Tim Tebow: New York Jets' Intentions Made Clear with Needless Press Conference

Teams typically don't welcome backup quarterbacks with press conferences on practice fields, in front of throngs of media on a spring afternoon.

But Tim Tebow isn't your typical backup quarterback. Or, at least, that's the message the New York Jets sent out to the NFL at large by trotting their latest acquisition before a hungry horde of cameras, recorders and questions on Monday.

Team owner Woody Johnson has claimed the team brought in Tebow for football reasons, per Tom E. Curran of Comcast Sportsnet. As reported by the New York Daily News' Gary Myers, head coach Rex Ryan has publicly discussed the possibility of using Tebow as more than just Mark Sanchez's second-in-command. He even use him as a Wildcat quarterback not unlike former Jet and current Buffalo Bill Brad Smith.

But if that's the case—the whole case and nothing but the case—why bother with a fancy schmancy press conference? Why have Tebow hold court on the team's indoor practice field in New Jersey rather than in the press room like any ol' acquisition?

Simple: because Tebow isn't any ol' acquisition. He's a national phenomenon, a sensation whose appeal—as an athlete and a celebrity—extends far beyond the football field.

And because, well, the Jets probably don't want him to be "just" any ol' acquisition. If Gang Green's sole interest was finding a dual-threat passer, they could've gone after free agents like Vince Young or Dennis Dixon, rather than ship a pair of draft picks to the Denver Broncos for Tebow.

By the looks of things, the Jets don't just want to bear the brunt of Tebowmania; they're hoping to amplify it, to turn it into a full-blown media firestorm that plays off the rabidity of the New York sports media.

As of now, the Jets are a ways down on the city's athletic totem pole—behind the World Series-contending Yankees, the Stanley Cup-hopeful Rangers, the Jeremy Lin Knicks and, most of all, the Super Bowl champion Giants (not necessarily in that order).

With the team crashing back to earth last season after consecutive trips to the AFC Championship Game, it was incumbent upon Rex Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbaum to make a splash of some sort, if only to cool the cushion on the hot seat they currently share.

What that means for Sanchez remains to be seen. It can hardly be interpreted as a vote of confidence, even after signing a two-year contract extension that will guarantee the much-maligned signal-caller another $20 million or so.

Chances are, though, that Sanchez knows what's up, as does Tebow. His comments at the presser suggested as much.

“The reasons I’m doing this today is I have bosses too, and they wanted me to stand up here today and say a few words,” Tebow said (per Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel). “So I can blame it on [them].”

Of course they wanted Tim to work the microphone. Of course they wanted him to answer some 30 questions over the span of a 33-minute session. Of course they wanted Tebow to use the word "excited" in some form or fashion a whopping 45 times, and to insist that his goal is to be a good teammate and help the franchise in any way he can.

That's the beauty of Tebow: He's somehow able to block out the maelstrom that surrounds him, and operate with dignity, humility and class.

Unfortunately for Tebow, it's those same qualities that the team seems all too ready to manipulate and exploit.

Because even if the whole football thing doesn't work out, the Jets will still be the talk of the town, for better or worse.

At least, that's what the Jets appear to be banking on.

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