Silverman: Desperate Times May Force Gang Green To Look At Tebow
By Steve Silverman
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Just four weeks into the NFL season, the Jets are in a nearly untenable position.
The offense that looked challenged during training camp is simply awful.
The Jets needed to adopt a throwback attitude if they were going to be successful and start playing the kind of ground-and-pound football that makes most teams turn their noses up.
But with a quarterback like Mark Sanchez and an ordinary group of receivers, the Jets had little choice.
They were going to give the ball to Shonn Greene and let him punish defensive players with his nasty style.
However, Greene is not getting the job done. He has run for 191 yards on 68 carries, and his 2.8 yards per carry is bringing head coach Rex Ryan to tears.
So are the Jets' injuries. The latest is Santonio Holmes, whose Lisfranc injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. He was the best receiver of a mediocre lot, but when he flipped the ball in the air in the Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers before he was tackled, you knew it was severe.
Ryan could have lived with that injury if Darrelle Revis had not been hurt the week before. Revis is the best cornerback in the game and undoubtedly Ryan's favorite player.
The Jets are in big trouble, and there is little they can do to fulfill any of the preseason goals they had.
The offense is substandard, and when Ryan looks across the room at offensive coordinator Tony Sparano he knows there are no miracles coming from Coach Meatball.
Sanchez is not the elite kind of quarterback that the Jets were hoping he was when they drafted him out of USC in 2009. They probably knew that by the end of last year when they looked at his 56.7 completion percentage, but they have to be sure of it now, as he is completing 49.2 percent of his passes.
Where's Ken O'Brien when you need him?
The Jets will look down the bench and see Tim Tebow waiting for his chance. When it comes to passing accuracy, Tebow is even beneath Sanchez (47.5 percent for his career). But he did have that series of wins last year with the Denver Broncos, one of which came at the Jets' expense.
The Jets have the 27th-rated passing offense and the 24th-rated running game right now. There has to be an alternative that may give the team a shot of adrenaline.
That's probably what a move to Tebow would provide. The Jets look at the schedule and see a national TV game against the undefeated Houston Texans on Sunday night, and the potential for embarrassment is quite likely. They see the New England Patriots two weeks later and they know that they have to do something.
The Jets had little resistance last week against the 49ers, and the Texans may be a more polished and well-rounded team than the Niners. Ryan can appeal to his players' pride to keep from getting humiliated at home again, but that's not going to tilt the talent level in this situation.
The Jets need something, and putting Tebow in the lineup would certainly change the chemistry. He doesn't seem to care about what others think of him as a football player; he just wants a chance to play.
Perhaps one or two Tebow plays might alter things. It's a long shot at best, but at least it's an opportunity to regain hope.
Desperation in Week 4.
One can only imagine what it will look like in Weeks 12 and 13.
What do you think, Jets fans? In light of all that Gang Green has been through this season, is it time to hand the reins to Tebow? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below...
