This will no doubt infuriate an already incensed Brian, but I must take a moment to commend and congratulate the great Tim Tebow on the Broncos exciting 29-23 victory over the Steelers yesterday in Denver.
No he's not a very good quarterback, in fact his ineptitude can at times be maddening but Sunday evening saw little Timmy grow up and start to become a quarterback at the NFL level. No small feat for a guy who can barely throw a spiral.
But that's what I love about him. I could do without the squeaky clean image. I've always preferred my athletes to be wildly talented, severely flawed people like Mickey Mantle or Tiger Woods.
The massive hype is also off-putting, but ESPN does that with anything and everything. they dictate the story and when the public is weary of the praise or criticism we become a fractured mass that's very upset both for and against the subject matter.
But I just can't get enough of a quarterback who comes out and gives a big ol' middle finger to the NFL establishment.
Analysts, former players, general managers, coaches, just about everyone involved with "the league" is always quick to point out that it's a different game and not everyone translates to the NFL.
I say bollocks. It's football. The defenses are a bit more complicated, the players are bigger, faster and stronger and the offensive playbooks are massive (often I think simply for the sake of being massive) but at the heart it's still just football despite what pigskin elitists would have us believe.
Once in a while a player comes along like Tebow or Michael Vick (before he learned to play QB) and they just win and do it in ways which are tough to rationalize. It makes even the most erudite of NFL coaches scratch their heads and go, "gee whiz I don't know. I guess we'll get him next time."
Guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are wonderful to watch. The sheer precision and dominance shown by their units is difficult to fully comprehend. So too however is the mediocrity and struggles of the Broncos' talented but often inept crew.
My man Eddie Royal can rush, catch, return punts and come down with jump ball touchdowns despite being the smallest guy on the field. Demaryius Thomas is a super freak with speed to burn and a stiff arm like the Heisman trophy. Eric Decker is tough as nails when he isn't getting his knee blown up like yesterday.
The Broncos' defense is dominant. That's all you really need to know.
So there is no shame in losing to such a talented team Pittsburgh, I mean that genuinely. You suited up the few healthy bodies you had on defense and sent the big gimp out at QB and he didn't quite have it. A healthy Pitt squad would not have lost.
That said, winners play on and the best teams do not always win in the NFL playoffs. I guess that's the magic of it? I haven't entirely figured it out as I still don't like the NFL.
But I do like Tim Tebow and that magic is easy to decipher.
