Tony Dungy is like a lot of us when watching the Tim Tebow-led Broncos’ offense: Impressed that they’ve managed to find a way to win four out of five games with it, but skeptical that it can work in the NFL over the long haul.
Dungy, the former Colts and Buccaneers coach and current NBC analyst, said on the Dan Patrick Show that he has a hard time seeing how a team can consistently win in the NFL with a quarterback going 9-of-20 for 104 yards, even though the Broncos just won on Thursday night with Tebow going 9-of-20 for 104 yards.
“I don’t know how much longer it can go,” Dungy said. “I don’t think it can go very long. They’re going to have to get some more passing game, some way.”
At the moment, opposing defenses are struggling with what the Broncos can do on the ground: The Broncos had 125 yards against the Jets, including 68 from Tebow, most of which came on the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Dungy said it’s that running attack that makes the Broncos a difficult team to game plan against.
“I think it gives you a lot of problems — defensively, you have to get ready for all those different things and they keep adding new wrinkles to the running game,” Dungy said.
But is adding new wrinkles to the running game really going to be enough for the Broncos to win the AFC West?
“To win those big games you’re going to have to complete some third-down passes, you’re going to have to be able to get some explosive games in the passing game,” Dungy said. “But right now they’re winning, and I’d say they have to be happy.”
They’re very happy in Denver right now. It remains to be seen whether Tebow can keep Broncos fans happy for long, if he doesn’t dramatically improve as a passer.