EBF
Footballguy
Players like Dalton, Cassel, Flacco, Freeman, and Bradford have been throwing the ball a lot more. Here is a pretty comprehensive list of current attempts/game averages for NFL starters:
Brees - 42.2
Flacco - 40.1
Brady - 40.0
Rivers - 39.1
Freeman - 37.8
McCoy - 37.2
Bradford - 36.7
Ryan - 36.4
Newton - 36.3
Roethlisberger - 35.4
Hasselbeck - 34.7
Sanchez - 33.8
Kolb - 32.4
Fitzpatrick - 32.3
Cutler - 31.4
Schaub - 30.7 (omitted last game due to injury)
Cassel - 29.9
A Smith - 26.2
Tebow - 23
Ever since Tebow took over the reigns, the Broncos have adopted what can only be described as an ultra conservative offensive approach. There are a lot of things you can read into these numbers. Different people will reach different conclusions. For me, these stats suggest that the Broncos feel their best chance to win games is to minimize the amount of times Tebow throws. His pass attempts per game are among the lowest in the league (if not the absolute lowest) and are trending downwards. Since his disastrous outing against Detroit, Tebow is only averaging 16 pass attempts per game.
Common sense would suggest that when you are a run-heavy offense that only turns to the passing game in very favorable situations, the quality of your quarterback's opportunities should be above average. So I don't know that you can directly compare Tebow's situation to that of players like Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, who are shouldering a much bigger percentage of their team's offensive responsibilities and throwing the ball in a wider variety of situations. Defenses who face competent quarterbacks like Ryan and Schaub have to account for the possibility of the pass. When defenses face Tebow, the pass is the least of their concerns. Less defensive attention = easier opportunities = inflated stats. That makes Tebow's poor passing numbers particularly troubling, IMO. He can't even thrive when they limit his passing responsibilities to a handful of favorable situations.
The Broncos seem to feel that their best chance to win games is to minimize Tebow's passing attempts, and I think that says something about their opinion of his quarterbacking skills. You can chalk it up to inexperience (and it's entirely possible that he'll improve in time), but even rookies like Ponder, Dalton, and Newton are averaging significantly more attempts per game. The only guy who's close to Tebow is Gabbert, and he's looked epically bad in his own right.
My hunch is that teams will figure out how to slow down Denver's running game. Then it will be up to Tebow's arm to win games. Judging by what we've seen so far, I'm not optimistic about his ability to deliver. I expect this team to falter down the stretch and fade out of the playoff race. I think Tebow's early win-loss success is more of a fluke than an indicator of strong performance or some kind of inherent knack for "finding a way to win." You can get away with a poor offense when you're constantly playing teams that are struggling to score, but sooner or later shootouts will arise. That's where the real QBs earn their bucks and that's where I would expect Tebow to struggle immensely.
Brees - 42.2
Flacco - 40.1
Brady - 40.0
Rivers - 39.1
Freeman - 37.8
McCoy - 37.2
Bradford - 36.7
Ryan - 36.4
Newton - 36.3
Roethlisberger - 35.4
Hasselbeck - 34.7
Sanchez - 33.8
Kolb - 32.4
Fitzpatrick - 32.3
Cutler - 31.4
Schaub - 30.7 (omitted last game due to injury)
Cassel - 29.9
A Smith - 26.2
Tebow - 23
Ever since Tebow took over the reigns, the Broncos have adopted what can only be described as an ultra conservative offensive approach. There are a lot of things you can read into these numbers. Different people will reach different conclusions. For me, these stats suggest that the Broncos feel their best chance to win games is to minimize the amount of times Tebow throws. His pass attempts per game are among the lowest in the league (if not the absolute lowest) and are trending downwards. Since his disastrous outing against Detroit, Tebow is only averaging 16 pass attempts per game.
Common sense would suggest that when you are a run-heavy offense that only turns to the passing game in very favorable situations, the quality of your quarterback's opportunities should be above average. So I don't know that you can directly compare Tebow's situation to that of players like Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, who are shouldering a much bigger percentage of their team's offensive responsibilities and throwing the ball in a wider variety of situations. Defenses who face competent quarterbacks like Ryan and Schaub have to account for the possibility of the pass. When defenses face Tebow, the pass is the least of their concerns. Less defensive attention = easier opportunities = inflated stats. That makes Tebow's poor passing numbers particularly troubling, IMO. He can't even thrive when they limit his passing responsibilities to a handful of favorable situations.
The Broncos seem to feel that their best chance to win games is to minimize Tebow's passing attempts, and I think that says something about their opinion of his quarterbacking skills. You can chalk it up to inexperience (and it's entirely possible that he'll improve in time), but even rookies like Ponder, Dalton, and Newton are averaging significantly more attempts per game. The only guy who's close to Tebow is Gabbert, and he's looked epically bad in his own right.
My hunch is that teams will figure out how to slow down Denver's running game. Then it will be up to Tebow's arm to win games. Judging by what we've seen so far, I'm not optimistic about his ability to deliver. I expect this team to falter down the stretch and fade out of the playoff race. I think Tebow's early win-loss success is more of a fluke than an indicator of strong performance or some kind of inherent knack for "finding a way to win." You can get away with a poor offense when you're constantly playing teams that are struggling to score, but sooner or later shootouts will arise. That's where the real QBs earn their bucks and that's where I would expect Tebow to struggle immensely.
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miracle! -QG
