FOXBOROUGH — There are times you can hear the masses chanting across the land: “Tee-bow!” “Tee-bow!” “Tee-bow!” Those voices might not always belong to Jets fans — though when Mark Sanchez is scuffling, they’re among the loudest of the acolytes — but they are out there.
And they want to know, demand to know: What about Tim?
“I don’t get paid enough to make those decisions,” Tebow said last night, in a very quiet Jets locker room following the Patriots’ 29-26 overtime win.
He was smiling, so if frustration lurks anywhere he does a masterful job hiding it. Still, the reality persists: The focus of so much attention, so much hype, so much drama, Tebow remains a small part of the Jets’ gameplan, visible on punts and on five offensive plays yesterday — four as a run-pass option quarterback, one as a receiver.
It was believed his job as a Jet was selling seats. Not sitting on them.
“I try and be ready for anything,” Tebow said. “Obviously, I get excited when my number is called down there and I want to produce. I just listen to what I’m told and try to do the best I can with the opportunities.”
His biggest impact came on the Jets’ first series of the game, an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive when, on third-and-2 from the Patriots’ 4, he bulled ahead to the shadow of the goal line, setting the Jets up first-and-goal from the 1.
From there, the Jets had more than a few opportunities when if they really do have some specialized Tebow plays, they could have used them. On the opening drive of the second half, the Jets faced third-and-2 at the 3, but Tebow stayed where he was and Sanchez missed Chaz Schilens on a slant. There were other short-yardage situations where he might have been useful. Most of them, he sat out.
“When my number is called,” he said, “I’ll be ready for it.”
Instead, he watched Sanchez lead the Jets back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and try to lead them back again in overtime, and he did so as an enthused observer, rather than an active participant.
“I thought we had the momentum,” he said. “Mark had some great throws and really had things going. Even on that last drive, before the sack and the fumble, I felt things were going really well.”
They just didn’t end well. Though you can’t blame Tebow for that.