John Elway has made it clear he won't heap praise upon Tim Tebow just because he happens to be his team's starting quarterback.
But Elway -- the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations -- has a very pro-Tebow feeling as to why Denver continues to pull off unlikely victories like Sunday's against the Chicago Bears.
"I think when you look at it, I guess I just believe everyone believes that something good is going to happen," Elway said Monday during his weekly radio spot on KDSP-FM. "Tim's been the guy that has led that thinking and he's just such a strong believer. He's got everyone else believing that if you stay strong, stay positive, that something good is going to happen."
The new level of confidence also is evident to coach John Fox.
"It goes back to those guys believing," Fox said during his Monday news conference. "This game's about confidence. You're playing the best in the world at what you do and being able to believe that good things are going to happen. So many of these games are won or lost in the fourth quarter, and the thing that I admire about that bunch is that they trust and believe in one another, and that's the ultimate of being a championship team. It's fun to see and fun to watch happen."
Elway's weekly radio spot has become a good barometer on where he stands on Tebow. Elway seemed decidedly underwhelmed by Tebow initially, but he said last week that the QB made "great strides" in a win over the Minnesota Vikings.
On NFL Network
"NFL Replay" will re-air the
Broncos' 13-10 OT win over the
Bears on Wednesday, Dec. 14
at 8 p.m. ET.
Now Elway is saying Tebow has transformative power on the will of teammates. Has he ever seen a player like his QB?
"No, not to this point," Elway said. "If you look at where we've been just this season and look at the impact that he has had this season, not only athletically with him running around and throwing the football, but I think that his presence has been just huge and his confidence and his competitiveness that he has, especially if you look about when we're coming off 4-12 last year."
Fox cameras trained on Elway showed the executive looking stone-faced for the majority of Sunday's game before Tebow's late touchdown drive brought Sports Authority Field back to life. Tebow has brought football in Denver back to life, a fact Elway should consider when deciding who will be his long-term answer at quarterback.
