Brash and bold, Shannon Sharpe is never at a loss for words. His mouth has always roared.

Sometimes it’s just part of his national TV shtick. But when it comes to the Broncos, the Hall of Fame tight end and analyst for CBS Sports speaks from his heart.

So it was with great interest that I listened to Sharpe’s recent comments regarding struggling quarterback Tim Tebow. It’s clear Sharpe doesn’t believe Tebow has the stuff to be a productive NFL quarterback, calling Tebow a “$10 million project.”

Even more interesting, Sharpe said that great quarterbacks, such as John Elway, make the players around them better. That’s not the case with Tebow, at least in Sharpe’s view.

Speaking with Gary Miller and Vic Lombardi Thursday morning on his weekly segment on FM 102.3 “The Ticket,” Sharpe was asked if he’s seen enough to form an opinion about Tebow.

“Can I ask you a question, Gary?” Sharpe replied. “How many dates did you have to go on before you realized that the girl you were dating wasn’t the one? Does the girl need to burn your house down? Does she need to bust your car windows out?”

Sharpe made it clear that he has nothing personal against Tebow, but he also made it clear he doesn’t believe Tebow is an NFL-quality QB.

“Look, I’m not arguing whether or not he’s a great guy,” Sharpe said. “I’m not arguing whether or not he’s a hard worker. I’m not arguing any of those facts.

“But I think in today’s game, it’s hard for you to play quarterback in the National Football League if you can’t throw the ball accurately, and if you can’t throw it consistently accurate.”

Sharpe went on to make the point that it’s perfectly fine for an NFL team to invest time and money in a “$20,000 project” like himself. Sharpe, after all, was a seventh-round draft pick.

“That’s no harm, no foul,” he said.

But it’s altogether different when you’re trying to make a starting quarterback out of a high-profile, high-cost first-round draft choice such as Tebow. For the record, Tebow will make $6.7 million this year and he has already collected $6.28 million in salary advance.

“When you spend $10 million for a home, you’re not looking to add more granite, you’re not looking to add hardwood floors. You are looking to move in,” Sharpe said.

Miller then asked Sharpe if the time has come for Elway, the team’s vice president of football operations, to “cut bait.” That is, tell Broncos fans that despite all of Tebow’s admirable qualities, it’s time for the club to move on.

“I think that’s what’s going to have to happen,” Sharpe said.

Next, Sharpe made his point about how great quarterbacks shape teams.

“At the end of the day, this is ultimately how you look at a quarterback and tell if he’s any good or not: Does he make anybody else around him better?” Sharpe said. “The reason people constantly say that John Elway is the best to ever play the game? John Elway took a seventh-round draft pick out of Savannah State and you saw him get a (Hall of Fame) gold jacket. He took an undrafted free agent (Rod Smith) and (Smith) caught more passes for more yards and more touchdowns than any other undrafted receiver in history of the game.

“He took a sixth-round draft pick in Terrell Davis, and Terrell Davis rushed for 2,000 yards, he was a league MVP, he was a Super Bowl MVP.”

Sharpe finished his Tebow analysis with this: “A great QB is like makeup. I’m talking about the really good makeup. He can hide flaws, he can hide imperfections.”

Whether you are a Tebow lover or a Tebow basher, you have to admit Sharpe made some interesting points.

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp