Hunger Game: A Teblog

The attention-hawking New York Jets are at it again. Hungry to snag an opportunity to grab the NY football spotlight, the team made a splash by trading for Tim Tebow from the Broncos in exchange for a pair of draft picks. I'm not a Jet hater....not by a long shot. In fact, let me make two more things clear right off the bat. I'm not a Tim Tebow hater, and I'm sure not a Mark Sanchez hater.

Big Mouth Billy Bass and company have found yet another way to grab the NFL spotlight. One thing is for sure, when Tim Tebow kneels down to kiss the feet of Jesus, there's at least one person in the Jets locker room who will be right down there next to him.

In fact, I think the sequence of events in this whole situation left a number of people getting a raw deal. First, Peyton Manning got one in getting released by the Colts. Then, Mark Sanchez got his first raw deal when the Jets went after Peyton (while pretending they weren't) and superficially "rewarded" Sanchez with an extension when they didn't land Manning.

Manning goes to Denver. Raw deal for Tebow. Although you really can't kill Denver for doing what they did, given that their upper management were not the ones who brought in Tebow. But it was a tough pill to swallow for Tebow.

You can kill his mechanics and upside as an NFL QB all you want, but the fact of the matter is that in his second year he took a team to the playoffs (while going 7-4 as a starter) and then was sent packing. That my friends is a raw deal. (AP Images)

Tebow gets traded to the Jets. Raw deal #2 for Sanchez. Raw deal for Drew Stanton. Jets totally pulled the rug out from under him. He chose to come to NY over other teams who were offering competitive money and a guaranteed backup job. A real classy move by the Jets. Good luck signing free agents in the future. At least they did the right thing by trading him to a better situation, but their reputation as an organization takes a hit with that "bang up job."

Again, I don't wish any ill will towards the Jets. I'm just being objective. They could not be more inept as an organization. They just don't understand what it takes to build a championship team. I mean they really think that Tebow is going to come in and help clear up their locker room issues. He's the backup quarterback! What's more, don't they see that Tebow-mania has much more of a chance to divide their locker room than unify it? You have a bunch of selfish guys in your locker room, so you bring in someone who's going to get more attention than anyone on the team....and won't even really be seeing the field. It's laughable.

What team succeeds without two starting quarterbacks? What organization succeeds without two CEO's? What ship navigates without two captains? (AP Images)

The football side of the move shows no common sense either. Tebow will back up Sanchez. Tebow can't run the same offense as Sanchez does, so what happens if he gets hurt? If the Jets are 9-1 and Sanchez gets hurt, they're gonna change their whole offense? Smart planning.

They will use him to run the wildcat. Really? How many plays do you plan on running out of the wildcat during a game? 4...maybe 5? Some goal line situations? You're paying Tebow a lot of money to be on the field such a small amount. And if he sees the field more than that, you're paying Mark Sanchez a lot of money to come out of the game for 10+ plays.

To top it off, we all know how impatient Jets fans are. As soon as Sanchez starts to struggle or the team starts to lose, they will be calling for Tebow.

As much as people think Sanchez had a "down" year last year, there are teams that would kill to get Sanchez's first three years out of a first round QB pick. Like Denver for instance.

It basically comes down to this...


Neither Mark Sanchez nor Tim Tebow will be able to grow and develop effectively in the current situation. They will not push each other, because they are two different types of quarterbacks. Tebow won't develop as a passer if he's just running the wildcat as a backup, and Sanchez won't develop as a leader if he's coming off the field for some key plays throughout the game.

As for the Jets, all I can say is at least they'll have the spotlight on them..