Why Tim Tebow Experiement With NY Jets Will Fail Miserably

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan recently revealed some of the machinations that may have led to the Jets acquisition of quarterback Tim Tebow from the Denver Broncos, and if Ryan's master plan is any indication, then the Tebow experiment in the Big Apple may be even more doomed to fail than we originally believed.

Ryan, in an interview with the NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora, pledged that the acquisition of Tebow was more than just a publicity stunt or gimmick, and said that the team plans to find a way to make the third-year pro a consistent threat as a Wildcat quarterback.

"

"Tim is going to be a major contributor to our football team," Ryan said. "With the Wildcat specifically, the great thing is you don't know if we're going to run it one snap a game or 20 snaps a game -- you have no idea. Every week, it could be different. That's some of the preparation problems he gives you."

"

There are number of effects that that sort of significant quarterback rotation could have on the New York offense, and just about all of them aren't good.

For one, switching out the quarterback for upwards of a third of the offensive snaps in a given game is likely going to severely hinder any sort of offensive continuity the Jets might try to establish, as quarterbacks and entirely new personnel packages flip-flop in and out of games every time the offense bogs down. That waffling between signal-callers is as likely to bog the offense down even more as it is to provide a spark, which could result in more quarterback rotating, which could bog the offense down even more, which could lead to...

That assumes that Tebow is even able to be at all effective as a part-time Wildcat quarterback for the Jets, as not only will the popular but erratic passer now be on the field for only a fraction of the team's plays but the Wildcat has begun to fall from grace in the National Football League as more and more defenses find effective ways to combat it.

This was likely part of the reason why the Denver Broncos were so willing to part with Tebow this offseason even after he led the Broncos to an AFC West title last year. Although Tebow had some success running a college-style read-option offense in Denver last year, eventually, defenses are going to catch up, and Tebow will have to beat teams with his arm, something he's been unable to do with any consistency to this point in his professional career.

Tebow's arrival also has to have rattled quarterback Mark Sanchez, whose psyche was already bruised enough by a tumultuous 2011 season, and the Jets' failed attempt to pursue free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning. The Jets attempted to bandage that wound by recently inking Sanchez to a three-year contract extension, but it's been ripped open again by the acquisition of Tebow, as Sanchez was reportedly "stunned" by the signing and was not consulted by the team, according to a report by Sports Illustrated.

"Mark Sanchez found out the New York Jets had acquired Tim Tebow on a conference call with team management.

Not at all unusual, coach Rex Ryan says. Nothing to read into it.

"Mark's job is to play quarterback, not be the general manager," Ryan told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings.

"

Ryan and the Jets have insisted that Sanchez is the team's starting quarterback, but if Sanchez is pulled from the field every time the Jets offense stagnates, then he's almost certainly going to begin pressing in an effort to make something positive happen, which is a sure-fire way for a quarterback in the National Football League to make mistakes.

As those mistakes add up or if the Jets struggle out of the gate, then Gang Green's faithful (so to speak) are going to begin clamoring for Tebow to be the starter even more than some already are, and the New York Daily News recently reported that Tebow himself has his eyes firmly planted on Sanchez's job.

"

Tim Tebow’s love of New York has nothing to do with pastrami and rye, or Times Square, or even Madison Ave.: The real reason Tebow loves New York is because he feels he can beat out Mark Sanchez and become the Jets’ starting quarterback.

Timsanity — and an explosive quarterback controversy — starts now.

A major factor in Tebow’s push to come to New York over Jacksonville, his hometown, is that he sees a clear path to resuming his career as a starter, sources tell the Daily News.

"

You would think that the last thing a team that was shredded by dissension a season ago would want is even more controversy that could divide the locker room on their hands. However, that's apparently exactly what the Jets have brought upon themselves, as ESPN's Johnette Howard claims that Tebow's arrival is already creating problems among the Jets players even before training camp has begun.

"

The Jets' decision to trade two lower-round draft picks for Tebow, and then plow ahead with the deal despite the violent backlash that instantly rose up when the deal was announced, is the sort of publicity-mongering move that's likely to make an already divided locker room of Jets players throw up their hands and flatline. Not pull closer together and rise up.

"Why are we doing this?" cornerback Antonio Cromartie asked on Twitter.

"

I'll confess that I don't understand why the New York Jets traded for Tim Tebow any more than Cromartie apparently does, but this deal has all the makings of becoming a full-on catastrophe, and perhaps Rex Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and the Jets braintrust would have been well served to heed the words of on old football axiom:

"If you have two quarterbacks, you really have none."

Follow @IDPManor