John Elway doesn't dislike Tim Tebow. Mr. Elway would like you to know this.
'Playbook' special on Tebow
A special edition of the
NFL Network program, "Playbook", will focus exclusively on Tim Tebow, and how the QB continues to pull out thrilling wins for the Broncos. It will air Saturday, Dec. 3 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
One week after the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations responded, "No," when asked if he was any closer to feeling he had his long-term QB on the roster, Elway said his answer was misinterpreted.
"I was surprised in the fact that people took it to be a negative answer, and it really wasn't a negative answer," Elway said Monday on KDSP-FM. "That's where I was taken aback. It wasn't meant to be a strike at Timmy at all.
"It was just a reality check of where we were at the time, and it wasn't a negative because I tried to follow it up with all the positive things we were doing and tried to point out some things we needed to get better at."
Tebow hasn't put up impressive numbers during his six-week stint as starter, but the Broncos are in the thick of the AFC playoff race, thanks to a 5-1 run during that stretch, including a 16-13 overtime win over the Chargers on Sunday. Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback who excelled at both passing and scrambling, still looks at Tebow as a raw project, even as Denver keeps winning.
Elway just wasn't able to make that point clear last week, but he took ownership of the miscommunication.
"I was disappointed, and obviously I need to do a better job communicating that message, because the way it was taken was taken more negative than obviously I really meant it to be," Elway said. "So that's just one of those situations, and it's something I'll learn from also."
It's easy to forget that Elway, like Tebow, is very new to his job. And when you're a front-office member -- and especially when you're a front-office member talking about Tim Tebow -- every word out of your mouth will be scrutinized.
There are enough learning curves at Sports Authority Field at Mile High to make a man dizzy.