- Jets Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, Minutes after the Tebow-Jets trade was announced
And we’re off to a great start to Tim Tebow’s second NFL team, the New York Jets. This was the immediate reaction to the trade that brought the controversial and divisive quarterback to the Big Apple. It appears that the Jets locker room reputation of being toxic is alive and well.
I don’t even know what to say about this trade. Tebow, who is 9-7 as a starter with an AFC West title to his credit, was traded for a 4th round pick. A 4th ROUND PICK?! Seriously, how desperate was Elway to rid himself of Tebowmania? I must be missing something because you could surely have gotten a 2nd rounder on the simple case of marketability. Whether you like his game or not, he has a way about him that inspires teammates and wins games. This Jets team is going to challenge Tebow’s ability to inspire. This is a group of “me first” players and quick to place blame. This is a group that has unnamed players calling out others, not man enough to put their name behind their comments. Their coach is more bravado than ability. He was a great defensive coordinator in Baltimore…or was he? Was it really Rex Ryan who was the genius or was it the leadership and all-time greatness of Ray Lewis? Based on the fact that Baltimore is still a top 10 defense without Ryan answers my question.
There is one good thing about the Jets deal. The offensive coordinator is Tony Sparano, who showed the ability and creativity (remember that word from yesterday’s blog) to bring in the Wildcat offense to Miami a few years ago. I can imagine him using Tebow’s unique skill set in a very positive way, especially since the Jets wanted to be a more “ground and pound” team going forward. Tebow’s ability to run and make the running backs look good in his offense, could add an interesting dimension to the Jets offense.
There is the little subject of Mark Sanchez, who the Jets just extended for 3 seasons making the remaining part of his deal 5 years worth $68.25 million. If you give your quarterback that kind of money, you really aren’t bringing in Tebow to challenge for the job. Does that mean they expect Tebow to sit back and be happy as an occasional player? That’s not how that kid is wired. He’s a competitor and showed on the field, he can get the job done. We all know that the New York crowd isn’t pleased with Sanchez and he seems to have a thin skin about it. The New York fans will eventually rally to beg for Tebow and destroy any minimal confidence Sanchez has. Sanchez and Kyle Orton could eventually get together and start a “Tebow Supplanted Me as A Starter” support group.
Maybe I’m crazy but this was clearly John Elway flipping Tebow the middle finger as he pushed him out the door. He sent him to the most dysfunctional team in the league right now, with a coach that clearly isn’t right for him. This will not work. Tim will say the right things and work harder than anyone else. Unfortunately, even for Tebow, this may be too much to overcome.
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