It's been six months since the Pittsburgh Steelers' playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, but safety Troy Polamaluremains enthralled by quarterback Tim Tebow and stunned by the lack of complexity to the Broncos offense, Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday.
"There were so many things about him that were like playing a veteran and so many things like playing a rookie," Polamalu said of Tebow. "When things break down, (Tebow) is a little like (Steelers quarterback) Ben (Roethlisberger).
" ... It was an incredibly simple offense that you just don't think can work in this league, but it worked for them with the kind of talent they had."
Despite the flaws in his game, and the simple approach the Broncos took to their offense, Tebow still lit up a solid Steelers defense for 316 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. He also added 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The following week, however, an inferior New England Patriots defense limited Tebow to 136 passing yards, 13 rushing. They also sacked him five times.
"The Patriots sat back and did nothing on defense in that game," Polamalu said.
Before that's considered a slap in the face at Tebow, New England's defense or Denver's offense, it's important to remember how soft-spoken Polamalu is. Talking trash isn't something he's known for or is likely to start engaging in at this stage of his career. Polamalu's assessment for what New England did that day is also correct. After being burned by the Broncos in the first quarter of their meeting a month earlier, the Patriots blitzed less, were more disciplined in their gap control and effectively solved Denver's offense in the playoffs.
