It turns out the Denver Broncos were satisfied enough by what they saw Sunday in rookie quarterback Tim Tebow that they’ve asked him to lead the team against the Houston Texans at Invesco Field this weekend. “We just thought that prolonging this thing into the week was just not the best thing for our preparation in practice,” says interim head coach Eric Studesville (via The Denver Post). A scout with NFL.com points out that Tebow’s made significant progress since his college days and that a game plan centered around his strengths could be successful.

ESPN isn’t surprised with the Broncos’ decision, saying the team shouldn’t halt Tebow’s development now, and that at 3-11, “the chance to see Tebow play is the only motivation for fans to go to Denver’s last two games.” Indeed, as the Post reports in a separate article, the last Broncos home game saw as many as 20,000 empty seats.

Another thing that would be good for business is a strong draft full of defensive studs. If NFL football is played in 2011, the Broncos need to find a way out of the league’s defensive basement. Mile High Report thinks the Broncos need to go back to the 4-3 system, with a focus on a bigger defensive line. The Post’s Dave Krieger writes that regardless of the system the team chooses to use on defense, the draft and the free-agency wallet need to be focused on turning the defense around for the foreseeable future; offense is not a priority: “Even if the next coach is not sold on Tebow as a franchise quarterback, he may have no choice but to play out his development—or bide time with a journeyman such as Kyle Orton.”