But Sanchez regressed last year in his 3rd season following a fairly successful sophomore year (only 13 interceptions, Jets 11-5). Even though he just signed this $40 million extension (which is truly puzzling), every year he has been a starter in the NFL, he has been in the bottom third of the league in passing, throwing for less than 7 yards per attempt, with completion percentages eerily similar to those of the infamously armed ex-Bronco QB. Tebow actually has a higher career yards per attempt than Sanchez as well (6.8 to 6.5).
Now, instead of fully solving their QB situation by going for Manning (a bit more on that later), the Jets’ QB issues go from an already muddled situation with Sanchez's constant drama and confidence issues to a full on showcase with two equivalently mediocre passers vying for supremacy. Here are some of the potential reasons why the Jets simply couldn’t resist the chance to make the Mile High Messiah become the Messiah of Metlife, and to ruin life for Sanchez.
9. Tebow Jersey Sales will become an instant hit in New York. Green and white Tebow jersey ads already headline every page on NFL.com. Tebow will also probably increase the jersey sales of all Tebow’s star Jets teammates like Darrelle Revis and D’Brickishaw Ferguson (D’Brickishaw jersey sales would skyrocket if they were granted an exceptional first name status. Come on Jets' marketers!).
8. Rex Ryan wants Tebow on his Madden team for when he plays against his Jeff Bridges fused identical twin brother, Rob Ryan. Rex might have had his fragile patience shattered after watching the Ravens defense pick off Mark Sanchez 114 times over the last three years of playing the game.
7. Rex Ryan couldn’t handle his frequent flashbacks he had been experiencing since Tebow’s 20 yard game winning last minute run against the Jets last November (the other Denver score came off a Mark Sanchez throw). This game was just the example Jets' management needed to see that a Tebow led offense could outdo a Mark Sanchez led offense, especially when Sanchez throws costly pick 6's at the end of games.
6. The Jets wanted to steal attention from the Giants. The Jets must be annoyed because, all of a sudden, everyone in New York is for some reason making a big deal out of the Giants after they won two Super Bowls in five years in miraculous fashion. The Jets, and Rex Ryan in particular, have a recent tradition of making wanna-be Namath Super Bowl predictions just to get attention. Acquiring Tebow is a much less humiliating way of getting everyone’s attention after ending up losing each of the last few years and looking like fools making empty promises.
5. Media coverage revenues will shoot up for the Jets by the mere presence of Tebow. He will become must see TV and will get national coverage every week when he starts, and even Tebow on the bench or in situational settings makes for a story that people want to see.
4. The Jets simply liked the value trade of a 1st round pick for a 4th round pick and a 6th round pick. New York could have just gone for the fact that Tebow is a still a former 1st round pick with a successful season under his belt, going for a 4th and a 6th round pick. Just last year, Carson Palmer, another former first round pick who is older and probably has less starting years ahead of him than Tebow, attracted a 1st and 2nd round pick from the Raiders. Based on value, even if he does make Mark Sanchez feel a bit queasy in close games to start out the season, Tebow's an insane value pickup and without a doubt a worthwhile addition to the team in specialty situations.
3. Tebow can save the Jets’ rushing attack, which only averaged 3.8 yards per carry last season and was outrushed by its opponents. The Broncos led the NFL with 4.8 yards per carry last year, and there’s no reason to think the Jets won’t be able to do the same this year with Tebow. Although Willis McGahee was underratedly amazing last season for the Broncos, the combination of Shonn Greene, Ladainian Tomlinson, and Joe McKnight will provide much more for Tebow than what Denver had to offer at the running back position from a talent perspective. Rex Ryan has always fantasized about a ground and pound attack, but Shonn Greene and LT haven’t seemed up to the task in recent years. Now, the Jets have a number of serious rushing threats, especially if Joe McKnight can take another step forward this season. Tebow is sure to become quick friends with all the Jets’ running backs, as he’ll open up all sorts of new lanes as a double threat to run the ball.
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2. Reality TV show opportunities. Hard Knocks would become must see TV if it chooses to cover the Jets and gets to follow two quarterbacks who are glamour hogs: Mark Sanchez by artificial design, and Tim Tebow by sheer force of character Words like ‘soap opera,’ ‘drama,’ and ‘media circus’ are already being used to describe the two QBs' relationship, but when you throw in other supporting characters like Rex Ryan, Santonio Holmes, Ladainian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromartie, this has an entertainment potential far beyond Hard Knocks. We’re talking about prime time TV potentially. The show will really take off once Tebow begins to win the heart of Mark Sanchez’s girlfriend, SI swimsuit cover model Kate Upton, converts her to Christianity, and proceeds to be too holy and too faithful a teammate to go through with any of her frequent attempts to get in bed with him.1. New York wanted to be the media center of Tebowmania. After what was essentially a day of testing how excited New York fans would be about Tim Tebow, the buzz his move created and the support given by the local media proved that it was clear that it was easily worth it for the Jets to spend the extra $5 million to buy out Tebow’s contract. At Denver’s asking price, it was easily worth it economically for the team in the biggest media market in sports.
What will actually happen with Tebow on the Jets
Tebow will absolutely eat up Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez is delicate enough as it is, and he doesn’t exactly exemplify the Rex Ryan demeanor. Rex Ryan is a 300 pound human volcano and Sanchez is a pretty boy, wannabe Mexican David Hasselhoff pretty boy. Tebow is the type of player who absolutely will get along with Rex, with his combination of modesty and leadership that makes him one of the biggest coach’s pets in the NFL. And did I mention that Mark Sanchez is an annoying pretty boy? People are mentioning Tebow as a situational goal line guy or a situational wildcat specialist. The Jets do have new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, who was part of bringing the wildcat to the NFL in 2009, but Tebow’s usefulness in this offense is likely to expand past situtational wildcat duties.
This is a job Tebow will win. Mark Sanchez has no significant statistical passing advantage over Tebow for his career, and you could definitely argue that Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes provide much more talent and experience at wide receiver than DeMaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, even though they both had their moments last year. There were already anonymous requests from some of the Jets’ players to get Peyton Manning to replace Mark Sanchez, and this small din from within will only expand as Tebowmania begins to infect the entire locker room.
The Tebowmania epidemic proved fatal for Denver, as the Mile High Messiah’s popularity actually proved to be too intense after Tebow’s miraculous last season. Tebow's media buzz would have actually made the team worse. There was no way it could be quieted now, even if Peyton Manning manages to play as amazingly as, well, Peyton Manning for the Broncos. It is true that Tebow could have potentially been a diligent pupil to Peyton, and he probably would develop into a significantly better quarterback after a season or two on the bench learning from Manning, who said he’d be a willing teammate. But no matter how positive an internal locker influence Tim Tebow would have been inDenver, the media would have cancelled out his positives and made him a detriment to the team and Manning.
The roaring force of this epidemic eventually made Denver give up its most hyped player since Elway, but they deserved a much better price. From an economic standpoint, there are honestly few players as valuable as Tim Tebow, and for me it makes sense to have that be valued heavily in a deal. Tebow would have been worth a number of top draft picks, and probably players too, if GMs were actually factoring in the enormous economic benefits of having Tebow.
Once Tim Tebow gets the starting job, and it will happen, just as soon as the Jets start 1-3 or Sanchez throws multiple picks in the game, don’t count out what he can do. There’s still a long time until the NFL season starts, and the on-field success of this trade will depend upon how Tony Sparano and the offensive coaching staff use this time to create an offense where Tebow can thrive.
The Jets are a better team defensively than the Broncos, and their offensive support players are also stronger. There’s no reason to think Tebow’s on-field success should be diminished now that his team situation has improved. How Tebow embraces the New York media will be another question, but he succeeded last year handling his enormous fame in Denver, and he appears to be completely media savvy. I’m mostly worried about all the scrutiny that will be on his private life in the busy New York metropolis, which will be full of distractions from a celebrity life much more extensive than what Tebow is used to from Florida and Denver.
But I trust in Tebow to handle all that, and quickly win over his teammates in the locker room. What he will be able to do on the field is still up for grabs, but if last year taught us anything, it was that everything was possible with Tim Tebow at quarterback. The Jets may have just won the lottery by merely putting up two mid-late draft picks to secure a potential starting QB, and Tebow might prove to be the savior that makes the Jets offense viable enough to make them a Super Bowl team that no longer has to be stuck in the shadow of Eli Manning and their crosstown brethren.
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