Tim Tebow is taking his ball and going home, likely to Jacksonsville .
Can you blame him?
According to multiple media reports, Tebow told the New York Jets coaching staff that he didn’t want to go into Sunday’s game merely as part of the Wildcat formation. Wide receiver Jeremy Kerley ran the Wildcat instead. The formation was used four times yesterday.
Tebow did not play in the game.
The Wildcat is a play in which the ball is snapped to a running back rather than the quarterback.
After QB Mark Sanchez imploded particularly in the last few games, the Jets pushed Tebow aside and named Greg Elroy as the starter. The Jets lost 27-17 to the San Diego Chargers yesterday as McElroy was sacked 11 times.
According to the New York Post , Tim decided that it wasn’t Tebow time:
“When the Jets’ backup quarterback was informed Tuesday he was being passed over for Greg McElroy and would be the third-string quarterback for yesterday’s game against the Chargers, the ultimate team player reached his breaking point.
“He told Rex Ryan he didn’t want to be part of the Wildcat package and he wanted to be used solely as a conventional quarterback … “
With the Jets out the playoffs, many fans are wondering what’s the harm in giving Tebow a chance at quarterback rather then having him rotting on the bench. If he crashed and burned after, say, a half, they could have replaced him with McElroy. If the so-called experts think that Tebow is not a legitimate NFL quarterback, why did the Jets make a trade for Tebow in the first place, and, once he joined the team, why was the organization unwilling give him any playing time?
In the post-game press conference, head coach Rex Ryan claimed it was the coach’s decision to use Kerley instead of Tebow in the Wildcat.
The New York Daily News sums up the treatment of Tim Tebow at the hands of the New York Jets:
‘Fear has governed everything that the Jets have done with Tebow this season.
“They were afraid of hurting Sanchez’s feelings by giving Tebow more snaps on offense. As the season unraveled they were afraid of putting him in a game and have him win it.
“Then they would be stuck with him at quarterback like the Broncos last year. He led the Broncos to the playoffs last year, but Denver never believed he was suited for the position in the NFL — a passer’s league. The Jets didn’t believe he was the answer at QB either, even though they traded for him.”
According to ESPN , Tebow had this to say after the game:
“It’s been disappointing, obviously (the season) didn’t go as we thought, as I had hoped. But sometimes in life you have that. Sometimes you have setbacks and you have to look at them as an opportunity to step back up and keep working and figure out what to do.
“I believe in my God-given ability to play this game of football and I think I can play it for a long time, and I look forward to playing it some more.”
Do you think Tim Tebow was right or wrong in opting out of the Wildcat package?