Woody Praises Sanchez, But Assures That Tebow Will 'Be With Us For Three Years'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Jets owner Woody Johnson dished on Mitt Romney and the Jets on Wednesday, discussing his political campaigning and his struggling football team.
But naturally, the focus of the conversation shifted to his celebrity quarterbacks, Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan said that Sanchez played far better than his numbers indicated in Gang Green's 23-17 loss to the Texans, and Johnson took that a step further. The owner said that his starting QB won't be sitting on the bench anytime soon, and that his potential remains through the roof.
"Never is a long time period," Johnson told CNBC in regard to whether he would ever sit the former first-round pick. "But I see the same things in Mark Sanchez (as) when I first met him. He's still a young quarterback ... (Quarterback) is probably the most difficult position athletically and mentally that there is in all of sports."
Many pundits have insisted that the repeated public support for Sanchez is all smoke and mirrors, and that the Jets are seriously considering moving in another direction at the quarterback position. After all, with the lowest completion percentage in the league (48.4 percent), it appears that the 25-year-old has regressed substantially since he led New York to consecutive AFC championship games.
But Johnson maintained that there's nothing fake about his confidence in Sanchez.
"It's not bolstering his confidence," Johnson said. "We think he's that good ... He really is that good. I wouldn't look at the numbers too seriously… A quarterback's job, ultimately, is to win games. Mark Sanchez has proven that he can do that. He pulled out a game a few weeks ago in the last couple minutes when we played Miami."
Well if Sanchez isn't going anywhere, how does that bode for Tebow's future in East Rutherford?
The current backup isn't going anywhere either, Johnson reiterated.
"Are we going to keep Tebow? Absolutely," Johnson said. "He'll be with us for three years … I think he's going to be a real valuable asset in terms of helping us win games."
But the conversation took a bit of an awkward turn when Johnson was asked if Tebow is still a virgin.
"I don't really go into that," he said. "I don't know. I know that the ladies in your makeup room really like him."
In his five games this season, Sanchez has completed 77 of 159 passes with six touchdowns, six interceptions and three fumbles.
What do you make of the owner's remarks? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below...
