Is Tim Tebow the most overrated player in Broncos' history?

Tim Tebow is a lot like John Cena.

You either love them or hate them. There’s no middle ground with either.

The difference is Cena has ability, and he’s one of the best to ever do it.

There are some in Broncos Country who still credit the “Magic of Tebow” for the incredible 8-8 season and playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.

“Tebow Time” as it became known around these parts.

I’ll admit I got caught up in the craze of Tebow as just about everyone did. You came to expect for 58 minutes, the Broncos would be awful but the defense would keep it in games. Then a running back runs out of bounds, an interception gets returned for a touchdown or Tebow actually completes a pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Instead of saying Tebow was the reason for those miracles (and, yes, they were), I enjoyed that special ride. Instead of saying Tebow was the reason those miracles had to happen, I enjoyed the special ride.

With how far the Broncos had fallen under Josh McDaniels, the organization and fan base needed that jolt of magic. It didn’t matter to me how poor of a quarterback Tebow was. I didn’t want to get caught up in the debate. Part of me still doesn’t. In case you haven’t noticed: his fans are a cult.

The Cult of Tebow still thinks John Elway and the Broncos should have stuck with their hero over Peyton Manning.

That brings about an interesting question: Is Tebow the most overrated player in Broncos’ history? He’s definitely up there with Michael Adams as one of the best to ever deliver bounce passes in Denver history.

All jokes aside, I was torn on this, so I took to Twitter to let Broncos Country answer this question. I said who I felt was the most underrated player in Broncos’ history a few days ago, and I stand by that despite disagreement from some fans.

Some went there. They said the only reason that ride happened was because of the defense and special teams – namely Matt Prater. It had nothing to do with Tebow.

Others to get votes in this unscientific poll:

• Receiver Ashley Lelie
• Running back Quentin Griffin
• Kicker Matt Prater
• Someone mentioned the Three Amigos, saying it was a great nickname but three no-so-good receivers (Mark Jackson, Vance Johnson and Ricky Nattiel).
• Quarterback Jake Plummer

You could make the case for all of those mentioned, and you would probably be right.

When you look at the definition for overrated, “have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved,” that leaves only one choice.

Despite visual evidence to the contrary, the Cult of Tebow still believes he’s the second coming of Steve Young. Check that: Young has nothing on Tebow.

If that’s not, “have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved” nothing is.

Still, that doesn’t take away from that magical ride in 2011.