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After taking over as the quarterback during Sunday's game against San Diego, Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos faced what would almost surely be the final play of the game. With his team down to the Chargers' 30-yard line trailing by five points with one second left, he heaved the ball into the end zone hoping for a miracle. It wasn't to be.
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Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow delivers a pass during Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers.
But even as the Broncos fell to 1-4, Tebow's near-comeback in front of the hometown fans added heat to one of the most rancorous debates in the NFL: Whether Tebow should be the starting quarterback for the Broncos and, more broadly, whether this hugely popular athlete has the elite mix of skills one needs to be an NFL quarterback in the first place.
The Broncos brass seem to be coming around. "I think Tim Tebow sparked the team today," head coach John Fox said after the game. He didn't name Tebow the starter, but added that the quarterback position would be "up for discussion."
The fans are pretty much there already. Tebow, who came to prominence at Florida—where he led the Gators to two national titles and won the Heisman trophy—is about as popular as a football player can be.
NFL Podcast
The Hard Count: Tim Tebow, Starter
Not only did he win at a big school with lots of alumni, he cultivated a following among fellow Christians, who appreciate his outspokenness on matters of faith. Despite his limited success since the Broncos made him the No. 25 pick in the 2010 NFL draft, his jersey is a huge seller and fans have taken to chanting his name when current starter Kyle Orton struggles.
The good news for Tebow fans is that their hero didn't play badly.
Put in in the second half after the Broncos fell behind 23-10 at halftime, Tebow ran for a touchdown and threw for another, bringing the Broncos within six points. He ran for 38 yards on six carries and completed 4 of 10 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Tebow supporters trumpeted his 7.9 yards per passing play, a number that's often a fair measure of a quarterback's ability, and his 6.3 yards per carry, which is better than any starting running back in the NFL. But a close review of the tape suggests that his performance won't set many questions to rest.
One of the knocks on Tebow is that his throwing arm, and throwing motion, aren't up to NFL standards. Tebow's touchdown pass was a short screen over the middle to Knowshon Moreno that, by any standard, was the kind of pass a Pop Warner quarterback should be expected to make. Because Moreno ran 28 yards after the catch, the play accounted for 35% of Tebow's total passing yards.
The rest of those yards came on two pass plays on the final drive when the Chargers' defenders were hanging back and giving him the short middle of the field. The first of those last-minute throws was a 20-yard pass to Brandon Lloyd that was originally called incomplete, but later was ruled a completion upon review. On the bright side, Tebow made the right read on the play. The Chargers defense played conservatively, staying behind Denver's receivers and leaving Lloyd open underneath. Even though the Chargers had only three pass rushers—and Tebow had five seconds to let go of the ball—he made the throw awkwardly while leaning slightly back and lifting his left foot off the ground. The ball sailed above and behind Lloyd, forcing him to make a one-handed grab as he fell. It was a brilliant catch on a poorly thrown ball.
The second throw went for 31 yards to Daniel Fells. Again, the Chargers sent just three pass rushers and played so far back they left the middle of the field wide open. Tebow's throw took a full seven seconds—an eternity in the NFL. Because the catch was made in the middle of the field, the clock couldn't be stopped. It also looked as if another receiver, Matthew Willis, was open on the right sideline. Had Tebow found him, it would have given the Broncos a few extra plays to try to score.
More concerning for the Broncos are the routine throws Tebow missed. One pass in particular stands out: With 11:49 left in the game, the Broncos had a chance to sustain a drive and march down the field. After Tebow scrambled for five yards, the Broncos faced a third down with a manageable four yards to go. The Chargers gave Tebow an easy defensive look. They lined up in a base 4-3 (four down linemen and three linebackers) and didn't do anything complicated with their pass rush.
Mike Right
Tebow's blockers gave him plenty of time, and he bought some more by rolling out to his left. Because he's left-handed, this should have made it easy for him to make a dump-off pass to Willis, who was open just beyond the first-down marker. Unfortunately, The ball was way off target and the Broncos were forced to punt.
With 3:15 left in the third quarter, Tebow could have created a chance for the Broncos to convert an important third down On third and seven.
Tebow took the snap out of the shotgun. Broncos tight end Daniel Fells helped get a partial block on Chargers defensive end Shaun Phillips, then darted out to the flat. With the Chargers backed up deep to protect against the pass, Fells was wide open and had the right side of the field almost to himself.
Had Tebow thrown him the ball, the 6-foot-4, 252-pound Fells would have been left with one man to beat: cornerback Dante Hughes, who is six inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter. The play almost surely would have yielded a first down. Instead, Tebow rolled left and overthrew Eric Decker, who was also open, although deep in the middle of the field.
The other classic knock on Tebow is that his running ability, which was a game-changer in college, will be more of a dangerous liability in a league where everyone is two steps faster and 50 pounds heavier. On one run, a five-yard scramble up the middle in the fourth quarter, he decided not to slide and took hard hits from two linebackers as he went down. In the NFL, hits like those will eventually knock a quarterback out of a game. These punishing blows have a way of finding quarterbacks who can't rely on their arms to move the ball.
The highlight that got the most air time on TV after the game was a 12-yard quarterback keeper in the fourth quarter. Here we saw Tebow take the snap from shotgun and cut left, darting up the middle behind his left guard, then dart back to the right and accelerate in a straight line toward the end zone, tucking the ball and lowering his shoulders before landing in the end zone practically untouched. Not to rain on the parade, here, but the credit belonged to the line, who plowed a hole for Tebow the size of a milk wagon.
After the game, Tebow was positive. "I did some things well and some things I need to work on. I will go back and look at the film and see exactly where we are at." He said he felt rusty at first, but eventually gained rhythm on the field. "I just had to get in the flow of the game a little bit and get the feel for it. It's been a while."
On Monday, Broncos head coach John Fox said in a press conference that a final decision hadn't been made, and that he'd likely address the quarterback situation Tuesday.
If Tebow does become the starter, the Broncos have a week off to spend extra time working him into the game plan before taking on the winless Miami Dolphins. Let's hope their film projector works.
Write to Reed Albergotti at reed.albergotti@wsj.com
Online.wsj.com
Museum Detail
The larger cornice on top is supposed to be installed at some point in the future.
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Bracafe | Barcelona
Summer 2011, Barcelona | Spain
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La Sagrada Famlia_01
The Baslica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famlia (Catalan pronunciation: [sa fmii]; English: Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, Spanish: Baslica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia), commonly known as the Sagrada Famlia, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaud (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,[5] and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.
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President Obama, appearing in the Rose Garden at the White House, discusses the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. (Jim Bourg / Reuters / October 20, 2011)
Reporting From Washington—
For a president who promised to end the gunslinger ways of his predecessor, Barack Obama has proven himself comfortable with the use of lethal force.
In the last six months, he authorized Navy SEALs to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. He approved the fatal drone strike on an American cleric in Yemen and dispatched military advisors to Uganda to help hunt down the leaders of a notorious militia. All told this year, he has sent U.S. troops into action on land or in the skies of seven countries on two continents.
Now he has added Moammar Kadafi to the list of enemies eliminated.
Photos: Moammar Kadafi | 1942 - 2011
"This comes at a time when we see the strength of American leadership across the world," Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, tabulating his achievements with language that betrayed a trace of bravado.
"We've taken out Al Qaeda leaders, and we've put them on a path to defeat."
Those foreign victories are unlikely to bring the president much reward at home. With voters singularly focused on the economy, developments overseas have little influence on Obama's approval rating. His bump in the polls after Bin Laden's death in May lasted barely a month. No one expects a similar boost from Kadafi's demise.
About the most Obama and his strategists can hope for politically is that killing U.S. enemies such as Bin Laden and Kadafi will help defend him against Republican charges that he is a weak, indecisive leader. Though he may be stuck with Jimmy Carter-esque economic numbers, Obama has avoided the image of foreign policy weakness that helped make Carter vulnerable in his quest for a second term.
Obama's aides have not been shy in making that point. Asked in a recent interview whether Obama had been prepared for the presidency, David Axelrod, a top campaign advisor, replied, "Maybe you should go ask Osama bin Laden if he thought he was prepared."
In recent months, the Libya air campaign, which was launched in March, had become almost an afterthought in Washington, where the president and his Republican opponents are locked in stalemate over the economy and the overall size of government.
But while foreign military operations may not grab the public's attention, they have become one of the Obama administration's clearest legacies. It has embraced a distinct style of war that can be seen clearly in the commando raid on Bin Laden's compound, the Hellfire missile attack that killed Anwar Awlaki in Yemen and the airstrikes in Libya.
Obama made clear his preference for those sorts of engagements in his most prideful line Thursday: "Without putting a single U.S. service member on the ground, we achieved our objective," he said.
That change has been partly imposed by circumstances. Obama went into the Libya crisis determined to not stretch American military resources further, with U.S. forces committed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the domestic economy struggling. The result is a new approach to waging war.
"The contrast between [George W.] Bush's handling of Iraq and Afghanistan and Obama's handling of Libya is breathtaking," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "No ground footprint, no U.S. casualties and no responsibility for the day after."
Obama's willingness to engage militarily has angered some of his Democratic supporters. But he was never the dove that some imagined in 2008. As a candidate, Obama argued that terrorist groups in Afghanistan were a more direct threat to the U.S. than were the insurgents in Iraq, and he sent an additional 13,000 troops there a month after taking office.
Late in 2009, he approved 30,000 more, which increased the overall U.S. troop presence to nearly 100,000. Even when the troop surge ends after next summer, there will still be more U.S. troops in Afghanistan than when Obama took office.
But in contrast to President Bush, Obama has tried to avoid at least the appearance of America acting as a solo sheriff. In his remarks after Kadafi's death, he linked the end of the Libyan regime to that broader foreign policy theme as he stressed that the U.S. had acted as part of a "coalition that included … NATO and Arab nations."
Libya may be back on the administration's problem list long before the 2012 election rolls around, of course.
Kadafi is "gone, but what will be the character of the political order that emerges in his wake?" asked Andrew Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. "I don't think the U.S. will have a tremendous amount of influence in determining what the character of that order will be."
U.S. and allied officials acknowledged that it would be a struggle to bring Libya's independent militias under central control, to gather up Kadafi's remaining arms, and to build a democracy in a country that has no tradition of independent political institutions.
"There is going to be a population of people — a small one, but nevertheless one that has to be contended with — who believe they were better off with Kadafi," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview with CBS.
She also said that the country remained "awash in weapons," in what is "a big concern for the United States."
Despite those caveats, administration aides have reason to regard the seven-month Libya mission as a success — and were quick to claim it as such.
"The bottom line is this is a huge victory for the Libyan people, but we wouldn't be where we are today without the decisions that the president made," said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor for communications. "We were able to see a dictator of over 40 years fall in less than eight months, and that's an extraordinary pace of events."
Photos: Moammar Kadafi | 1942 - 2011
peter.nicholas@latimes.com
david.lauter@latimes.com
Times staff writers Paul Richter, David S. Cloud, Brian Bennett and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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Here's Looking at You
PBR Cooper Tires Invitational in Columbus.
Taken from the 'Shark Cage' sitting in the middle of the arena.
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Utah Pioneer Trail in Fall
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0119 - Biketoberfest 2011 - Hooters Bikini Contest
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Of limp nothing of limp!!
Thanks for the visit, comments, awards, invitations and favorites.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
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Eldorado State Park, Colordo
4 Frame HDR
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Eat these money-saving recipes tonight, or stash them in the freezer for a fast fix when time is tight.
Sausage-and-Lentil Stew
FREEZE the cooled stew in a freezer container for up to 1 month.
THAW the stew enough to release it from the freezer container, then place it in a saucepan with 2 tbsp. water.
REHEAT: Cover and heat over low heat until the stew thaws completely, then increase the heat to get the stew bubbling-hot.
Get the recipe »
Fish-and-Taters Casserole
FREEZE: Double-wrap (in plastic wrap and foil) the cooled gratin and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
THAW in the fridge overnight.
REHEAT: Preheat the oven to 400°. Unwrap the foil, discard the plastic wrap and re-cover with the foil. Bake until heated through, 35 to 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes to recrisp the topping.
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Turkey Tetrazzini
FREEZE: Double-wrap (in plastic wrap and foil) the cooled dish and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
REHEAT: Preheat the oven to 400°. Unwrap the foil, discard the plastic and re-cover with the foil. Bake until the center is warm, 30 to 35 minutes; uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes to recrisp the topping.
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Kickin' Mini Meatloaves
FREEZE: Wrap the cooled meatloaves, in the pan, with foil and freeze for up to 1 month.
REHEAT: Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the muffi n pan (straight from the freezer) in the oven and bake until heated through, 45 to 55 minutes.
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Veggie Fajita Burritos
FREEZE: Wrap the burritos individually in foil or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
REHEAT: Unwrap and microwave until warm, 3 to 4 minutes, turning over halfway through. For a crisper wrapping, heat in the microwave, then bake in a 450° oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
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By Sonali Ruder | Photography by Ngoc Minh Ngo
MORE LIKE THIS:
Top 20 freezable recipes »
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<img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6157/6230249136_4bfcbd31a8_z.jpg" alt="photo" width="427" height="640" onload="page_timing.photo_end = page_timing.photo_end || new Date().getTime();F.imageChecker.load(this);" onerror="F.imageChecker.error(this);">
2011-10-09_Canon7D_IMG_5414
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USA, San Francisco - Days 12 & 13 - April 2011
Thanks for any comments.
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Pennsylvania State Capitol
4th Annual Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk, Harrisburg, PA, USA
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I Tried to Stand Where You Made Me Fall
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Blue Hour at Black Nab
I wanted to capture this shot with a longer exposure but was hit by a pretty severe rain shower which had me scrambling to protect the camera.
The tide was on the way out, you can see the Nab on the horizon looking like a surfacing submarine.
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2011-04-23_1136-21-280 1210 3016 and SP31 at Canberra
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