It's Tebow time

If there is a theme to Week 7 in the NFL, it is all the changes at quarterback around the league.

In Washington, Mike Shanahan has finally grown weary of Rex (Sexy Rexy) Grossman throwing the ball away and has named John Beck his starter.

In Minnesota, Leslie Frazier has told Donovan McNabb to take a seat and he has elevated rookie Christian Ponder to the starting role.

In Oakland, the newly-acquired Carson Palmer is ready to assume controls of the Raiders offence after only three practices.

But the biggest quarterback story will take place in Miami, where Tim Tebow takes over as the Broncos No. 1 QB when they take on the Dolphins. The game is a sell-out and Tebowmania will be out in full force in Miami.

As the NFL Network’s Jason LaCanfora told Greg Brady and me Friday, this is the beginning of an 11-game audition for Tebow to prove he is a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL.

With that in mind, it is time to take a look at some of the key games this week.

The Black Hole Loves You Game: KC @ OAK

The Raiders take on the Chiefs in Oakland in a key AFC West game.

After only three full practices, Carson Palmer will get the start at quarterback for the Raiders. That likely means the Raiders will rely a lot on Darren McFadden and their running game as Palmer gets up to speed with the playbook and the terminology of Hue Jackson’s offense.

Defence has been a big issue with the Chiefs this season. Kansas City is ranked dead last in the NFL as they are allowing an average of 30 points per game. Offensively, the Chiefs are not much better as they are ranked 29th in the NFL, averaging a mere 15.4 points per game.

On paper, this looks like a very winnable game for the Raiders, but the Chiefs have won two straight and receiver Dwayne Bowe will be tough for the Raiders’ secondary to deal with.

The Battle for the South Game: TEX @ TEN

The idea that the Texans would take advantage of an injury-riddled Colts team and win the AFC South is blowing up in their face. The Texans’ best defensive player, Mario Williams, is done for the year. Their best offensive player, receiver Andre Johnson, has a hamstring injury that will likely keep him out of the lineup for four more games. Somehow Gary Kubiak has had to rally his remaining healthy players and make them believe they can still win the division. After a slow start, Titans running back Chris Johnson has run for over 150 yards and a touchdown in his past two games.

Following the Texans the Titans will play the Colts. This means Mike Munchak and the Titans have a great opportunity to grab control of a weak division with a win Sunday.

The Shut Your Mouth Game: SD @ NYJ

Rex Ryan really stirred the pot this week when he announced to the media that if he had been the coach of the Chargers, they would have already won a couple of Super Bowls by now.

Chargers coach Norv Turner fired back by asking reporters where were the Super Bowl rings Ryan has been promising Jets fans?

Unlike Matt Moore and the Dolphins, Philip Rivers and the Chargers will provide a much tougher test for Darrelle Revis and the Jets pass defense. Both teams are almost identical when it comes to points scored and points allowed.

Where Rivers as an advantage over Mark Sanchez is that Revis is better than any defensive back the Chargers can throw at the Jets. The big problem plaguing Sanchez and the Jets offense is their total lack of ability to convert on third downs. The Jets are ranked dead last in the NFL at 35 per cent of their offensive drives ending in a three and out.

The Shake My Hand Game: ATL @ DET

Assuming Jim Schwartz has calmed down after his near brawl with Jim Harbaugh, the Lions will be more than ready to rebound from last week’s loss to the 49ers. The big concern for the Lions is the health of running back Jahvid Best.

Best has a concussion and an attempt to acquire Ronnie Brown in a trade fell through. That means the Lions won’t have much of a running game to work with when they face the Falcons. Matt Ryan and the Falcons are at the point where they need to string together a number of wins to get back into the NFC wild card race.

This is a game where running back Michael Turner will play a vital role. If the Falcons can get Turner going it will keep the Lions defence honest and open up the play action passing game for Ryan.

The Don’t Kick it to Hester Game: CHI vs. TB @ Wembley

Other than last year’s game between the Broncos and the 49ers, every winner of the annual London game has gone on to make the playoffs.

If Bucs head coach Raheem Morris wants to make sure that trend continues, he better make sure his kickers avoid Devin Hester at all cost. That means Morris will have to risk giving up field position in order to avoid Hester getting his hands on the ball. But when you consider the alternative, that’s a risk Morris is likely willing to take.

Like it is every other week, protecting Jay Cutler is a top priority for the Bears offensive line. Cutler has been sacked 19 times this year and it is doubtful if he will make it through the entire season at the rate he’s being hit in the pocket.

If you hit Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, you better wrap him up because he’s so big and strong that he will bounce off of most defenders. The big upside for both teams playing this game in London is that they both go on their bye week afterwards.

The Gladiator Game: GB @ MIN

Young Christian Ponder will be thrown to the proverbial Roman Lions as his first start as an NFL quarterback is against Clay Matthews and the Packers defence.

Leslie Frazier had enough of a struggling Donovan McNabb and decided to see what the kid see what he can do.

After how poorly McNabb played recently, it couldn’t get much worse for the Vikings, could it?

If it is possible, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offence look to be even better than the one that ran the table in last year’s playoffs. The Packers main concern going into this game isn’t Ponder. The Packers have to be more worried about Adrian Peterson and they also have to respect Jared Allen and the Vikings pass rush.

If the Packers can slow down Peterson and keep Allen away from Rodgers, then this game will be over in a hurry.

Survivor pool tip of the week: Now if I was a betting man, I would lean heavily on the Cowboys at home over the Rams and the Ravens to beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Jim Lang is co-host of Brady and Lang in the morning on SPORTSNET 590 The FAN and a columnist for sportsnet.ca.