National Football League

Broncos have plenty to fix, not just at QB

Published Nov. 3, 2011 12:56 a.m. ET

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Tim Tebow had no problem with Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch striking the prayerful pose known as ''Tebowing'' after sacking him last week.

Tebow said he figures Tulloch was just having fun, not mocking him or his Christian faith by participating in the phenomenon that's become an Internet sensation.

The craze began shortly after TV cameras captured Tebow kneeling in quiet reflection while his teammates celebrated their comeback win over the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago.

The Lions joined in the gesture during their 45-10 beatdown of the Broncos on Sunday, including Tulloch's pose after his takedown of Tebow, which has drawn widespread public criticism.

''He was just celebrating, having fun with his teammates and I don't take offense to that,'' Tebow said.

Well, he was bothered by a thing or two, actually.

''I was bothered that I gave up a sack and that I didn't break the tackle,'' Tebow said. ''That bothered me.''

Tebow has endured 13 sacks in his two starts for Denver this season, so he said Wednesday he has to start throwing the ball away more if he's in a defender's grasp.

While that might further hurt his 46 percent completion rate, Tebow said he's only concerned with scoring touchdowns and beating opponents, not with statistics or style points.

''Ultimately, it's about winning games. I don't really care how it looks or what we do, as long as we win,'' Tebow said when asked what he must do to maintain his starting status beyond Sunday's game at Oakland.

Despite being battered, ''my body feels really good,'' Tebow said. ''But ultimately, you know, you want to be smart and not take a lot of hits, especially big-time hits or flip over people and land on your head in games, you don't want to do too much of that.''

Even though he's 1-1 since replacing Kyle Orton, Tebow has played poorly for all but about one quarter in his two starts, leading to speculation that coach John Fox could lose the locker room if this keeps up.

Several veterans, including Champ Bailey, Mario Haggan and Andre' Goodman, have said Orton was unfairly singled out for the team's poor start when he lost his starting job.

Fox said this week he doesn't expect any finger-pointing following their loss to the Lions.

''Especially when things aren't going well, you're best off looking at yourself and seeing what you can do better and not be so concerned about what somebody else is doing,'' Fox said.

There are plenty of things the Broncos need to improve on that have little to do with who's taking the snaps. Their veteran secondary allowed a Detroit wide receiver to burst free by 30 yards for a touchdown Sunday, and Denver is allowing an average of 277 yards passing through seven games.

Their top two draft picks, Von Miller and Rahim Moore, have been briefly benched, pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil has been plagued by injuries and has yet to record his first sack since 2009, when he led the league with 17, a year before missing the entire season with a torn chest muscle.

They dealt away their top receiver, Brandon Lloyd, at the trade deadline, and their top tailback, Willis McGahee, has a broken right hand.

Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy's play calling has drawn scrutiny, notably from former Broncos safety and current broadcaster John Lynch, who questioned Sunday whether the Broncos were adapting their offense sufficiently to give Tebow a chance at success.

The Broncos, though, have run three-wide receiver sets 100 times in Tebow's two starts, and on one play Sunday with two backs and a tight end in the backfield to help protect him, he held the ball for nine seconds before getting sacked.

''We're a team, so all we've got to do is take care of our business and he'll take care of his,'' Moore said. ''He's not the team. We are one as a team. Some people always point the finger at him like, `He had a bad game.' But what about other people? We're in this as a team.''

Tebow said he tries not to pay attention to the constant debate over his worthiness as an NFL quarterback and only watches his beloved Florida Gators on TV nowadays, avoiding the constant chatter about him.

''Well, it's kind of impossible not to hear everything. You're walking by, you hear it. It's everywhere,'' Tebow said. ''But you just can't pay attention to it because if I let what people say about me run my life I'd be living a roller coaster and thank the Lord that I don't have to do that.''

Linebacker Joe Mays said everybody else hears the critiques, too, but they're too busy looking in the mirror to worry about Tebow's troubles.

''We're trying to maintain our jobs here with the Broncos, so we're definitely looking at ourselves and making sure we're doing what's best for the team and doing whatever we can to help the team out,'' he said. ''You can't blame anything on just one person, and I don't think one person can break up a team.''

Mays said he can't stand to hear anyone being credited for a win or blamed for a loss.

''When I hear it, I just kind of feel sorry for Tim because a lot of people were saying he's the guy that's going to turn this program around, and then when he comes in and he doesn't play as good as certain people want him to play, they bash him for it,'' Mays said.

''So, you know what, the one thing I will say to Tim is just continue to play his brand of football and don't try to please everyone because there's no way you can do that.''

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Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

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