Saturday's 2012 NFL playoff game against the New England Patriots was not one of the Denver Broncos' finest moments. It was a 45-10 drubbing by Tom Brady and his six touchdown passes. It was Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez forming a juggernaut catching (and running) the ball. SI.com's Chris Burke took note of all of this and graded the Denver Broncos poorly for its playoff performance.
The running game received the highest grade, a B, because Willis McGahee was able to pick up 76 yards despite have no rush blocking. The special teams received a C, mostly, it seems, due to Britton Colquitt's offday. Might that have been a result of working with a new long snapper?
All other positions received a D-plus or worse. Here's what Burke wrote about Tim Tebow's D-minus grade:
Was this loss all on Tim Tebow's shoulder? Absolutely not. The Broncos melted down in just about all aspects of the game Saturday. And yet ... at halftime, Denver's QB had as many completions (three) as Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had touchdowns. There was none of the deep passing magic Denver used to burn Pittsburgh, and Tebow even looked hesitant making decisions on option plays.
And this is why Tim Tebow will benefit from working throughout the offseason with John Elway. We would hope that Elway can nurture the young quarterback and have big improvements in his game for the fall.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more on this game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Patriots blog Pats Pulpit. Head over to SB Nation NFL for more coverage of the 2012 NFL Playoffs.