The Broncos’ Heartbeat

Ron Jaworski says it best.

"“The heartbeat of a football team is the quarterback position and I think everyone who has any intelligence about the game understands you must have consistency at that position to be a championship team.”"

That statement is easy for Broncos fans to relate to. The Broncos last Super Bowl appearance came with No. 7 under center, and since then, the team has struggled to find another dominant/consistent quarterback. From Brian Griese to Jake Plummer to Jay Cutler to Kyle Orton (with a few appearances by back up QBs in between), the Broncos haven’t seen the kind of stability at quarterback that’s necessary for a team to go deep into the playoffs year after year.

Actually, only a few NFL teams are lucky enough to have stability at that position. The Colts have it with Peyton Manning, the Patriots have it with Tom Brady, and the Steelers have it with Ben Roethlisberger. Save those franchises, every team is looking for the kind of consistency that Brett Favre once brought to the Packers and John Elway once brought to the Broncos.

It seems as though every year, the Broncos have some sort of drama surrounding the starting quarterback position. Whether it was Jake Plummer and Mike Shanahan or Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels, the position is one of the most widely watched in the state of Colorado.

This off season, all eyes and ears are tuned into who the Broncos starting QB will be. Will Kyle Orton stick around Denver or will Tim Tebow continue on in his journey as an NFL starting QB?

Bill Williamson of ESPN recently gave a list of the pros and cons of starting Tim Tebow in 2011.  

Pro:

"Fans want it: Fans should never dictate a team’s decision-making process. But the Broncos are aware of the importance of marketing, and the pulse of the fans is important to this organization, especially after the disaster that was the McDaniels era. There were more empty seats in Denver last season than in recent memory. However, there was an excitement in the air during the final two weeks of the season when Tebow played in front of the home folks."

Con:

"Tebow may not be ready to start: Elway has said this offseason that the team has to make Tebow a good quarterback and that he is green. Tebow played to mixed reviews in 2010. He moved the ball, but his mechanical flaws were glaring at times. He likely won’t be a ready product when the 2011 season starts. – ESPN"

In the end, Williamson concludes that the Tebow era should start now, and I agree.

He’s the closest thing to we have to a heartbeat and when he’s in the game, everything changes in, well, a heartbeat, which is exactly what this team needs.