What a difference a week makes for Tim Tebow.
Last Monday, it was full-on Tebowmania after an unlikely comeback win over the Miami Dolphins. This Monday, in the aftermath of an ugly 45-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, it was open season on the Denver Broncos quarterback.
"15?" one unnamed Lions defender said in reference to Tebow's jersey number, according to a Yahoo! Sports report. "Come on -- that's embarrassing. I mean, it's a joke. We knew all week that if we brought any kind of defensive pressure, he couldn't do anything. In the second half it got boring out there. We were like, 'Come on -- that's your quarterback? Seriously?'Â "
Said Lions defensive end Cliff Avril: "As long as he felt our pressure, he was going to make crazy decisions."
Avril was more diplomatic during a Monday appearance on NFL Network.
"It's a learning curve because he showed that he can win through college or whatnot," Avril said. "He's struggling a little bit right now, but I think it's just a learning curve. He'll get better."
But Lions cornerback Chris Houston, who returned an interception of a Tebow pass 100 yards for a touchdown, was unimpressed with the quarterback.
"He's an athlete. He's no Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or no Michael Vick or none of that," Houston said Sunday, according to The Denver Post. "He's got a long ways to go as far as being a quarterback."
Tebow's performance indeed was woeful -- he was 8-of-26 passing for 85 yards at one point in the fourth quarter -- and it's clear the Lions took pride in putting a big dent in the theory that charisma and faith will carry the day for the second-year pro.
(Seriously though, they "Tebowed" over the man. They "Tebowed" over Tebow. That's some dirty pool!)
Broncos coach John Fox wouldn't initially commit to keeping Tebow in the lineup, though on Monday confirmed he will be behind center on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. That Tebow's starting job is even in question shows just how eye-opening his struggles really were.
