“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hope, although infinite, is a fickle thing. Denver Broncos fans seemed to be in dire lack of it a few days ago. Their hope rested on the decision-making of a head coach, something no amount of billboards or dot-com’s was going to sway.

Now, Tim Tebow has been named the starter. Has hope been restored?

Hit the poll (on the home page: left sidebar; otherwise it’ll appear below) and let us know what the QB switch means to you. We’ll compile the best comments for a post later this week.

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• Tim Tebow jerseys are selling like hot cakes again, and he’s all over national news and social media. It’s Tebowmania, people. [Denver Post]
• “Tim has a presence about him that I’ve never been around before,” Andre Goodman said. [Max Denver]
• Other teammates chime in on what Tebow brings to the table. [DenverBroncos.com]
• Tuesday video: Tim Tebow and John Fox [DenverBroncos.com]
• Tebow will spend the NFL-mandated bye break to study for next week’s game against the Miami Dolphins. [DenverBroncos.com]
• Tebow’s game in Miami’s Sun Life Stadium Field — where he’ll be honored by the home crowd — will be the first game he’s played there since his January 2009 national championship win. [Max Denver]
• John Fox insists it was his call, and his call alone, to start Tebow. [Denver Post]
• Some say Fox is in a no-lose situation by starting Tebow. [NYT Fifth Down]
• Conspiracy theorists do their thing. [ESPN]
• A eulogy on the Denver Broncos career of Kyle Orton. [Max Denver]
• John Bena suggests the Broncos cut ties with Orton altogether. [Mile High Report]
• Tebow had a higher ESPN QBR than Aaron Rodgers last week, which says more about the stat than the players. [ProFootballTalk]
• Joe Mays talks Broncos defense, bringing everyone back to earth. [Denver Post]

Tim Tebow, once wallowing in the deepest murks of the Denver Broncos depth chart, has ascended. Critiqued, criticized, admired and mired, the 2010 first round draft pick has risen above, both virtually and literally.

It wasn’t long ago that a report from Yahoo!’s Michael Silver quoted a “highly knowledgeable”  member of the Broncos organization, saying Tebow, if the decision were made purely on performance, should be the team’s fourth-string quarterback.

“If everything was totally equal, and this were a competition based only on performance at this camp, Tebow would probably be the fourth-string guy,” Silver’s source said. “Kyle [Orton] is far and away the best, and Tebow’s way behind [Brady] Quinn too. And I’m telling you, [fourth-string quarterback] Adam Weber is flat-out better right now.”

Yet, here we are. Less than seven weeks later, Tim Tebow has won the starting job. Kyle Orton has been benched; Brady Quinn remains benched; Adam Weber has been on the Broncos’ practice squad since the start of the season, and when the Denver Broncos starting offense’s huddle awaits their quarterback, Tim Tebow will stand alone.

So how did we get here? Is it massive, inconceivable organizational dysfunction that has seen Tebow rise from SportsCenter punchline to franchise quarterback in less than two months… or has Tim Tebow, admired and mired, truly earned this starting nod? Let’s break it down.

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Second year quarterback Tim Tebow has been named the Denver Broncos starter for the remaining eleven games of the 2011 season, multiple news sources are reporting.

Broncos head coach John Fox informed the team on Tuesday that Tebow will be the starting quarterback for the team’s Week 7 road game against the Miami Dolphins (a game in which the Dolphins will honor Tebow at halftime).

The Dolphins to this point have not won a game, while the Broncos have one victory under their belt.  Following the game in Miami, the Broncos will return home to face the Detroit Lions before traveling to Oakland to take on the Raiders.

The Lions, as of now, are undefeated and the Raiders beat the Broncos in the season opener, 23-20.  With games against the Chiefs, Vikings and Dolphins remaining, Tebow may be able to lead the Broncos to several victories.  The question is, how many victories is enough?

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Former Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno has never developed into the kind of runner we all hoped he would, but the third year back seems to have finally found a role in Denver’s offense — as a receiving threat.

Providing an option out of the backfield for quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow, Moreno has totaled 71 catches for 667 yards and six touchdowns since his rookie season (2009).  Moreno has taken on a role for the Broncos offense similar to that which fellow running backs Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles have had for their respective teams.

Like Moreno, Bush and Sproles have not found a lot of success on the ground but have provided dangerous receiver options in the open field.  Since 2009, the two have averaged 114 catches for 955 yards for six scores, numbers which are not incredibly better than Moreno’s, who has seen fewer targets.

With veteran back Willis McGahee taking most of the carries in Denver’s backfield, Moreno has provided a nice change of pace option. Moving forward, expect Moreno’s role in the offense to continue to expand.

On Sunday, Moreno had three catches that went for 40 yards, including a 28-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown.  Moreno has executed the screen pass several times for scores over the past two seasons, and will look to continue doing so down the road.

Moreno is under contract for three more seasons, so if he can continue to take advantage of his opportunities, he may eventually win back the starting job.  Kudos to Moreno for accepecting his role, he may just have a bright future in the NFL yet.

The Denver Broncos on Monday announced that the team has been awarded fullback Quinn Johnson (Tennessee) from waivers and has placed defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

The team also waived Brandon Minor from the injured reserve list on Monday afternoon.  Vickerson was entering his second season with the Broncos as a starter and has totaled four tackles in four starts.  His absence will be felt on the defensive line.

It is expected that defensive tackle Marcus Thomas (who had eight tackles on Sunday) will start alongside Brodrick Bunkley (who has seven tackles this season) in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins.

Johnson is a 6-1, 263 pound fullback who is entering his third season after being selected in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.  Johnson played a role in Green Bay’s Super Bowl run last season before joining the Titans in the offseason.

Against the Broncos in Week 3, Johnson recorded two catches for 17 yards.  In 24 career games, Johnson has totaled eight catches for 60 yards. He has never had a rushing attempt, but Johnson appears to be a solid blocking fullback:

Broncos starting fullback Spencer Larsen does not have any known injuries and has been blocking well, contributing to running back Willis McGahee‘s 125-yard rushing performance on Sunday.  Larsen has also contributed as a skill player, gaining 57 yards of offense so far this season.

 

When the Denver Broncos drafted outside linebacker Von Miller 2nd overall in this year’s draft, they knew he was a special player.  Through fives games, Miller leads all rookies with 5.0 sacks, but the Broncos want him to be more than just an outstanding pass rusher.

Denver wants Miller to become an outstanding linebacker.  That’s why Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen pulled Miller from the base defense on Sunday when he was struggling against the run and in pass coverage.

The Broncos had quite a rotation going with the linebackers on Sunday, with veteran Mario Haggan replacing Joe Mays at middle linebacker for several plays before filling in for Miller as the strong side linebacker.  On several occasions, the Broncos moved Miller to defensive end, moving Robert Ayers to defensive tackle and stacking Wesley Woodyard over top, replacing Miller across from D.J. Williams.

The Broncos have done a great job utilizing Miller’s passing rushing abilities, moving him around as was mentioned above, but the Broncos, and Miller, know he can improve as a 4-3 linebacker.

“I didn’t play to the best of my potential. I’m pretty disappointed in myself,” Miller told the Denver Post. “I’m going to come back tomorrow, keep working, keep taking steps to be the player I think I can be.”

It will be interesting to see if Miller will have to win his starting job back during the bye week.  Following this week, the Broncos will travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins.

If I were a betting man, I’d bet Miller will have a bounce back performance in Miami.  

As expected, Denver Broncos head coach John Fox didn’t reveal on Monday who the team’s starting quarterback will be moving forward.

Fox noted that the players will be informed before an announcement is made to the media (the players will report to practice tomorrow morning).  Fox will be available to talk to the media following tomorrow morning’s practice session.

“We’ll communicate with the people involved and the team long before we announce it,” said Fox on Monday. “That won’t be happening today.”

The players will have off on Thursday through Sunday (per the new CBA rules), but Wednesday’s practice schedule and media availability is listed as “To be established,” which could be because the team is preparing for a make-shift announcement press conference.

Expect an official announcement to come either tomorrow or on Wednesday (perhaps with an announcement tomorrow and press conference Wednesday).  At the conclusion of his Monday press conference, Fox thanked the media for their patience through the whole situation — the fans may not be as understanding.

It’s almost as if Fox is trying to tease us.  But I understand completely, of course he wants to tell the players before telling the whole world. Stay tuned…

On Monday afternoon, Denver Broncos head coach John Fox addressed the media at Dove Valley.  Fox has remained mum on who the starting quarterback will be moving forward, stating that the players will be informed before the media.

The Broncos players will be in the building tomorrow morning for practice, so it is expected Fox will  name a starting quarterback at that time.

Head over to DenverBroncos.com to watch Monday’s press conference and read quotes from the presser via Gray Caldwell at the team’s official blog.

Below are video highlights of Fox’s post-game press conference from Sunday night:

It’s been a long, long time since the Denver Broncos have had a commanding rushing attack and a defense that stiffens in the red zone.

On Sunday, though it was quite overlooked due to the quarterback situation, the Broncos had both; rushing for 162 yards on the ground while the defense held San Diego to 1‐of‐5 in the red zone.

Five of the Chargers drives stalled with field goals and two of them abruptly ended in turnovers, both of which resulted in touchdowns for the Broncos.  San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers was sacked five times and threw an interception and later fumbled.

Particularly noticeable on offense was the outstanding run blocking of the offensive line and the running of Willis McGahee, who notched his third 100 yard rushing game of the season (four starts).  McGahee finished the game with 125 yards off of 16 carries (an outstanding 7.8 yards per carry average), marking the 26th time in his career that he has topped the century mark.

The Broncos style of offense under second year quarterback Tim Tebow is an explosive one, with the ability to move the ball on the ground and through the air.  When Tebow has a lane open up, his legs can make things happen.  When he needs to extend plays, he can buy enough time for receivers to find an open area in busted coverage.

If Tebow is named the starter for the final eleven games of the season, expect the Broncos to continue to ground and pound on opposing teams.  I could get used to this style of play.