The first 12 games of the Broncos season was more of the same from the 2^nd half of 2009. Finishing the 2009 season with a 2-8 record in their last 10 games, the Broncos started the 2010 season with a 3-9 record before Coach Josh McDaniels got canned. The Josh McDaniels era was supposed to be a positive one, with McDaniels taking over for longtime coach Mike Shanahan. The Broncos started 2009 6-0, but it was all downhill from there.

Their first game without McDaniels wasn’t any better, as they lost 43-13 in Arizona, but week 15 everything turned around. An injury to Kyle Orton forced Tim Tebow into the lineup at quarterback and Tebow didn’t disappoint. The 1^st round pick exceeded expectations, going 40 for 81 for 651 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 picks, as well as 199 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 31 carries.

Most importantly, the team simply played better when he was in the lineup. Remember he was doing this with a coaching staff led by a man who started the year as the running backs coach and that he wasn’t even supposed to play this year at all, with the exception of special packages.

Now heading into 2011, the Broncos have a lot of hope. They can bring in a strong coach to coach Tebow up and another offseason of Tebow’s patented hard work should bring Tebow back even better in 2011. The Broncos are one of the favorites for Jim Harbaugh, should the coach leave Stanford. Jon Gruden is also a candidate.

They also have the 2^nd pick in the draft to work with, to boost a defense that gave up 2.1 more points per game than any other team in the league. They also have a valuable trade chip in Kyle Orton, who can net them either a 2^nd round pick or a 3^rd and some other picks.