Is Tim Tebow a Bronco bust?

-- ESPN analyst Merril Hoge calls Tim Tebow a Clydesdale.

"He's the best Clydesdale you'll get in the history of Clydesdales," Hoge said this week. "But he is now being tested in the Kentucky Derby."

The Raiders are trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth. They are 4-3, coming off an ugly loss to the Chiefs and a bye week. They host the Denver Broncos, whom they have beaten four straight times - one of them by 45 points. And the Broncos' quarterback this week is Tebow.

Tebow started the fifth game of his two-year career last week and the former Heisman Trophy winner continued to regress. In the 45-10 loss, Tebow completed 18 of 39 passes for 172 yards, a touchdown and an interception, fumbled once and was sacked seven times.

"It's a joke," one Lion defender told Yahoo. "We knew all week that if we brought any kind of defensive pressure, he couldn't do anything. In the second half it got boring out there. We were like, 'Come on - that's your quarterback? Seriously?' "

The 235-pound Tebow can run like a talented fullback, but thus far has shown the throwing form of one as well. Besides being inaccurate, he holds the ball too long and has been sacked 13 times the past two weeks. The Raiders, who sacked Denver starter Kyle Orton five times in a season-opening 23-20 win at Denver, are licking their chops.

"Tebow is going to give you more chances to get him. He is going to hold it and try to make a play," defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. "Orton is going to go through his progressions and try to get the ball to the playmakers. Tebow tries to make plays.

"To get to Kyle Orton, you're going to have to beat your man clean. Against Tebow, you might get caught up in your rush and he is still back there holding the ball, trying to run around. He is going to give you a chance."

In two starts, he has thrown for 333 yards and completed 47 percent of his passes, and on one of his 13 sacks he was timed as having the ball in the pocket for eight seconds. The amazing thing is that the Broncos actually won one of those games, coming from behind to beat 0-7 Miami 18-15.

The Lions blitzed Tebow frequently, a good recipe for the Raiders as Tebow is completing just 23.5 percent of his passes when being blitzed.

Oakland has blitzed a lot more since the passing of owner Al Davis (who preferred straight-up defense), averaging 24 per game since Week 5. And it's worked, as opponents are completing an NFL-low 35.7 percent of their passes against the blitz since Oct. 9.

Tebow isn't throwing the ball that well when teams don't blitz, and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer says the problem goes beyond bad throwing mechanics. "The most disturbing flaw I recognized with Tim Tebow in college, and it's continued in the NFL, is that he doesn't anticipate his throws," Dilfer said. "In his mind's eye, he does not see the completion point; instead he throws at receivers. Most of his misses, especially the egregious ones, are behind receivers."

Tebow attempteddiscount nfl jerseys 7 passes over 20 yards against Detroit and completed none of them. He was third-string behind Orton and Brady Quinn. But when Orton struggled in the first five games, the Denver fans called for Tebow and the Broncos seemingly relented to the pressure. Was Denver looking for a spark, or was it trying to convince its fans that Tebow was not the answer and to pipe down?

"I think that's the dumbest thing I ever heard," Broncos coach John Fox said in a conference call with Bay Area reporters.

Or is it? Fox and head personnel guy John Elway are both in their first year on the job, and they didn't draft Tebow in the first round last year (since-fired Josh McDaniels did). They might feel they have to play Tebow for three or four games to show fans why they would want to walk away from Tebow's five-year, $11.25 million contract next year.

Tebow, who didn't mind Lions players mocking how he takes a knee in prayer during games, takes being one of the most polarizing player in the NFL in stride.

"Although there is a lot of talk back and forth, I just know that I am blessed," he said, "because I have the platform to be able to walk into a hospital and share with kids and have them listen to me and have a platform to have a good influence for people and set a good example."

Raiders receiver Louis Murcheap nfl jerseys free shippingphy was a teammate of Tebow's at Florida, and he, all evidence to the contrary, is ready for a dogfight Sunday. "Doesn't matter," Murphy said. "He's going to come out and fight. That's what he does. He's a great competitor. He's primed for the big moment. It's a big game and we've got to come with our lunch pail because he's going to have something for us."

Briefly: Running backs Michael Bush and Taiwan Jones are splitting the first-team reps, as Darren McFadden didn't practice again Thursday and the team is preparing to go without him Sunday. ... Sebastian Janikowski (hamstring) is close to returning, but he hasn't kicked yet and has two days of practice to show coach Hue Jackson that he doesn't need to sign a replacement.
Another sellout

Sunday's game against the Broncos is a sellout, the first time the Raiders have sold out the first five games of a season since 2006.

"It means that these fans are truly believCheap NFL Jerseysing in what we're doing," coach Hue Jackson said. "I just thank the city. I thank the organization. I thank everybody for continuing to support this team."http://hmpsounds.forumotion.com/t245-is-tim-tebow-a-bronco-bust