kept him out of three games during the first half of the season.

• 2011 — Moreno suffered a strained hamstring in the season opener at Oakland and the injury kept him out of the Week 2 game against Cincinnati. He dressed, but didn’t play, the next week at Tennessee.

Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post

Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson spent the last couple of days studying video of the Denver Broncos offense and initially had a difficult time remembering the last time he played against an opponent that ran so much option.

“It would be in college,” Johnson finally said. “That’s definitely a college game plan when you do so much option.”

Johnson and the Chiefs can expect to see a lot of the option on Sunday when the Broncos play at Arrowhead Stadium in the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The Broncos changed much of what they do on offense since replacing former starting quarterback Kyle Orton with Tim Tebow three weeks ago.

“He may not have the traditional way (of) standing in the pocket and delivering certain (passes),” Johnson said. “But as long as you win, it doesn’t really matter.”

The Broncos are doing that with Tebow. After starting the season 1-4, the Broncos have won two of their last three games and are just a game behind the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers in the AFC West race.

Tebow is having problems when he passes. He is completing just 46 percent of his attempts, which is well below the league average of 60 percent.

But the Broncos ran for almost 200 yards in two of their last three games and then nearly hit 300 in last week’s win over Oakland. Tebow had more than 100 rushing yards against the Raiders.

“They’re finding an identity and that identity is running the football for a lot of yards,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “When you have a quarterback that can run the ball the way that Tim does, it creates major issues for defenses … essentially (the Broncos) gain an extra offensive player in the run game. When that player is your quarterback and can throw the football, it becomes different than just some of the wildcats and things we see.

“The difference is that generally, the guys running the wildcat aren’t the quarterback. (The Broncos) have the quarterback running the option, which then makes it a triple threat with the running back running, (Tebow) running or him throwing.”

The Chiefs this week in practice are having not only backup quarterback Tyler Palko, like Tebow a left-hander, plays as the Denver quarterback. They’re also using backup wide receiver Jerheme Urban, who isn’t as big as Tebow but a nifty open-field runner.

Urban was a sprinter for his college track team.

The Broncos aren’t exclusively an option team. They also do some conventional things on offense.

But to accommodate Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Florida and one of Denver’s first-round picks last year, the Broncos had to do some things in line with his abilities. The option is one.

“It’s something (Tebow) is more comfortable with, he has a lot of background in it, he’s got a lot of confidence in it,” said Denver coach John Fox, formerly with the Carolina Panthers. “We’re asking a lot, not just of Tim, but our entire offense, the coaching staff, everybody involved. We’ve kind of grown it as we’ve grown with Tim.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the NFC South and we competed against the Atlanta Falcons when they had Michael Vick. Call it what you like, it was that quarterback having the ability to run that creates havoc on defenses because they don’t count that guy as a runner. It’s kind of been done but maybe not to the exact level where we’re kind of at right now.”

Fox would prefer to see the Broncos crank up their passing game. They have 125 passing yards or fewer in each of Tebow’s starts.

“There is no question that we are looking for balance in the run and the pass,” he said. “We’re probably leaning a little bit more on the run right now. We have to improve in the pass game because in this league, you have to be two-dimensional, not one-dimensional, and it’s something that I’m sure he’ll grow, we’ll grow, in time.”

Veteran running back Willis McGahee resurrected his career this season. He’s one of the AFC’s leading rushers and has picked up many of his yards since Tebow took over at quarterbacks.

But even he believes the Broncos are in trouble if they don’t improve their passing game.

“I think (the option) can be something that can help us going forward, but we have to do some other things like getting the ball to receivers,” he said.

The point could be moot for the Chiefs on Sunday if they don’t stop Tebow as a runner. The Broncos scored 38 points against the Raiders last week even though they did little of their damage with passes.

“You’ve got to be even more spot on because this is a guy that can beat you in the running game,” Johnson said. “He’s a heck of a running back when he decides to run the ball.

“I’ve seen some 260-, 270-pound guys hit this guy and he’s just shrugging them off. He has some wiggle to him, too. He’s hard to defend. He gets a lot of (criticism) for not being accurate here and there, but he just poses a lot of problems.”

Studesville arrived at Orchard Park, N.Y., as his position coach in 2004 and helped jump-start McGahee’s career.

“To see a guy walk in and want to work and not look for an excuse and not look for an easy way out and not want any kind of handout, but just work, I was impressed with that from the first moment I was around him,” Studesville said. “And that hasn’t changed. He does the same things today that I saw back in 2004 when I first walked into the Bills building.”

Some things he even does better.

McGahee’s longest run that first season was 41 yards.

On Sunday, just two weeks after blowing out 30 candles on his birthday cake and 10 days removed from surgery on his broken right hand, McGahee reeled off a 60-yard touchdown run in a win at Oakland, where his 163 yards rushing were four shy of his career high.

“He’s pretty good when he’s not 100 percent, too,” quarterback Tim Tebow said. “It’s great. He’s someone that comes in every day and works extremely hard. He’s such a competitor in the games, and it’s huge having him on our team. He’s a great asset.”

After watching his workload diminish each of the last three seasons as Ray Rice’s backup in Baltimore, McGahee is on pace to gain 1,246 yards, which would be one yard shy of his career high set in 2005.

He’s doing all this heavy lifting with a chip on his shoulder, too.

“I’m pretty sure there were teams out there saying I can’t run the ball and I’m getting older,” McGahee said of his foray into free agency last summer.

The Broncos weren’t one of them.

Studesville, who had been retained by new coach John Fox to tutor the tailbacks, went to management and suggested they sign McGahee, with whom he had spent three seasons in Buffalo.

“I feel like he’s still got a lot left in him and he would be a good person to bring here based on who he is and what he brings, his work ethic, his toughness, his physical run play,” Studesville recalled telling his bosses.

“He was my No. 1 choice to bring here in free agency,” Studesville said. “I thought he was the best fit for us. Willis was THE guy I wanted.”

The big, ninth-year running back was eager to work with Studesville again, too, and envisioned lots of carries in Fox’s run-oriented offense.

“There were (other) suitors,” McGahee said. “But I was going to come to Denver regardless just because of Coach Eric and Coach Fox.”

The Broncos felt that even though his number of carries had steadily declined in Baltimore, McGahee certainly hadn’t.

“He did have a lot of hits taken off of him from two years ago, but he was a guy that we thought still had value,” Fox said. “It took us a while to get him into the offense where he was feeling comfortable.”

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—Denver Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville
wasn’t sure what to expect when he first laid eyes on Willis McGahee(notes) seven years
ago.

Selected in the first round of the 2003 draft by the Buffalo Bills, McGahee
sat out his first pro season while recovering from a serious knee injury that
occurred in his final game at the University of Miami.

Studesville arrived at Orchard Park, N.Y., as his position coach in 2004 and
helped jump-start McGahee’s career.

“To see a guy walk in and want to work and not look for an excuse and not
look for an easy way out and not want any kind of handout, but just work, I was
impressed with that from the first moment I was around him,” Studesville said.
“And that hasn’t changed. He does the same things today that I saw back in 2004
when I first walked into the Bills building.”

Some things he even does better.

McGahee’s longest run that first season was 41 yards.

On Sunday, just two weeks after blowing out 30 candles on his birthday cake
and 10 days removed from surgery on his broken right hand, McGahee reeled off a
60-yard touchdown run in a win at Oakland, where his 163 yards rushing were four
shy of his career high.

“He’s pretty good when he’s not 100 percent, too,” quarterback Tim Tebow(notes)
said. “It’s great. He’s someone that comes in every day and works extremely
hard. He’s such a competitor in the games, and it’s huge having him on our team.
He’s a great asset.”

After watching his workload diminish each of the last three seasons as Ray
Rice’s(notes) backup in Baltimore, McGahee is on pace to gain 1,246 yards, which would
be one yard shy of his career high set in 2005.

He’s doing all this heavy lifting with a chip on his shoulder, too.

“I’m pretty sure there were teams out there saying I can’t run the ball and
I’m getting older,” McGahee said of his foray into free agency last summer.

The Broncos weren’t one of them.

Studesville, who had been retained by new coach John Fox to tutor the
tailbacks, went to management and suggested they sign McGahee, with whom he had
spent three seasons in Buffalo.

“I feel like he’s still got a lot left in him and he would be a good person
to bring here based on who he is and what he brings, his work ethic, his
toughness, his physical run play,” Studesville recalled telling his bosses.

“He was my No. 1 choice to bring here in free agency,” Studesville said.
“I thought he was the best fit for us. Willis was THE guy I wanted.”

The big, ninth-year running back was eager to work with Studesville again,
too, and envisioned lots of carries in Fox’s run-oriented offense.

“There were (other) suitors,” McGahee said. “But I was going to come to
Denver regardless just because of Coach Eric and Coach Fox.”

The Broncos felt that even though his number of carries had steadily
declined in Baltimore, McGahee certainly hadn’t.

“He did have a lot of hits taken off of him from two years ago, but he was
a guy that we thought still had value,” Fox said. “It took us a while to get
him into the offense where he was feeling comfortable.”

Without an offseason to get accustomed to his new offensive line, McGahee
got off to a slow start in Denver, rushing just four times for 3 yards in his
Denver debut, a 23-20 loss to Oakland in the opener.

Knowshon Moreno(notes) pulled a hamstring that night, and it was just the opening
McGahee needed.

He took over as the starter and has posted four 100-yard games in six
starts.

On his 60-yard scamper into the end zone, McGahee turned on the afterburners
that surely shocked many around the league, and he wasn’t even touched on a
24-yard touchdown sprint up the middle that sealed Denver’s 38-24 win over the
Raiders and made the Broncos (3-5) relevant again in the middling AFC West.

“He’s still obviously got top-end speed still,” Studesville said, pointing
to McGahee’s 77-yard touchdown runs in 2008 and `09.

His longest run last year was a 30-yard TD.

“Always had it,” McGahee said. “It never went anywhere. Just needed the
opportunity.”

At this season’s halfway point, McGahee’s 123 rushes for 623 yards are
higher totals than he posted in each of his last two full seasons.

Against the Raiders, the Broncos broke out the read-option offense that made
Tebow so successful at the University of Florida and both men benefited,
combining for 281 yards on the ground.

That’s the kind of toughness in the run game that’s been largely absent at
Dove Valley since Mike Shanahan and Peyton Hillis(notes) were still together in Denver.

By putting the ball in McGahee’s belly and then deciding whether to hand it
off or keep it and run it himself, Tebow looked like he was running the Gators’
offense once again. And the results were similar, too.

“I’ve never coached it before, so we’re kind of learning this thing
together, all of us,” Studesville said.

“It’s cool,” McGahee said. “I’m having fun with it. It’s all good.”

McGahee was part of a pro-style offense at Miami but now is part of an NFL
offense that’s borrowing heavily from the college ranks.

“It’s not an option offense. It’s still a pro-style offense,” McGahee
insisted, but then added: “Whatever it takes to win. If that’s what we got to
do, then we’re going to do it.”

Studesville enjoys having the gregarious, witty McGahee in the meeting room
again.

“Oh yeah, he’s got great personality. The interesting thing about him, this
is a guy who early on in his career certainly could have had reasons to have his
head down like he got the short end of the stick because of a bad break,”
Studesville said. “It’s never been like that. I’ve never, ever seen him like
that.

“He’s fun to be around, the guys like him. He is challenging now. He
challenges everybody, me included. And everyone’s fair game for comments and
jokes and those things but then when it’s time to work, he works and you can
really respect that he brings that to the table.”

AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton can be reached at
astapleton(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Tim Tebow is not a prototypical NFL passer and may never become one. So, the Denver Broncos used an unorthodox approach with their unconventional quarterback.

The Broncos confounded the Oakland Raiders with the same system that Tebow operated so successfully at the University of Florida: the read-option run strategy.

The result was his second win in three starts despite another up-and-down passing performance and a firmer grip on the starting job that seemed headed Brady Quinn’s way.

By putting the ball in Willis McGahee’s belly and then deciding whether to hand it off or keep it and run it himself, Tebow looked like he was running the Gators’ offence once again. And the results were similar, too.

Tebow threw two TD passes and ran for 117 yards, McGahee added 163 yards rushing and two more scores in the Broncos’ 38-24 win that shook up the middling AFC West, where Denver — yes, Denver — is just one game out of first place behind a pileup of three 4-4 teams.

“I was telling the guys it’s crazy because if we were in the AFC North, none of this would be going on and we wouldn’t be having a discussion about being one game out of it,” McGahee said. “The thing about it is, we’re in the AFC West, and the tables can turn either way.”

Especially with Tebow running around like he’s back in college.

“As I’ve said all along, we’re trying to put guys in positions where they can succeed. In his particular case, it’s something he’s more comfortable with, he has a lot of background in it, he’s got a lot of confidence in it,” coach John Fox said Monday. “We’re asking a lot, not just of Tim, but our entire offence, the coaching staff, everybody involved. We’ve kind of grown it as we’ve grown with Tim.”

Denver’s 298 yards on the ground were the fourth-highest total in team history and the most since 2000. Tebow became the 16th NFL quarterback since 1950 to rush for 100 yards and McGahee had his second-highest rushing total of his career.

But is this strategy sustainable?

“I mean, it can be something that can help us going forward, but we’ve got to do some other things like getting the ball to the receivers, we’ve got to get more passes,” McGahee said. “It’s good to run the ball. I’m a running back, I shouldn’t be saying this, but there’s going to be times where we need to pass.”

After all, Tebow was hit 17 times overall Sunday and sported a split lip afterward.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the NFC South, and we competed against the Atlanta Falcons when they had Michael Vick,” Fox said. “Call it what you like, it was that quarterback having the ability to run that creates havoc on defences because they don’t count that guy as a runner.

“Whether it’s taking off or not, they led the league in rushing for about four straight years, and Michael had a lot to do with that. He’s grown as a passer. He’s in the West Coast Offence now, but he’s made some things happen in the Philadelphia Eagle offence, and that’s just the nature of his abilities. It’s kind of been done, but maybe not to the exact level where we’re kind of at right now.”

Vick also has paid a heavy price for his running style, sustaining a broken leg early in his career and a concussion this season.

Just last week, Fox was talking about how the spread offences so popular in college don’t translate well to the NFL, saying teams make a big investment at quarterback and are “leery of when he runs. It’s a bigger, stronger, faster league and the body types that play quarterback aren’t running back type builds and I think sometimes that’s hard to hold up for a season.”

Asked about his concern for Tebow’s health on Monday, Fox said: “Any time they cross that line, they are exposing themselves. It doesn’t matter what position. I have concern for all of them; obviously quarterback being one of them.”

Tebow has taken big hits in the pocket, too, with 15 sacks in his three starts. The Broncos figure they’ll play to his strengths as much as they can while seeing if he’s their quarterback of the future.

He had runs of 32, 28, 19, 12 and 12 yards while operating the read-option, where he would put the ball in McGahee’s belly and ride him for a step or two before deciding whether to let go for a run up the middle or pull the ball back and take the ball around the end himself.

“He’s reading the end man on the line of scrimmage whether it’s a D-end, a linebacker, a safety, whoever’s that free guy,” Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry said. “And the running back’s reading the linebackers. Whether he gets the ball or not, he knows where he’s going with it.

“I just feel like there’s some plays that just got out of our hands that we didn’t make the same read. We weren’t on the same page as Tebow was.”

McGahee acknowledged he wasn’t a fan of the run-option at first “until I figured out how to run it. .. When I realized it was working, I kind of got back in love with the read-option.”

Tebow also threw touchdown passes of 27 yards to Eric Decker and 26 yards to Eddie Royal, but he has yet to complete more than half of his passes.

In 3 1/2 games, Tebow has completed 45 of 97 passes (46 per cent) for 536 yards with six TDs and one interception.

“I think it was better,” Fox said of Tebow’s throwing. “I don’t know if it was light years better at this stage, but again, typically growth takes time. We’re in the process.”

Tim Tebow is not a prototypical NFL passer and may never become one. So, the Denver Broncos used an unorthodox approach with their unconventional quarterback. The Broncos confounded the Oakland Raiders with the same system that Tebow operated so successfully at the University of Florida: the read-option run strategy. The result was his second win in three starts despite another up-and-down passing performance and a firmer grip on the starting job that seemed headed Brady Quinn’s way. By putting the ball in Willis McGahee’s belly and then deciding whether to hand it off or keep it and run it himself, Tebow looked like he was running the Gators’ offense once again. And the results were similar, too. Tebow threw two TD passes and ran for 117 yards, McGahee added 163 yards rushing and two more scores in the Broncos’ 38-24 win that shook up the middling AFC West, where Denver — yes, Denver — is just one game out of first place behind a pileup of three 4-4 teams. “I was telling the guys it’s crazy because if we were in the AFC North, none of this would be going on and we wouldn’t be having a discussion about being one game out of it,” McGahee said. “The thing about it is, we’re in the AFC West, and the tables can turn either way.” Especially with Tebow running around like he’s back in college. “As I’ve said all along, we’re trying to put guys in positions where they can succeed. In his particular case, it’s something he’s more comfortable with, he has a lot of background in it, he’s got a lot of confidence in it,” coach John Fox said Monday. “We’re asking a lot, not just of Tim, but our entire offense, the coaching staff, everybody involved. We’ve kind of grown it as we’ve grown with Tim.” Denver’s 298 yards on the ground were the fourth-highest total in team history and the most since 2000. Tebow became the 16th NFL quarterback since 1950 to rush for 100 yards and McGahee had his second-highest rushing total of his career. But is this strategy sustainable? “I mean, it can be something that can help us going forward, but we’ve got to do some other things like getting the ball to the receivers, we’ve got to get more passes,” McGahee said. “It’s good to run the ball. I’m a running back, I shouldn’t be saying this, but there’s going to be times where we need to pass.” After all, Tebow was hit 17 times overall Sunday and sported a split lip afterward. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the NFC South, and we competed against the Atlanta Falcons when they had Michael Vick,” Fox said. “Call it what you like, it was that quarterback having the ability to run that creates havoc on defenses because they don’t count that guy as a runner. “Whether it’s taking off or not, they led the league in rushing for about four straight years, and Michael had a lot to do with that. He’s grown as a passer. He’s in the West Coast Offense now, but he’s made some things happen in the Philadelphia Eagle offense, and that’s just the nature of his abilities. It’s kind of been done, but maybe not to the exact level where we’re kind of at right now.” Vick also has paid a heavy price for his running style, sustaining a broken leg early in his career and a concussion this season. Just last week, Fox was talking about how the spread offenses so popular in college don’t translate well to the NFL, saying teams make a big investment at quarterback and are “leery of when he runs. It’s a bigger, stronger, faster league and the body types that play quarterback aren’t running back type builds and I think sometimes that’s hard to hold up for a season.” Asked about his concern for Tebow’s health on Monday, Fox said: “Any time they cross that line, they are exposing themselves. It doesn’t matter what position. I have concern for all of them; obviously quarterback being one of them.” Tebow has taken big hits in the pocket, too, with 15 sacks in his three starts. The Broncos figure they’ll play to his strengths as much as they can while seeing if he’s their quarterback of the future. He had runs of 32, 28, 19, 12 and 12 yards while operating the read-option, where he would put the ball in McGahee’s belly and ride him for a step or two before deciding whether to let go for a run up the middle or pull the ball back and take the ball around the end himself. “He’s reading the end man on the line of scrimmage whether it’s a D-end, a linebacker, a safety, whoever’s that free guy,” Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry said. “And the running back’s reading the linebackers. Whether he gets the ball or not, he knows where he’s going with it. “I just feel like there’s some plays that just got out of our hands that we didn’t make the same read. We weren’t on the same page as Tebow was.” McGahee acknowledged he wasn’t a fan of the run-option at first “until I figured out how to run it. .. When I realized it was working, I kind of got back in love with the read-option.” Tebow also threw touchdown passes of 27 yards to Eric Decker and 26 yards to Eddie Royal, but he has yet to complete more than half of his passes. In 3 1/2 games, Tebow has completed 45 of 97 passes (46 percent) for 536 yards with six TDs and one interception. “I think it was better,” Fox said of Tebow’s throwing. “I don’t know if it was light years better at this stage, but again, typically growth takes time. We’re in the process.”

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow continues to be the most contentious player in the NFL.

ESPN’s talking heads were in full force to discuss Tebow’s performance on Sunday, as some made it seem as though he doesn’t deserve to take another snap in his career, while others seem to believe Denver (2-5) have to ride him out no matter how he plays.

The former Heisman Trophy winner gave a poor effort against the Detroit Lions, and his subpar statistics don’t tell the whole story of how Tebow struggled in Sunday’s humiliating home loss, 45-10.

Tebow completed 18 passes on 39 attempts, for 172 yards, and threw one touchdown pass and one interception. The touchdown pass came in the fourth quarter, with Detroit leading, 45-3. Receiver Eric Decker did a great deal of the work, as he took the short pass and made some clever moves to escape defenders to find his way into the end zone.

In the third quarter, Tebow was stripped and it led to Lions’ defensive end Cliff Avril recovering the fumble and taking it the other way for a touchdown. In the fourth, Tebow threw an interception that was clearly read by cornerback Chris Houston, who took it the length of the field for a 100-yard touchdown return. Tebow was also sacked seven times.

Like us on Facebook

Tebow is capable of making brilliant plays, which is why he has a base of supporters in Denver. Many of those same fans are aware that the chances of the Broncos making the playoffs to start the season were slim, so they’re resting their hopes on next season, and want to see what the team can get out of the 2010 first-round pick.

However, the same fans who may have chanted for Tebow to be put in the game when Kyle Orton had struggles of his own, may have exaggerated Tebow’s potential.

Aside from a 21-yard run against the hapless Miami Dolphins, Tebow has failed to display the creative runs that many have come to expect. Denver’s comeback performance behind Tebow against Miami probably wouldn’t have happened if Tebow had not failed to move the ball for so much of the game, a point he conceded himself.

Denver trailed 15-0 with 5:23 and Tebow had only completed four passes on 14 attempts for 40 yards, and hadn’t converted a third down the entire game.

“It was my fault we were in that position,” Tebow said. “Silly things kept happening. On the sidelines, we were still believing. We wanted it, and they believed in me for more than 60 minutes.” 

Tebow was able to lead the Broncos to an overtime victory against the Dolphins, but against a more formidable challenger, the Lions, it was a different story. He often looked like the inexperienced quarterback he is, and the Lions seemed to be very prepared for him.

Head coach John Fox is sticking with Tebow, though he didn’t exactly give the former Florida star a ringing endorsement when asked if he would remain the starter.

“For this week, yes,” Fox said. 

Things won’t get easier for Tebow. He has two road games coming up against the Raiders and Chiefs. If Tebow fails to spark the offense, Orton will probably be back under center in Week 10.

Unlike Orton, Tebow hasn’t had the services of Brandon Lloyd, the Pro Bowl wide receiver who was traded at the deadline. The Broncos are not exactly loaded with depth at wide receiver, either.

For now, Tebow needs to be cut some slack. He’s probably not as far into his career as he should be, and needs to develop a quicker release in the offseason. He also needs to do a better job of reading opposing defenses.

But Tebow is still a good scrambler, and still hungry to learn and succeed. Those are qualities that the rebuilding Broncos shouldn’t be quick to give up on.