It was debated recently between Cris Carter and Skip Bayless about how much Tim Tebow actually inspires his team. You are around the team. Do you feel, and have you heard from individual players, that Tebow truly inspires the team? As a season ticket-holding fan, he inspires me.
-- Todd Mather, Oakley, Calif.
Todd - I heard a talk-show host who loathes Tebow, and has backed himself into an indefensible corner, say that a lot of players — particularly the wide receivers and tight ends and offensive linemen — don't want to play with Tebow. It's total ... I can't say the word I want to ... let me think ... malarkey (that's not strong enough). The players like Tebow; they are inspired by him; they want to play with him; they've witnessed what he can accomplish.
Let me give you one example: When Demaryius Thomas dropped passes, especially one big throw, in the Bears game, Tebow went over to him on the bench, put an arm around him and told Thomas not to worry, that he would make the game-winning catch and be the hero. It was not the game-winner, but Thomas caught the touchdown pass that allowed the Broncos to be in a position to win.
The offensive linemen like Tebow because they've become the aggressors, not the fortress. Instead of being on their heels all the time pass-blocking, they blast off and hit somebody. The defensive players like Tebow because they're off the field for longer periods of time (look at where the Broncos are among leaders in time of possession since Tebow took over).
Special team players have told me they love Tebow. The younger players especially like him because they've either come into the league with him, practiced with him (as backups) or because they want to be part of a winning team. Champ Bailey wants to be in the playoffs again. You think he and Brian Dawkins aren't loving Tebow for what's happening? The Tebow-haters have to find something new because he's proving he can play, he can win and he can get the Broncos to the playoffs. So they go for the players don't like playing with it. Malarkey.
I've talked to enough players to know, unlike radio fools, that this is a close-knit team now, a team that was in disarray at the beginning of the season. As I've written, they got rid of the only anti-Tebow player — Brandon Lloyd — and how's that working out for Lloyd? Trust me. If he had stayed, he would have caught big passes and gotten just as big a contract as a free agent. People know he can catch whether he was in St. Louis or Denver. It just amazes me how, when you've been proved wrong, you just continue to wallow in mud.
Todd, here's the biggest point of all that nobody, nobody, has talked or written about, and I was close to writing the column a week or so ago, and held off so I could talk to more players. The Broncos are a very strong Christian team. It's not just Tebow. The emphasis is his religious beliefs. But Brian Dawkins is just as faith-based as Tebow. Elvis Dumervil. Britton Colquitt. Willis McGahee. Demaryius Thomas made it clear when he was drafted about his religious commitment.
I would guess that 60 percent to 70 percent of the players, if not more, reflect America's core belief in God. This is not a religious discussion. This is just statement of fact. The players judge Tebow on his play as a quarterback, his leadership qualities, his personality and as a person and, even, his religious beliefs. One player told me that when a player needs help in his charity work, Tebow is his go-to guy, and Tebow always helps in some way.
The players see that every game Tebow hosts a kid who has a devastating disease. You don't think that doesn't affect them? They see how positive he is. He doesn't rip anybody. He's a guy who supports everyone around him. He reminds them all the time of how they can win the game in the fourth quarter. He inspired them in a speech the night before a game. They see how hard he works before, during and after practice.
This is not Kyle Orton laughing at Tebow when he ran wind sprints full out. One of the major reasons Orton was cut was he had turned off the Broncos. He showed up late, wore a stocking cap in practices, was one of the first to leave and didn't really care after he was removed. Josh McDaniels had told me more than a year ago that Orton wasn't, despite what people thought, a leader on or off the field. Sure, he was elected captain from the offense. Who you going to elect? Offensive tackles are not elected captains. People made a big deal out of it.
I guarantee you Tebow will be a captain next year. Yes, he inspires the players. Yes, he inspires the public. I see hundreds of fathers and sons wearing their Tebow jerseys together. I get the letters from mothers wanting me to have Tebow call their daughters. I hear, as you do, everybody in airports and gas stations asking about Tebow. He has doubters and haters because of his religious views, his unorthodox play, his goodie-goodie attitude (why would anybody hate that?) and because he can't throw.
Has anybody seen Tebow throw in the last two games? Has anybody seen him throw in the fourth quarters? Some people in America just want to hate on good values and hard work and successful people.
Look around at the parks in major cities. Too many young people in Tebow's generation feel entitled. Give me a job; I don't want to earn it; I'm owed.
Tebow doesn't believe he's owed anything. He's working hard to prove he can be a quality quarterback in the NFL. Look at the results. An 8-4 record in his dozen starts, a 7-2 record this year. His numbers keep improving. The team didn't beat the Patriots. Hey, the Patriots are a better team. The Broncos were a garbage team before Tebow became quarterback. Everybody knows that. Now they are a playoff team.
Tim Tebow should inspire everybody. He does inspire the players. And this is fun, Todd.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Peace and love.
Read more: Woody's Mailbag: Denver Broncos making music history this season - The Denver Post
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FarveCo is certainly landing a lot of whoppers in his boat.
It'll be nice when ya'll are back in school after winter break and the adults can talk.It's all good - I'm done with the stinky bait in this thread. Hope you do well on your finals. 
(I envy you in a way...)
eta: career stats for games started for both Tebow and Skelton:
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