Schwartz: Tebow Turned Out To Be A Phony
By Peter Schwartz
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I could sense something was strange during training camp up in Cortland. Even other reporters talked about it as well. With every media session involving Tim Tebow that came and went, there was something bizarre about our chats with the Jets' new backup quarterback.
He really sounded like a phony.
And now it's obvious that the first impressions of Tebow were correct.
It should not come as a surprise that reports indicate that Tebow opted out of the wildcat package for Sunday's game against the Chargers when he was told that Greg McElroy would get the start over him. Tebow's "I'll do whatever I can to help the team" pledge from the day that the Jets acquired him turned out to be nothing but utter nonsense.
Tebow is not the good teammate that we all thought he was and now it seems as if reports about him being a bad apple in the locker room are true. What does it say about someone, who has captivated the world with his religious faith, doesn't want to be a part of the game plan to help his team win?
My thought had always been that the Jets didn't handle this whole Tebow thing very well. Why would you trade a 4th round pick for someone, tell the world about your grand master plan for him, and then hardly ever use him?
It's simple. Leaks from the organization indicate that Tebow is a horrible practice player. My guess is that the Jets took one look at Tebow during off-season workouts, then another in training camp, and then came to the decision that they made a horrible mistake. They could have just been happy with Drew Stanton as the backup. And, as we saw on Sunday with his 42 yard pass to Clyde Gates, Jeremy Kerley could have been the wildcat quarterback from the get-go.
Rex Ryan was clearly not willing to give this guy any extensive playing time because he knew that Tebow wasn't a very good quarterback. Ryan's mistake was not having the onions to make him inactive, especially when he had broken ribs and in the games following Greg McElroy's heroics against the Cardinals.
This is why some people feel that Ryan is not head coaching material. He's too loyal to his players and maybe he's just too nice of a guy.
But this blog is not intended to be a rip job on Ryan. It's to show that Tebow just might not be this great guy and football player that everybody thinks he is. The worst thing that you can do as a teammate is to not be there for your teammates. So if it's true that he didn't want to play on Sunday because he was angry about not starting, then that is inexcusable. Let's not discount how charitable Tebow has been, especially with children, and how important he has been for those who also follow in his faith, but we're talking about a football player here.
He's a football player with a huge national following and someone who has been a winner in high school, college, and one magical year in the NFL with the Broncos.
But now, it's very apparent that since coming to the Jets, all he's been is a loser and a phony.
JETS LINERS
The Jets honored the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy with "S.H.E.S." banners that were hung on the wall surrounding the field.
The Jets, in conjunction with A-1 First Class Moving and Storage, held their annual coat drive to benefit Jersey Cares. Fans brought new or gently used coats that were collected at all gates as the entered the stadium.
That's all for now! Check back on Friday for a Jets/Bills preview
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