The mysterious usage of Tim Tebow by the Jets took another odd turn yesterday.
A week after saying he wanted to expand Tebow’s role, Jets coach Rex Ryan reversed course.
“It probably wasn’t the smartest thing, me coming out with that statement,” Ryan said, “It’s more about all of us and Tim included. [We are] always looking at things on how we are using our roster for the betterment of the football team.”
Huh?
Tebow has been used sparingly by the Jets after all the lip service they paid to what an addition he would be to their roster. The team conducted secret practices in training camp to install Tebow packages. They guarded their plans like CIA secrets. All of that for 55 total offensive plays in eight games, 10 percent of the team’s snaps.
The Jets are fortunate that Tebow is as team-oriented as he is. He has not complained publicly. Yesterday, though, he showed a little crack, admitting the Wildcat has not worked like he hoped it would.
“I feel like at times we’ve done some good things, and at times it definitely hasn’t been as effective as I would have liked it [to be],” Tebow said. “I feel like we’ve had some good plays now and then. We’ve still got half the season to go. We’ll just try to get it better.”
Tebow picked the Jets over his hometown Jaguars when the Broncos dealt him in March because he felt he would have a chance to play 10-20 plays per game and get to run an entire series once or twice a game. His role has been nothing close to that. Though Tebow has not expressed his frustration publicly, anyone who knows Tebow’s competitive nature knows he is upset he has not been utilized more.
Tebow said neither Ryan nor anyone on the Jets coaching staff has talked to him about expanding his role. It would seem like a natural move for an offense ranked 27th in the NFL. Tebow is as dynamic a playmaker as the Jets have at the moment. He also could help their dismal red zone offense.
Nevertheless, Ryan won’t reveal what he has planned for Tebow. If you use the first eight games as a barometer, that probably means it’s not much.
“If we’re going to use him more, or we’re going to use him the same, or less, if I think it’s an advantage to this football team one way or another, I’m not going to share it,” Ryan said. “That’s kind of where I look at it now. Literally, did we look at Tim? Did we look at each guy, how we’re using our guys? We did.”
The Jets’ examination of how they used Tebow must have been a short session. He has averaged 6.9 plays per game. He has not played more than three consecutive snaps and has yet to score a touchdown. He has attempted just two passes on offense and run the ball 23 times for 78 yards. The majority of his role has been as a $2.1 million decoy.
Tebow admitted that with the team at 3-5 it’s frustrating not to have a role in helping the team win.
“You want to do something to help and make a difference and I think you’re always trying to be ready and willing to create a spark and do something,” Tebow said. “It’s always difficult to lose no matter what your role is, no matter where you’re at.”