Tim Tebow is getting more supporting and backing as an NFL quarterback. As trade rumors blast, former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum examined the team's situation and cleared Tebow of any fault from 2012 failures.
After losing Brad Smith to the Buffalo Bills, the Jets felt they needed a player to make a difference on offense. "We felt that getting Tebow was an opportunity to replace Brad and re-solidify the position at quarterback. It was one of those moves that really didn't work out."
Rex Ryan's thought process featured giving the ball to the quarterback and have him make the decisions. Getting Tebow, the Jets thought, would make their opponents walk on to the field unprepared because he could either run or throw the ball.
Was the Tebow move a marketing move?
"It clearly wasn't," said Tannenbaum on NFL AM, "Again, we wanted an element of our offense where the quarterback had the ball in his hands to come in and make us harder to prepare for; more dynamic."
There was definitely no dynamite in the Jets offense. Tebow ran for just 102 yards in 32 opportunities. It was embarrassing watching the Jets run the same play over and over again when Tebow was behind center.
"I think part of it was, when we had at skills players, be it Santonio Holmes, Jeremy Kerley, Dustin Keller, our third down percentage came down and that limited opportunities for a lot of players, including Tim," added Tannenbaum.
Those key offensive players were out of the Jets lineup for a good portion of the season, which led to the team's offensive woes in 2012.
Many also wonder about Tebow's future. Will he be a starting quarterback or a quarterback period?
"This is a guy who was successful in high school, won championships in college and he's the type of person, he's either going to be successful as a pro uarterback or die trying," said Tannenbaum.
Tebow doesn't receive a lot of love from the NFL, but he sure does have fans out there rooting for him.
Do you think Tebow deserves a chance to start for a team? Sound off in our discussion section or hit me up on Twitter @Frankie_SWR.
