How the Denver Broncos can succeed long-term with Tim Tebow

How will Tebow keep winning long-term?
Hint: JD Walton plays an important role.

Over 2000 years after His arrival on earth, there is still a debate about whether Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah foretold in the Old Testament.

It seems the disputation of whether Tim Tebow is the savior of Denver's Super Bowl hopes might last nearly as long.

The arguments have been hashed and rehashed to the point of white noise; it's the classic he's a winner, bro vs. he doesn't make mid-range throws any respectable QB should be able to complete. Nearly every time the man exits the postgame podium, talk-radio fires are stoked once more.

So, to avoid redundancy about whether the Broncos should keep Tim Tebow long-term, let's just talk about what they need to do if they decide to ride the Tebow Train to Super Bowl glory or utter oblivion.

If John Elway & Co. ™ do indeed buy into Tebow for the foreseeable future, they must buy in all the way. No more straddling the fence with cryptic interview answers about Tebow's future. If he's the guy, start acting like it. This starts and ends with personnel. Elway and GM Brian Xanders must look for offensive personnel that fit neatly into Mike McCoy's Tebow-ized zone-read and zone-option scheme. Finding great fits requires thinking outside the box. For example, a happy accident for this offense is Demaryius Thomas.

Thomas was Josh McDaniels' first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. At the time, he was just the safer option over Dez Bryant, who had character questions coming into the draft. A few questions were raised about drafting a receiver who played in the triple option at Georgia Tech. However, Thomas ended up being a perfect match for McCoy's new offense because of his time at Georgia Tech.

Demaryius Thomas was a triple option wide receiver, which makes him perfect for Denver.

Receivers in Paul Johnson's triple option spend the entire game stalk blocking corners and safeties, and then they go deep for a couple touchdowns per game. Coaches recruit receivers to triple option schools by saying, "you might only catch 2 balls a game, but it will be for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns because you'll be that open." Thomas' stat line from last week's Wild Card win over Pittsburgh? 4 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown. He gets his chance on deep play-action passes, and he does not disappoint.

The most important offensive personnel to find, though? More guys like Zane Beadles and JD Walton. McDaniels' second and third round picks from the 2010 Draft (McDaniels is looking pretty smart now, right?), they were solid offensive linemen who didn't require first-round money to obtain. If Denver scouts can identify more linemen that would be comfortable in this offensive system, those same linemen will likely be undervalued by other teams because they don't fit as well in a pro-style scheme.

Tim Tebow would be the first to admit his success is impossible without the young Denver o-line.

Tebow is admittedly a master at running the zone-read option. He faked the handoff to Willis McGahee so well last Sunday that it took Steelers LB James Harrison ridiculously long to realize Tebow still had the ball. (If WR Matt Willis had stayed on his block, that play would have been a touchdown.) However, the scheme would blow up in Tebow's face every play were it not for the superb blocking of Denver's offensive line. The organization has a long-held tradition of great offensive line play by undervalued players, and McCoy's offense offers an amazing possibility to keep this tradition going. The Broncos do need to develop run blocking from their tight ends, who currently struggle with staying on their blocks.

The last step? Continue developing the defensive backfield. Denver has a pass-rushing duo in Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller that will terrorize opposing offensive lines for years to come, but when the rush doesn't come immediately the Broncos' safeties are picked apart. This is in part because rookies Quinton Carter and Rahim Moore are experiencing an oft-unpleasant trial by fire. Both show flashes of brilliance followed by frustrating mental mistakes. Denver must develop these young players, and draft young talent to develop underneath Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman (both age 33), who have been stellar but will eventually retire.

In short, success is absolutely possible with Tebow. Denver has defied all odds and can continue to do so, but they must commit fully one way or the other. Embrace McCoy's collegiate scheme and develop the personnel to run it, or scrap everything and go back to a pro-style offense. Either choice is understandable, but the Broncos will drown if they refuse to commit one way or the other. It is an incredible risk to bank on Tebow's success, as it puts the careers of nearly everyone associated with the program in jeopardy if he fails. Having said that, if I had to bet my career on one player, it would undoubtedly be Tebow.

Chalk Talk: Understanding the National Championship in one play

On Monday, I talked about how offensive line play would determine the outcome of the National Championship Game. It was a showdown of the nation's top two defenses, certainly; but victory would go to the team whose offensive line made a dent in the opposing defense.

Down 15-0 in the desperate half of the fourth quarter, LSU started throwing haymakers. Facing a long fourth down, it was do-or-die time for the Tigers' offensive line, and they apparently decided to die.

Video used in making these images is courtesy of ESPN.

Jordan Jefferson just threw hot off an extra blitzer on the previous play and missed his receiver, so now the Tigers are calling a more conservative protection. They have six players to block six potential rushers. First, let's talk about the left side.

Because the running back has been placed on the left side, that will be the "man" side, meaning that the left guard and left tackle are manned up on the first and second pass rushers, respectively. The running back's job is to take the circled backer if he blitzes, or help the guard and tackle with their protection if the backer doesn't blitz. Sometimes the play will be called so the running back releases in a checkdown route if there is no extra blitzer.

On the right side, LSU also has three blockers for three potential rushers: the defensive tackle, the defensive end (who is actually a linebacker in a 3-point stance) and the defender with a diamond on him. The diamond player looks like he will be covering the slot receiver, so he's not a high-priority rusher on the right side. The center, right guard and right tackle will all slide right to accommodate any twists or blitzes meant to confuse them, and each blocker will take the gap to his immediate right. Whoever shows as a rusher in that player's gap is his responsibility.

Here's the very first step of the protection. Jefferson hasn't even started his drop in earnest, and most of the defenders have already begun to show where they're going. The left tackle is kicking wide to accommodate the d-end's hard outside rush. The running back is stepping up for the b-gap blitzer. The left guard is short-setting his d-tackle so as not to give up an inside rush lane. Dont'a Hightower has taken his first step hard and outside, so the right tackle is bailing outside hard with his first kick step. The potential right-side blitzer looks like he'll be sitting in coverage, so the o-linemen aren't really worried about him.

The trouble here is the defensive tackle on the right side. He hasn't really shown one gap or the other, so the guard isn't quite sure whether he should pass the rusher off to the center and go help his right tackle. The d-lineman is also Alabama's backup noseguard; for the last few plays he's been spinning and trying all sorts of crazy stuff since he just got put in the National Championship Game. The center and guard absolutely hate him because they've been playing hard the entire game only to receive a fresh rusher who is going nuts trying to get to Jefferson. Just a couple plays ago, the center pancaked the youngster and wouldn't let him up; that's when things usually start getting chippy.

The right guard's thirst for blood really hurts the Tigers here. He's so eager to beat up on this young defensive tackle that he doesn't maintain his gap protection as well as he should.

Here we are a mere split-second later. The left guard an tackle are still doing a great job staying on their blocks. The running back is preparing to take on his blitzing backer. However, all is not well on the right side. The right guard has committed fully to the defensive tackle, and Hightower finds the resulting hole in protection quite appetizing.

Everyone on the left side is still doing their job, but the right side is in DEFCON-1. The right tackle over-set his feet because he knew he had help to the inside, and he had to respect Hightower's outside rush speed. Now he's realizing his only help will come from the center, and the help won't make it in time. Jefferson has the bubble open, but it's well-covered and won't get enough yards for the first. He's looking for something deep to come open, but there isn't nearly enough time.

And, it's gone. LSU's best chance of scoring the entire game, that is. 

I can't stress how often this type of mistake happens, especially on a big stage. Offensive linemen love contact, because it's the only thing that makes playing offensive line any fun. With such a long period of time before the game, players start getting antsy; when their chance finally arrives, they can forget their assignments because they just want to hit someone. Say what you want about Nick Saban's dictatorial coaching style, but he showed up with the more disciplined team Monday night.

Chalk Talk: Alabama's Athletic Linemen

College football fans outside the SEC haven't been too excited for this year's national championship, seeing as it will be a rematch of the 9-6 yawn-fest that took place last November. It's been touted by media outlets as a battle of defenses, which is code for "unexciting" for fans that prefer a touch of offensive firepower. However, for fans of stellar offensive line play, the game should be excellent; what takes place in the trenches Monday will be the decisive factor.

Most of the "hype" (if you can call it that) surrounding today's BCS National Championship Game is centered on Alabama and LSU's impenetrable defenses, which are #1 and #2 in the nation statistically. However, both teams boast rushing attacks that average over 200 yards per game. LSU Head Coach Les Miles told the Associated Press yesterday to expect "...big boy football. And I'd expect it to be very, very physical." 

The "big boys" in question are the eight combined returning starters on the offensive line for both teams. Alabama's Barrett Jones was recently named the 2011 Outland Trophy winner. If there's ever a matchup to be dictated by offensive line play, it's this one.

Video used in making these images is courtesy of CBS.

The above play is from Alabama's 2009 SEC Championship victory over Florida. Although the game is older,  this play perfectly illustrates the athleticism of William Vlachos, who is now a senior for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama is asking Vlachos to snap the ball in a shotgun formation, then pull around for the playside linebacker (the Will). The Will backer will be in a perfect spot for Vlachos to execute his block, because the Will is going to flow downhill towards the ball.

Once Vlachos leaves, the two guards will double team the noseguard to the Mike backer (the standing defender who is further down in the frame). Since Ingram will be running the ball to the left outside the numbers (as shown by his arrow), this double team has a great angle and should be able to reach the Mike as he flows towards the ball.

Most of the other blocks here are straightforward; the tackles and tight ends are all performing a reach block on the individual players lined up over them. This involves taking a lateral step while placing one's helmet on the playside numbers of the defender's jersey, then delivering a punch on the inside numbers. The blockers will continue to work laterally to seal their man off and give Ingram a running lane to the left.

So far, the blocking has been executed perfectly. The right guard has already come off his double team block to get the Mike, and all the reach blockers are fighting to seal off the running lane. Vlachos is pulling for the Will backer, who is flowing towards Ingram and doesn't seem to expect a center in his lap.

Vlachos has now made contact with the Will backer and is beginning to drive him outside of Ingram's desired rushing lane. The rest of Bama's blockers are doing an incredible job of staying on Florida's defenders as long as possible. Holding a block for this long is a combination of tenacity and athleticism; against a speedy SEC defense, athleticism is the most important part of keeping these blocks long enough for the running back to make a play.

At this point, Vlachos is driving his man straight into the Alabama bench. This is the type of blocking Les Miles alluded to with his "big boy football" quote. Bama has now cleared an enormous rushing lane that allows for a 15-yard gain.

Look for Bama to combat LSU's incredibly fast defense with schemes such as this. In order to win the rematch, the Crimson Tide need their stellar linemen such as Vlachos and Jones to step up and use their athleticism to provide Trent Richardson with room to make plays. It might not be the touchdown party we saw in this year's Rose or Fiesta Bowls, but the offensive line play on both sides should be some of the best this season.

Understanding The Rose Bowl's Final Seconds

Down a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in the 98th annual Rose Bowl, Russell Wilson attempted his best "Tebow Time" impression. Much like Tebow himself recently, Wilson came up short.

Despite carving up Oregon's prevent defense, Wisconsin attempted to spike the ball after a long first down pass left only 2 seconds on the clock. An official review confirmed that no time remained after the spike, thereby adding a sour end to the highest scoring Rose Bowl ever.

Above: Russell Wilson wasn't too happy with the ruling. Photo courtesy of ESPN.

Criticism abounded after the game's finish; not of the official's ruling, but of Wisconsin Head Coach Bret Bielema's clock management. Granted, there would've been an extra timeout had Bielema not challenged the Oregon kick returner who nearly came out of the end zone before taking a knee. However, in this situation the correct coaching call was made because it takes the offensive line's challenges into account.

First, one should understand how difficult it is to spike the ball with such little time remaining. The center is hovering over the ball, usually with a particularly curmudgeonly referee standing over him and refusing to let the center even touch the ball before the whistle. Upon the whistle, the center must wait for the quarterback's quick cadence, which loses even more time. He must then snap the ball, which becomes significantly more difficult when trying to do it as quickly as possible; if the ball is improperly snapped, Wilson will fumble it and then be unable to spike before the clock has run out. Most postgame critics failed to understand how difficult the last-second spike is. Having done it myself, I prefer to cut Wisconsin some slack.

Another one of the chief postgame sentiments that flooded forums and Facebook was that Wisconsin should have simply run another play. Many critics believe Wilson should have made an "echo" call to run the same play again, with the belief that even redundant playcalling would be a better option than attempting to spike the ball.

Unfortunately, running a no-huddle offense isn't as easy as the folks over at EA Sports might lead you to believe. Offensive lines don't automatically call protections; it actually takes time to do so. Without a properly called protection, Wilson wouldn't have had any time to find the open man in Oregon's prevent defense. With 7 or 8 defenders potentially dropping into coverage, the offensive line needs more than one second to get on the same page, because extra time will be necessary.

Spiking the ball is the necessary choice because it gives Wisconsin time to call a route combo and protection that would create the best chance to permeate the legion of Ducks guarding the endzone. Although Wilson didn't get the spike done in time, it still had a higher chance of success on the resulting play than heaving the ball blindly without calling another play.