Interesting read comparing Tebow and his exploits against the Steelers and the Bronco's regular season game with the Patriots:
Film Breakdown: Tebow's Tendencies - Pats Pulpit
That's a great article. What I noticed about Denver then, and against the Steelers, is that when they line up, they set up a very tight line up front. It's a very narrow and compact leaving very little room for anyone to get through in the middle, but very tight pocket around Tebow. It doesn't give Tebow a lot of room to move inside the pocket, but it plays into his ability to roll out. He has a tendency to spin around and roll out making defenders miss when his passing options are not there. At that point he can either take off for a couple of yards or buy himself a couple of more seconds for a second look downfield and a pass. You gotta either force him to stay in the pocket, or if he rolls out, he's looking to pass down the side-line.
The way they got to him in the first game was the Pat's pass defense managed to freeze Tebow long enough in the pocket to where he didn't immediately roll out, but rather stayed put and they attacked the edges. I don't know if they were using man or cover, but they created the impression for Tim that he would have a passing option just long enough to delay his roll out, and that gave enough time for someone to sneak in and get to him. The most effective one being from his blindside forcing the fumble. They need to do that again.
I think both of these teams have their weaknesses but it's going to come down to execution and Broncos simply have a lot more of them.
Denver brings A game - Pats bring A game = close game, Pats will still win.
Denver Brings A game - Pats bring B game = close game, can go either way.
Anything less than an A game for the Broncos, they will lose, so their margin of error is incredibly narrow. If they fail to score TD's and settle for 3 like they did against Pittsburg, they will get beat, even if they don't turn over the ball. Pats can afford to make a couple of more mistakes, but I'd rather not take that chance and Tom can't afford an interception unless it's past mid-field on a long bomb on third down.
If Tebow plays as good as he did against the Steelers, he won't be the reason the Broncos lose. They have a lot of other areas that need improvement or need to be masked: special teams D, lack of consistent receiving threat, fumble prone players, and in all honesty, a weaker defense that gets worn out and abused late in the game when the offense stalls. There are other areas that can much more easily be exploited compared to Tebow.
But the Pats are fully capable of beating this team so the only type of questions that remain to be answered aren't so much technical as they are motivational: can they do it again this weekend? Are they as hungry as they were during the first game? I haven't seen Tom be that hungry and excited in a long time as I saw him in the first Denver game. Maybe Tebow, and all the Tebowmania, is actually a blessing in disguise for the Pats too. It brought out the competitive spirit in Brady in a big way and that fired up the entire team as well as if waking up the sleeping giant. Well I think they are awake now. I think Denver's riding high, but Tebow's also very level headed so I see him being on top of his game as well.
I look forward to a great game and more credit should be given to Denver. This isn't a cakewalk for the Patriots, win or lose. Everybody tries to bring their A game against the Pats. Think Miami. Pats won that game because nobody, not the fans or the team underestimated them and expected a hard fought game and this should be approached the same way. Denver may just end up being the third-or dare I say-second toughest team in the AFC this year when it's all said and done. Yeah, I think, right now, with the way they played against Pittsburgh, they are showing a lot more tenacity and will than Baltimore has all year. They want it. Tebow may be all goody-goody in his interviews, but if you watch him on that field, his expressions, his body language, this kid wants it bad and he's all business when it's his time to play. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Don't feel bad when knocking his lights out because they clearly have no problem doing it to Tom. Time for the Pats D to get a bit of revenge with a good clean hit and see if he can get back up and brush it off as good as Tom
