The Jets Brass are just loving all of this attention and discussion. They opened this pandora's box on purpose even though they knew full well the potential drama. In fact, they paid good money (2.5 mil) for a front row seat.
I don't buy the theory that the Jets made this move to get attention or to take away attention from the Giants winning the SB. The Jets got a ton of attention in dec & january- all of it BAD. if the tebow thing blows up it will be more unwanted negative attention. in '09 & '10 they got attention for being a top team and that's the only way to get such attention. I'm not naive to think that all of tebow's off field popularity didn't play some sort of role but if they didn't think this could work on the field they never would have made the deal.
The mere fact that you need Tebow to "help" Mark Sanchez get better and in games is an inditement on Mark Sanchez. Tebow is not Brad Smith. He's not a designated RB, he's a QB. Whatever you may think Tebow should be he is listed on the roster as a quarterback (back-up). It is silly and naive to buy into the notion that he's not an actual threat to Sanchez, and for the Jets to try to side-step or dance around the concept is laughable and speaks to me of the lack of toughness on Mark. Its like you want the Mark that was so sharp and focused in the playoff run two years ago, but you have this monster you created in the regular season who seems spoiled, coddled, and the mentality of a rock star but without the hardware to prove it. At some point, Cav's comments allude to that, imo. Sanchez thinks he's the shit and nobody is gonna tell him different. Is it too late to get the guy before he thought he was a rock star GQ Celebrity? I think of the player Jeff George. The guy thought he was the shit. And he had tremendous talent, but became uncoachable.
I don't think they got him to help Mark Sanchez, they got him to help the offense. he's a unique wepaon and he may be listed as a QB but he will fill many roles- many more than Brad Smith plus he's a better runner and passer. I don't think he is any more of a threat than Drew Stanton would be on the field. Sure he has an incredibly loyal following and that may create some things in the media but Stevie Wonder could see there's no comparing the 2 QBs. The best thing Tebow did as a starting QB was lead late comebacks, Sanchez has also specialized in that too and he's been better at it. The only way Tebow is our starting QB is if Sanchez gets hurt. You think Sanchez is like Jeff george? George had HOF physical tools and was dumb as could be and didn't work, Sanchez has above average NFL physical tools and works as hard as anyone on the team. The two are nothing alike B/c he does a GQ photoshoot he thinks he's a rockstar celebrity? give me a break. he has never put himself above the team and he does a fraction of the off field stuff he is offered.
LMAO I tell you what: You actually are buying what the management said as if it's 100% true when everything that you said is a contradiction. Management say one thing but their actions CLEARLY speak to something else entirely. What I said is a much more critical and honest read on this move.
I am not buying anything, I'm looking at it realistically. You are buying what the media is telling you but when you step back and see things realistically you'll get a better understanding.
I do think that Woody's fingers were all over the Tebow Trade, and Woody knows less about football than most posters here. His purchase of the Jets was largely motivated by his interest in pursuing the West Side Stadium concept, which of course was really a real estate play. He also has his investment in the team to consider, but that doesn't mean we should just assume a guy who inherited all his wealth should know what is best for the team. This is merely another example of one of life's principles that I believe is a great and useful guide - You can't count on people to do the right thing for themselves. Who can deny the Jets got much publicity from the Tebow trade? That much of it was negative does not mean that Woody foresaw that effect. He probably didn't. But I do not mean to say there were not other pieces to the puzzle, and one of them, as Cavanaugh's statements indicate, is a general unhappiness with and questioning of Mark Sanchez. There is some precedent for understanding how the team deals with situations involving a well known player who is seen as problematic going forward. That of course would be the Chad situation back in the off season before 08. At the time Chad was coming off another injury plagued season. Mangini had announced that there would be a Qb competition, and many Chad Fans were quite upset, and vocally so. I have no doubt the Jet organization was convinced by then that Chad would never prove to be a durable and dependable Qb. Despite his success in 08 with Miami, this assessment of Chad proved to be correct the next year. So, what to do about the fanbase that supported an asset of rapidly depreciating value? The Jet organization brought in Brett Favre, and Chad was sent packing. Sure the Chad Fans were upset, but they were drowned out by the excitement over Favre. Well, the obvious weakness in analogizing that situation to the present one is that Tebow is no Brett Favre. But still, much of the analogy holds up. The part that most does so is that all the noise drowns out and discourages Sanchez's fans. But it is different in that this process seems more like a slow, Chinese water torture process compared to the Mob hit on Chad. I also think the approach has alienated non-Sanchez fans such as myself, but Woody probably doesn't care what I think. Heh. They think the worst case scenario is that both Tebow and Sanchez suck, and then they can say "Well, we tried!", and start over next year. In the meantime they get lots of attention and publicity. I think the worst case is far worse than that, though. They waste another year as the core group of players gets older. They risk alienating the fanbase. Or at least a significant enough part of it. There are several other negative possibilities, but those are the main ones.
The scary part of your scenario is that the worst case might be the most likely one. They actually have a core group of solid players in Revis, Harris, Mangold and Brick to build around and pursue becoming a great team. They were able to build a team in the past that reached the AFC Championship and actually faltered because of injuries (strickland and Greene in 09-10) and blown defensive coverages (Mendehall having a field day). I don't see why after last year they feel like they needed to go away from Sanchez. It was proven you can make the playoffs and win with him in the playoffs. The Jets were in slightly the same spot the Steelers were with Ben entering the league and the Ravens with Flacco. Both teams wanted to win now with young QB's. Both these teams had more established defenses but I think Harbaugh and Flacco joined the Ravens the same year like Ryan and Sanchez.
Realistically, you have a quarterback controversy of 10 on a scale of 10 and you're acting, and the Jets are acting, like its a 0.
It's much closer to zero than 10, the media and anti-Jet fans would like us to believe this is Simms vs. Hostetler 1991 but it's not. it's not an open compeititon, tebow is the backup.
Tebows college numbers don't mean jack. The system they played in is what made it happen. Of course tebow had to make plays but double PA wr reverse option passes aren't gonna get it done in the NFL Tim tebow grinded teams out on the ground and had athletic mismatches in his favor at skill positions. Let's not forget how awesome his OL was also. He had arguably one of the best teams top to bottom in college history IMO. The defense was also ridiculous during his run there. Put up all the numbers you want but just like you can't be convinced he's not a vialbe franchise qb people wont come around to your line of thinking either. He's the most divisive figure I've seen in a while. Simply because looking at him play you see unntaural mechanics, an inabilty to read the field, a mess of passes remotely close to nobody. He simply doesn't pass the eye test. Yet he produces albeit in a controversal fashion, and off the field he's everything you want from a star qb. I've always said if anyone has the work ethic to prove me wrong its tim tebow. That being said I view him as an amazing athlete best built for H back and someone who can get you a decent amount of td passes if schemed correctly. Its too early to call his career at qb dead, that being said I see the same player I saw in college even after numerous stories of how he's fixed his throwing motion and mechanics.
This QB controversy is not 10. It's off-the-scales. It's the worst kind of QB controversy to have because it's going to be coming from all angles. The guys in the locker room just want to get close to Tebow and touch him. They're blinded by his innate magnetism and that's only going to get worse as the off-season process continues. Bart Scott wants Tebow to baptize him. All of the fans are frustrated with how the offense worked out last year and obviously the QB is going to draw an unusual amount of attention because he plays the most important position on the field. The media is only happy when things are noisy and give them a lot to write about and earn their keep. They'll do just about anything to get a nice circus to develop on the Jets this season. The head coach is a blabbermouth. I say that with great fondness because he's a pure Ralph Kramden blabbermouth. How can you not like the guy? The problem is the entire organization below him are following his lead. They're all blabbermouths now and they have something great to blabber about. I give the Jets about 6 weeks into the season before even long-term Jet fans who have seen it all are watching the show with rapt fascination. The Jets are going to be water cooler talk like you can't imagine this season. They'll likely be mediocre water cooler fodder but for Woody that's better than being mediocre and quiet. And the QB controversy is going to be topic #1. That and the photos of Bart Scott in a kiddy swimming pool with Tebow baptizing him in the locker room before a big game.
There isn't any controversy in that locker room and that is all that matters. You are going to take playful comments by Bart Scott as evidence? These players watch film, they know who their QB will be. There is absolutely no controversy other than media/fan creations.
I am sorry, but having somone like Tebow in your lockeroom amidst less than a very stable QB relationship is like bringing in your charismatic, good looking ex-girlfriend to live with you and your wife. You can point out and talk all day long that your wife is the best wife ever and your ex is there only as a renter to help the family , but sooner than later the shit will hit the fan and its going to be ....either she goes or I do. I'm afraid the owner will pressure to retain whomever sells the most tickets and screw everything else.
It's more like bringing in a hot girl to live w/ you that has her vagina sewed up, nice to look at but what's the point? Tebow is NOT a starting NFL QB in this league, Mark Sanchez is MUCH better even at his worst. Here's a nice article on the situation: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/...-doing-with-sanchez-lighting-a-fire-under-him
Great analogy. Speaking of analogies... The more I think about it, I have been quite skeptical of the notion that Tebow was brought in to light a fire under Sanchez. I was skeptical because I do not perceive Sanchez as lazy. What has been called coddling by some was more about a lack of accountability for Sanchez, something Sanchez Fans unwittingly fed into by blaming everybody else for his obvious problems. But maybe the analogy is not lighting a fire under him as letting him sink or swim, with a heavy dose of letting the fanbase see it all unfold. Perhaps the thinking is, with the added pressure coming from the Tebots to some extent drowning out support of Sanchez by his Fans, that Sanchez either gets it done this year, or not. Sanchez will have to in fact deal with even more adversity to get it done, and that might seem a counterproductive approach. But maybe Woody and the rest are just saying Fuck it, either he succeeds, no excuses for not succeeding, or he doesn't, in which case the Jets move on. That they move on in the first instance to someone who appears to have even more issues than Sanchez is really besides the point. The Jets have less invested in Tebow than in Sanchez, and Tebow can be made to leave at any time. Tebow gives the FO the out of saying Mark is in need of a little rest, time out, whatever, so let's see what Tebow can do? And if Tebow fails, the FO can still say we tried, fans, so now we are going to have to get still another Qb in here. And then of course next off season will be about all sorts of high publicity efforts to get a new starting Qb on the team. Meanwhile the JEts extricate themselves from their involvement with Sanchez, using Tebow as a kind of publicity smoke screen. I have noticed already that the Sanchez Fans this off season have been relatively quiet. It is as if they are dogs who have gotten skunked, gotten their tomato bath, heard their owners complain about the mess they got into, and have their tales between their legs, moping and waiting for the stink to get off them. In other words the strategy already is paying dividends if you buy into the whole thing. yeah, lots of analogies.
You are spot on, to me all those scenarios put way to much undue pressure on the kid, and having a big mounth idiot for QB coach does not help.
Go back and look at the reason I posted his college stats. The claim was made that Tebow has NEVER been accurate. That just quite simply ISN'T the case as he was a better passer in college than either of the Manning boys or Matthew Stafford. A QB couldn't compile those stats without being an accurate passer. You say that Tebow "grinded teams out on the ground" ? Hmmmm, let's go to the books on that one. During Tebow's sophomore year, his first year as a starter, he ran for 895 yards while he PASSED for 3286 yards. As a team, Florida rushed for 2602 yards and passed for 3341 yards. Now, I'm not saying that Tebow was the best passer in the world, but it's not like he was a Nebraska QB Eric Crouch passing for 1500 yards a season. That's what made Tebow so good in college, the fact that he was indeed a dual threat, that he could run teams over BUT he could also shred them through the air. Now, just so there is no mistake in where I stand, Tebow's passing was extremely erratic last year and he was very inconsistent. Again, I think it has to do with the tinkering with his mechanics and that he hasn't internalized those changes yet. IF he can fix his mechanics, become much more consistent AND "NFL accurate", then he will be extremely scary for NFL defenses.
