Active Users:166 Time:02/06/2024 02:45:56 AM
True, the Jets were already screwed, and will be as long as Ryan is running the (side)show. Joel Send a noteboard - 26/03/2012 11:20:00 PM

Tebow is now playing for Rex "the only thing I know how to do is swear" Ryan, behind an established (though erratic) 25 year old QB who could play another decade if he stays healthy and stops throwing off target. Tebows only hope, barring another trade, is that Sanchezs bad behavior and play cost him the starting job, but that will just put Tebow in a hopeless situation playing for a scion of the dirty (in every sense) but clueless Ryan family.

And don't forget for the JetsThey now go into the new season, after coming off a year marred by internal controversy and breakdowns of chemistry and a general perception of the team falling apart, with a ready-made QB controversy. From the NY/NJ area, Sanchez's position does not look at all secure, and the Jets were chasing Manning pretty damn hard. The attitude about the Tebow trade around here was that it was something of a consolation prize in the Manning sweepstakes. Some fans are excited by Tebow running Tony Sparano's wildcat scheme, but some of the rest of us have noted that their stadium-mates have won two Super Bowls in recent years with every snap being taken by a professional passer. The bombast of the Ryan era means that "Sanchise" was set up with high expectations that a lot of local fans and pundits are ready to give up on him meeting, after the slow pace of his development, and the failure to detect any real advancement from his rookie year. Tebow might actually be able to perform, given the appearance of improvisational ability a running QB generates, on a team where the development of the QB is the ignored stepchild to the showy defense. What is more, the "Ground and Pound" offense might seem more interesting and attractive with Tebow handing off to Tomlinson and Green, recalling the "DVD backfield" of Atlanta a few years ago. Regardless, there WILL be calls for Tebow to start with the first incomplete pass Sanchez throws, even if Ryan manages to quash the controversy before the season. Not that it will help - if there were complaints from the receivers about Sanchez's passing and selection of receivers, I can't imagine Tebow being the cure for their disgruntlement. They are certainly not likely to play nice when Tebow pulls it down and takes off, rather than giving them touches.

The Jets problems, I believe, stem from the culture Ryan has created, and Tebow will not be a fix or a cure for that, but may very well take the blame for not being one. With what appears to be an increasing inferiority complex on their part, sharing a city with the winners of two of the more storybook Super Bowls in recent memory, and sharing a division and personal rivalry with the Patriots, they seem almost desperate for any quick fix that can get them their first ever NFL championship. This leads to ill-advised short-term maneuvers like Favre, who may have only been auditioning for the Packers' division rivals, or pursuing Manning (the fact that his brother has twice as many rings as the Jets franchise, while playing in the same stadium could not have made him less appealing), and now settling for Tebow as a consolation prize. Maybe he CAN direct a successful ground-oriented attack that keeps things close enough for the defense to carry the day, but he is not a cure for the kind of dysfunctional mentality that leads to the wideouts challenging the offensive coordinator in the middle of the season (and the subsequent departure of the same coordinator), or sideline personnel tripping an opposing player during a game, or antics and bulletin board fodder that seems to motivate opponents more than the team. I can't recall another coach inspiring things like Brandon Jacobs confronting him after the game, or Wes Welker's press conference with constant foot references on such a frequent basis. Since the days of Bill Parcells, it seems like the Jets have been stuck in a mindset of reliance on the coach as a father figure and savior. From the Tuna, we went to Herm Edwards and constant replays ofthe Miracle of the Meadowlands to Eric "Man-genius" who was supposed graft a branch of the Bellichek coaching tree onto the Jets, and now on to Rex Ryan. Meanwhile, Tom Coughlin lurches from disaster to disaster, getting no more attention than the on-the-field performance raises, and spending more time on the hot seat than all of his crosstown contemporaries combined, and walks away with a couple of Super Bowls, and a QB he coached into a division champ in his first full season. The Jets keep the loudmouths and shed the leaders, while the Giants have gradually shed the troublemakers such as Tiki Barber or Jeremy Shockey. That is the real lesson in personnel management, rather than grabbing at the next big thing to put you over the top and keep your head coach's bluster from turning tired or embarrassing.

I almost added them, too, but refrained after stopping to consider that, although the Jets will almost certainly be awful the next few years, it is unlikely to have much to do with Tebow. Maybe to the extent he motivates them to sell out on some kind of souped up Wishbone-Option (which, hype aside, is all the Wildcat is) if they dump Sanchez, but even there the most he can be faulted for is failure to "dig up." Three Ryans and two Schottenheimers have coached in the NFL (that I know of) without managing more than a single Super Bowl appearance among the lot; Tebow was not even alive when those train wrecks left the station, so he is hardly to blame.

Part of what bothers me about this is that I think Tebow could have a career like Steve Youngs if he had a mentor like Shanahan or model like Montana. To say Schottenheimber and Sanchez do not qualify is gross understatement. Tebow will never be a bona fide NFL QB running a gimmick offense, but I expect no better from the Ryan family. Even Rex probably has the sense to dump Sanchez if the QB keeps lashing out at everyone else for his own shortcomings, but the Jets must make changes at a much higher level to steer (or pry) their ship off the rocks. This whole thing could be as simple as Rex Ryan wanting a convenient scapegoat for virtually assured future failures. If so, there could be no better choice than a guy who carries a boatload of questions wherever he goes but craves the spotlight, only to volunteer an annotated list of his own deficiencies at every opportunity.

So, yeah, the Jets are STILL screwed, but will probably take Tebow down with them. Maybe; the Jets have a heckuva lot more to work with than Denver did last year, and probably will not "solve" that "problem" by trading away their only Pro Bowl receiver. You almost have to be a Broncos fan to know how truly awful they are; just thinking about all the holes on that team makes me want to cry, because if we stick with EFXs stated "build through the draft" philosophy (how that jives with a $98 million beat up 36 year old QB I do not know) we are two to three years away from a championship. Even if EVERY draft pick strikes gold, we only get seven each year, and need a: RT, LG, C, WR, 2 DTs, F/S. That is if I completely ignore things like McGahee (and Tebow) breaking an obscene number of tackles at the line to give Denver the most rushing yardage last season. Or former Pro Bowl LT Ryan Cladys addiction to holding throughout last season. Or RG Chris Kuper, easily our best pass blocker last year, having his foot literally twisted around backward in the last regular season game. Or the fact Champ Bailey will be 34 next season.

I can literally spot a dozen holes on that team without much effort, which makes it remarkable that Bailey, Dumervil, McGahee, Kuper, Miller, Williams and, yes, Tim Tebow were able to drag them kicking and screaming to the playoffs last year. That they did, and that NYs best WR is not a second year player who missed his whole rookie season with a torn Achilles, gives Tebow some hope of success once Sanchez is inevitably pulled. If he keeps working as hard as he has been on his field vision, pocket presence and accuracy he might even beat Sanchez out for the job in training camp (honestly, it would not take much.) The Jets have NO ONE to develop him though, so he will never go far as their QB; he simply needs too much work they have no means to perform. After missing his first full off season due to the lockout, he would have really benefitted from Elway doing as he said and working hard with him this off season, but it turns out that was just talk. Too bad....
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.

Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!

LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Reply to message
Pat Robertson thinks a Peyton Manning injury would be karma - 24/03/2012 03:07:17 AM 391 Views
If all he said is that bit quoted there, then that isn't wishing him anything - 24/03/2012 04:30:35 AM 258 Views
That's what I thought. - 24/03/2012 05:46:34 AM 267 Views
What do you expect from a guy more showman than priest in the first place? - 26/03/2012 10:04:54 AM 505 Views
What do you expect from a guy more showman than coach in the first place? - 26/03/2012 05:50:17 PM 563 Views
True, the Jets were already screwed, and will be as long as Ryan is running the (side)show. - 26/03/2012 11:20:00 PM 357 Views
This is actually one of Robertson's more intelligent comments. - 26/03/2012 08:41:11 PM 245 Views

Reply to Message