When the Jets acquired Tim Tebow this past offseason, most people (including this Hall of Famer) thought it would become a major distraction. Very few felt it helped New York from a football standpoint, and through the first four weeks of the season we can see why. The Wildcat has done nothing for the Jets and Tebow has played only 15 snaps at quarterback. Mark Sanchez, who many thought would be motivated by having Tebow behind him, has a passer rating of 69.6 and has looked awful since turning in a solid performance against the Bills in Week 1.
Coming off a game where he completed 13-of-29 passes for 103 yards, one interception and no touchdowns in the Jets’ shutout loss to the Niners, the “start Tim Tebow” talk has already begun. According to ESPNNewYork.com, Jets owner Woody Johnson would not rule out benching Sanchez during his recent interview with Bloomberg TV.
Johnson said the prospect of Tebow starting is “a question that will be asked more frequently if this progresses because this is unacceptable playing.” His first reference to Sanchez wasn’t by name; he called him “this quarterback.”
Oh, Johnson gave the obligatory “he can get the job done” line, but Johnson didn’t sound nearly as confident in Sanchez as he did that sunny day in March, when the Grand Tebow Plan was only a blueprint, not reality.
Rich Cimini is referring to when Johnson emphatically stated that “Mark Sanchez is our starting quarterback” back in March when the Tebow trade was completed. A recent report from ESPN’s Ed Werder also indicated that Tebow has been unhappy with his role, which would seem consistent with another report that said he may ask for a trade in 2013 if things don’t change.
Tebow supposedly chose to be traded to the Jets over the Jaguars because he thought he had a chance to beat out Sanchez for the starting job. With Santonio Holmes sidelined and Sanchez struggling, it’s hard to believe he won’t be given that chance if New York’s offense continues to prove it can’t get the job done.
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