Late in the game he ran the entire way across the field after running for a first down to tell interim head coach Eric Studesville., "There's only one person who carries the ball right here". When he got back to the huddle he told his teammates, "dead-set, Were winning the game right here, trust me". Tebow ran for a touchdown on the next play. That is leadership. Give me a chance, give me the ball.
On the first play in overtime last year in a divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tebow through a slant pass to Demaryius Thomas which resulted in an eighty yard touchdown play. One and done from the 20 yard line. The Broncos advanced to the divisional round where they were promptly waxed by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Tim Tebow had led the Broncos on a magical fairy tale ride from a 1-4 start to the playoffs, an unlikely playoff win against the top ranked defense in the National Football League.
John Elway desperately looked for an exit strategy to rid himself of young Tim and found the perfect escape hatch when the Indianapolis Colts released Peyton Manning, arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Elway began his courtship of Manning and eventually signed him to be the quarterback that will lead the Broncos back to the Super Bowl. The fans extolled, Peyton Freaking Manning!!!
After eleven straight wins, The Broncos ended up with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The road to the Super Bowl runs through Denver. The city was giddy with excitement. The only thing they had to do was to dispose of an aging Baltimore Ravens team with a second tier quarterback at the helm and the stage would be set for an epic Television rating bonanza featuring Tom Brady against Peyton Manning.
On Saturday in a divisional playoff game, the Broncos snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing a 70 yard touchdown pass to be completed in the waning seconds of the game. Rahim Moore, admitted that he was playing for an interception so he could be the hero and hold the ball up in front of 75,000 fans. He badly mistimed his effort and fell on his back helplessly, gifting the easiest touchdown catch in history. The television announcers were stunned. Apparently none more so than the leadership of the Broncos.
31 seconds remained in the game. The Broncos had two timeouts left and Peyton Freaking Manning to move the ball down the field for a game winning field goal. Peyton Manning has led more game winning drives than anyone in the history of the game.
John the ever crafty Fox, decided to take a knee and run out the clock rather than take a chance at winning the game with the quarterback that was brought here for that reason.
The coach of the Broncos, John Fox has publicly stated his reasons for taking a knee and still having two timeouts with 31 seconds to play was due to the fact that his team was stunned by the touchdown and needed time to regroup.
One year earlier, he took a chance from the 20 yard line with a Quarterback he had no confidence in and that play call won the game.
Peyton Manning threw the ball 43 times during the game on Saturday. Only two of the passes were longer than fifteen yards. There wasn't enough time left to dink and dunk their way down the field to get into field goal range so rather than attempt a pass and see if Demaryius Thomas might be able to break a tackle, make a play, maybe win the game John Fox decided to fold his hand. Nothing to worry about with this crafty Fox in the hen house.
The lack of courage that Fox showed didn't change the outcome of the game. The Broncos were done. It was inevitable that an untimely, ill advised throw by Peyton Frozen Manning would lead to an eventual Baltimore field goal.
Now John Fox and company head to Hawaii where he has an entire off season to regroup. Enjoy your time in Hawaii John, coaching the Pro Bowl.
Maybe next year you can show the city of Denver what leadership looks like, if you can figure out what it means to be a leader. Most likely your tenure as coach of the Broncos will be remembered for a playoff win with Tim Tebow and being unable to win a playoff game with Peyton Manning.
Hey, Elway, I heard on the whisper that Tebow might be available. Give me a player that hates to lose and wants the ball in his hands at the end of game. Oh wait, I forgot. You ran him out of town first chance you got.
Well at least you will have plenty of time to work on your golf game in the off season.
No comments:
Post a Comment