New York Jets: 5 Real Reasons Why Tim Tebow Should Be the Jets' Starting QB

Put Tebowmania aside. This isn't an article about how all Timmy-T does is win. These are hard facts that show that the Jets have given Sanchez enough time to develop into the quarterback he should be, and why it's time to sit him down and let someone else take control.

The starter of the New York Jets from Day 1 should be Tim Tebow. Here's five reasons why.

1. Tebow Increases a RBs Productivity

Tim Tebow is a running back's dream at QB. Tebow is a mobile QB that has the arm strength to threaten defenses with the long ball. Not only is he a threat to take advantage of an eight-man box, but if the defense thinks they can contain him with seven....well we have all seen that fail a number of times.

By the end of the season, Tebow had made his offense the first-ranked rushing team in the league. Say what you will, but defenses pay attention when he makes a read play. When they focus on him, he hands the ball off, and when they take the RB, he tucks it for a nice gain.

It is not a perfect system, but with Greene/Tomlinson in the backfield as well as having the best center in the league, it is tough to imagine it not exceeding how well it worked last year.

When it is all said and done, the Jets are meant to be a ground-and-pound team. They would love to eat up the clock and let their defense take care of business. The league may be changing, but Rex Ryan knows how to make that system work as evidenced by his two trips to the AFC championship game in the last three years.

2. He Is the Leader That the Jets Desperately Need Right Now

When a quarterback starts losing respect in the huddle, that is when I think it's time to start considering cutting or trading him. When you think about the elite quarterbacks in the league, which ones of them have had someone in the huddle challenge them?

Not Brady. Not Manning. Definitely not Drew Brees. If someone challenges any of those quarterbacks, they get put on the bench because those guys know how to take command of a huddle, and if you aren't behind them, then get out of the way.

Mark Sanchez seems to have lost control of Santonio Holmes. Since Holmes has not been dealt (either by cutting or trading him) with, the whole team can see that there will probably be no consequences of challenging him again.

All of that sets up nicely for a guy like Tebow who has been a vocal leader in his time as a starter. Not only has he not been complacent to be a back up, but he fought his way up to first-string last year after being an afterthought in the preseason (third QB behind Orton and Quinn).

He even had a special show on ESPN about how hard he worked to become a better QB from college to the NFL, called "Everything in Between."

Tebow is a remarkable athlete that doesn't know the meaning of the word quit. He has fought for everything that he has, and while he isn't the prototypical QB, he has tools that can make him a quality starter in the NFL if given the right weapons and coach. New York is that team, and that coach is Sparano.

3. The Jets Need a Little More Eli and a Little Less Tony Romo

Whoever the next quarterback for the Jets is, they need to be watching Eli Manning, not Tony Romo. Let me explain. In my opinion, Romo was a hard-working quarterback that relaxed once he made it big. He seems to be more enamored with looking good and being in the spotlight than he does winning games. Again this is all my opinion and we could be talking about any quarterback that loves the media attention.

Eli, however, always seems to be striving for more. Whether the media loves him or hates him, he appears to do the work and try to get better. He has proven to be able to withstand the heat of the New York lights. And even though he won a championship during the 2007 season, his critics came right back during the 2010 season when he threw 25 INTs.

Did that faze Eli? Of course not, he went into the film room and put in the work, and he now has a second championship to show for it.

While Tebow doesn't have the precision that Eli does, he has the work ethic. He is a quarterback I would trust to lead my team on Sundays. Maybe just as importantly though, he is a man that I believe can handle the off-the-field attention, and can prove his critics wrong when given a chance.

4. He Draws Attention Away from a Team's Flaws

Do you see the guys behind Tim Tebow in this picture? Those are his offensive linemen. With the exceptions of the left and right offensive tackles, they all need to be replaced according to a man that knows a thing or two about football (and that I have a lot of respect for) named Matt Miller.

He is not alone in his opinions of that interior line, but do you know why no one was saying anything about it at the end of the season? It is because they couldn't talk about anything other than Tebow.

With the attention on Tebow, it will further galvanize the team, bonding them to their new QB. And he is possibly the least selfish QB of all time. When he wins games he gives glory to God and too his teammates.

When he loses he puts the blame squarely on himself. If Holmes drops a pass or if Hunter allows a sack, do you think Tebow is going to throw them under the bus? No, that just isn't in his nature. What else could that locker room and coaching staff ask for?

5. He Is the Perfect Quarterback for Tony Sparano

Like I mentioned earlier, Tebow and Sparano could be the perfect complement to one another. Sparano is a big reason the Wildcat offense is so popular in today's NFL if anyone has forgotten his time in Miami.

With Tebow as the starter, they wouldn't have to switch offensive packages to run those plays. Imagine having Tim using Keller to exploit slow linebackers. When the defensive coordinator sees this, he will switch to the nickel package to try to get tighter coverage.

Then, Tebow can start calling a hurry-up Wildcat offense that can pound that smaller defensive group all the way down the field. With that threat, Jets fans can expect to see a lot of eight-man boxes with bigger defenders.

That plan would be great, except Tebow showed (against the Steelers in the playoffs no less) that he could exploit man-to-man coverage as long as he had good receivers. Correct me if I am wrong here, but Keller, Holmes and even Tomlinson are pretty good receiving threats, right?

Also, that was against defenses that didn't have to worry too much about New York's 22nd-ranked run offense. That would suggest that they weren't afraid to have better cover men out on the field. However as I said earlier, Tebow increases the running game, which theoretically should open the play-action passing game up more.

In the End...

The Jets have a very solid roster right now. Maybe not a Super Bowl-worthy roster, but they could at least get to the AFC championship game again under Rex's coaching. They have a talented defensive line, dangerous receiving options and the best corner in the game. Now added on to that roster is a QB with the right attitude and a dangerous skill set. 

Tebow isn't going to will his team to a championship, but he can be a key cog in a championship team. Sanchez has had all the time a team needs to figure out if he can be a franchise QB, and he has been underwhelming.

However, in Tebow's time as a starter, he has been tenacious, a leader and a game-changing threat. Which one would you rather have run the team on Day 1? Leave a comment below and let me hear what you have to say. Thanks for reading!