Is Quarterback Tim Tebow Pro Bowl Worthy?

Tim Tebow has protected the football and won games this season, which is what a quarterback is supposed to do. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow currently has the fourth most Pro Bowl votes among AFC quarterbacks. Fan voting ends on December 19th; the coaches and players of the NFL then supply the other two thirds of the voting.

Three quarterbacks dress for both the AFC and NFC each February in the NFL’s All-Star Game. The three AFC quarterbacks currently ahead of Tebow in the voting are New England’s Tom Brady, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Brady usually doesn’t play in the game (often because he is playing in the Super Bowl or doesn’t want to be bothered), so Tebow has a decent shot — based on fan voting.

Some have scoffed at the idea of Tebow — one of the least accurate passers in the NFL — making the NFL’s All Star Game. Is he really worthy of making the Pro Bowl? Has he really played better than all but two other quarterbacks in the American Football Conference?

We’ll compare some of his stats to the other quarterbacks across the NFL and let you make that decision for yourself.

Top Five AFC Starter Passer Ratings, 2011:

1. Brady — 105.1
2. Reothisberger — 96.8
3. Matt Moore — 87.8
4. Fitzpatrick — 85.5
5. Matt Hasselbeck — 83.1
6. Andy Dalton — 81.8
7. Mark Sanchez 80.9
8. Phillip Rivers — 80.8
9. Tebow — 80.5
10. Joe Flacco — 78.9

Tebow does rank in the top ten among AFC quarterbacks, but an 80.5 rating is nothing to get overly excited about.  However, passing isn’t Tebow’s strength. Rushing and protecting the football are his strengths. The next stat will reflect that.

Top Five NFL Starter Total Touchdown to Turnover Ratio, 2011:

1. Aaron Rodgers — 9.0
2. Tebow — 5.5
3. Drew Brees — 2.46
4. Brady — 2.333
5. Tony Romo — 2.1
6. Matthew Stafford — 2.0
7. Matt Ryan — 1.538
8. Eli Manning — 1.528
9. Sanchez — 1.313
10. Fitzpatrick — 1.267

The above stat calculates a quarterbacks total touchdown (passing + rushing) to turnover (interception + fumbles lost) ratio. Tebow ranks very high in this stat, second only to Rodgers — who is a League MVP candidate this season. What we can gather from this stat is that Tebow has scored a lot of touchdowns and turned the ball over a few times (11-to-2 to be exact).

Top Five NFL Starter Win to Loss Ratio, 2011:

1. Rodgers — 11-0
2. Tebow — 5-1
3. Alex Smith — 9-2
4. Brady — 8-3
5. Flacco — 8-3
6. Brees — 8-3
7. Roethlisberger — 8-3
8. Romo — 7-4
9. Ryan — 7-4
10. Dalton — 7-4

Rightfully or not, an NFL quarterback often gets too much praise for a win and too much criticism for a loss. Although he has a smaller sample size than all the other quarterbacks on the list, Tebow again ranks high in this stat. The defense has kept him in games, but Tebow has been the one scoring the game-winning touchdowns the past few weeks.

Tebow has thrown interceptions on just 0.7% of his passes this year and has scored eleven touchdowns in six games while leading the team to three come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter or overtime this season. While he does have the 16th-best completion percentage (45.5) and hasn’t thrown for a lot of yards (852), Tebow has scored touchdowns and won games, and that won’t get any complaints from a coach.

You can vote for the 2012 All Star Game at NFL.com/ProBowl, or on the team’s official website: DenverBroncos.com.