For almost five years now, sports fans everywhere have been irritated to no end about Tim Tebow.
It began in college when he became the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy. Then, we were treated to (others might say “subjected to” or “tortured by”) story after story about Tebow off the field.
- Did you hear about Tebow? He went on a mission trip to the Philippines!
- Did you hear about Tebow? He visited a little boy with cancer in the hospital!
- Did you hear about Tebow? He sawed off his left arm to give to a puppy that only had three legs!
Only one of those stories is false – although fans that think Tebow can’t throw might actually believe all three.
As the coverage hit a nauseating peak last year, even fans of Tebow like myself began to get sick of hearing his name.
Then again, that’s what happens when the only media guy that is outspoken about his love for the quarterback is Skip Bayless.
Yikes.
Whenever I agree with that troll about ANYTHING, I always have to second guess myself.
Unfortunately for Tebow haters, he is about to get pushed back into our lives again.
Mark Sanchez and the Jets have been awful. Outside of a great offensive effort against Buffalo in week one (a defense that we thought would be much improved but that has turned out to be one of the worst in history), the Jets’ offense has been atrocious. In fact, the Jets’ offense has scored fewer TDs over the last four weeks than the Chicago Bears’ defense.
Last night, chants of “Tebow Tebow Tebow” could be heard raining down on the home team. But is it really time for that? Absolutely.
1) There is no good argument for continuing to play Sanchez.
To begin this season, even the most hardcore Tebow fan had to admit that he simply wasn’t a good enough passer to be a starting QB on most teams.
In 2011, he finished with a completion percentage of 46.5% – in other words, he was awful. Even if he had all of the intangibles – leadership, scrambling, the ability to make the other team drop four consecutive interceptions and onside kicks – he simply wasn’t a good enough passer.
The problem is this: Mark Sanchez is hardly (if any) better of a passer.
Coming into this season, Sanchez’ completion percentage was hovering just above 50%. He wasn’t good, but he was still considerably better than Tebow.
In 2012, Sanchez has taken an enormous step back.
Currently, the Sanchize is completing just 48.4% of his passes – good for WORST in the NFL. His numbers get even worse when you take out his 19 of 27 performance against the hapless Bills. In the last four games, Sanchez is only 58 of 132. He isn’t even completing 44% of his passes. In the same span, he’s thrown for only 3 TDs and 5 INTs.
At this point, it would be hard to make a convincing argument that Tebow would have thrown the ball any poorer than the Sanchize.
Once you factor in the intangibles – which at this point it appears Sanchez doesn’t possess – you run out of arguments in favor of Sanchez rather quickly.
Sanchez supporters will point to his poor weapons and the Jets’ simple offensive scheme. But could you really argue that Tebow had better weapons in Denver last year?
Others will blame the offensive line and the fact that Sanchez rarely has time to set his feet in the pocket. While this is true, this actually should work in Tebow’s favor. Wouldn’t a mobile QB be just the answer for a team that is having problems protecting its passer?
Coming into this year, Sanchez had three things working in his favor – his experience, his salary, and his throwing arm. Well, his throwing arm is no longer accurate. At 2-3, his salary and experience are beginning to fade further and further into the background.
The Jets are running out of reasons that say Sanchez is better than Tebow – and they know it.
2) If the Jets want to get rid of both QBs and start over, now is the time to make Tebow look bad as well.
Whether not you like Tim Tebow and think he can succeed in this league, it’s pretty clear at this point that Mark Sanchez is not the answer.
While some QBs like Steve Young and Kurt Warner were “late bloomers,” you can typically tell pretty early on whether or not a guy is going to have “it.”
Andrew Luck, for example, definitely has “it.” He has shown it in five games. Aaron Rodgers had “it.” Matt Ryan had “it.” Peyton Manning and Tom Brady definitely had “it.”
When a QB is going to be good, you know pretty soon. Four years in, the Jets are still looking for “it” in Mark Sanchez. He clearly doesn’t have it.
If you are a Jets fan, you should be ready to throw in the white towel on Sanchez. It’s time to get someone else. Next year’s draft will be hugely important.
However, if the Jets continue to play Sanchez this season and never look at what their backup has to offer, we could go through the exact type of thing next off-season. “Should Matt Barkley play, or should the Jets give Tebow a look?” I am already tired of that story line.
The Jets have to see what they have in Tebow.
If they really don’t think he’s the answer, then they should play him now and prove to the rest of the league and their fans that he’s simply not good. Put him in now, while he has no weapons and no offensive line. It shouldn’t surprise anyone when he fails. Assuming he does, then you can make a clean break with both QBs now and forever.
When building a team in any sport, the rule is simple: you never want to be mediocre.
Sanchez will have the Jets trapped in mediocre land for years – not good enough to win a Super Bowl, but not bad enough to get some great draft picks and rebuild.
If the Jets want to give their new QB a real chance to succeed, he needs to be in a distraction free environment. Throw Tebow to the wolves now.
If he succeeds on THIS team with THIS roster, then he just might be the answer some thought he was last year in Denver. If he doesn’t, you get to start with a clean slate next season.
3) If these stats don’t frighten you and tell you it’s Tebow time right now…then nothing will.
I thought this was a hoax when I first checked this morning – but no, the numbers do add up.
Right now, Mark Sanchez’s stat line looks like this:
6 TDs.
6 INTs.
6.6 average YPA.
66.6 QB Rating.
Read those numbers from top to bottom. Yikes…that’s a lot of consecutive sixes.
The Jets could use Tebow’s 316 (John 3:16) passing yards from last year’s playoff game now more than ever. They have to get rid of the anti-Sanchize immediately.
If now isn’t the time for Tebow, it never will be.
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