by the Jet Report

Mike Tannenbaum told both WFAN and ESPN radio on Tuesday, that the idea of acquiring Tim Tebow was his. A move that was borne out of the need to replace Brad Smith. The chain of events that followed Smith’s exit, arguably the Jets most versatile playmaker during the early Rex Ryan years, then ushered in the start of Tannenbaum’s downfall as GM of the Jets.

Smith was lost during the post-lockout mayhem. A mad two week scramble for free agents that the Jets fumbled, due mainly to their over-pursuit of the highly coveted CB Nnamdi Asomugha. A chase that would have never materialized had the knowledge of Antonio Cromartie’s “lock-down” emergence, been available at the time. Nonetheless, the obsession with Asomugha distracted Gang Green from focusing in on key clutch players like Smith, who was poached by the Bills while the Jets went all or nothing with their cap space. In the hopes of landing Asomugha.

The 2011 regular season then began with the Jets asking Mark Sanchez to grow as a passer and field general. Few members of the Jets brass however, realized how low the third year QB’s ceiling would end up being over the next two years. Or rather, how much Smith had covered things up, by grabbing so many key third down conversions for the offense in 2009 and 2010.

With Sanchez’s limitation’s exposed, Tannenbaum then decided upon making the “football decision” of acquiring Tim Tebow. This to compensate for the loss of Smith. Instead the result added stress and drama to the club, mainly to Sanchez and playcaller Tony Sparano. The club’s first year offensive coordinator, who ironically oversaw the Dolphins “Wildcat” when it ruled the NFL back in 2008. The Jets 2.0 version of the run-heavy formation, was much less effective with Tebow than it ever was when Smith received the direct snap in New York. 

Smith’s absence in green and white not only hurt Sanchez and forced Tannenbaum to consider adding the polarizing Tebow, it depleted the team in two other places as well. The special teams unit for one, fell apart for the Jets in 2012. Joe McKnight was an All-Pro return man in 2011 but Smith did it all for Mike Westhoff’s crew. He ran back kicks like McKnight did, but had a unique knack for doing so when the Jets needed it the most. Smith returned punts, made tackles on coverage, and was always healthy.

The lack of depth at WR was another area that Tannenbaum admitted yesterday, hurt the club tremendously during their disappointing 6-10 campaign. Perhaps more of the cracks could been filled in on the outside with Smith, who is still waiting for the chance to expand his role as more than a gadget-like weapon in Buffalo.

Big long term contracts of course dried up the Jets financial flexibility and potential heading into 2012, and threaten the club going forward, However, Smith’s exit eliminated a major security blanket for Sanchez and ushered in Tebow, while leaving two units lacking quality depth. All of which affected results on the field. Causing the sudden growth of the bullseye on Tannenbaum’s back.

The lesson that new GM John Idzik should learn from this, is that the core guys, the proven playmakers, have to be tended to. Guys who may not provide “star power” or giant stat lines, but perform consistently when it counts. Tannenbaum just found out the hard way, what can happen if this essential detail gets overlooked.

JETS SELL TEBOW JERSEYS BUT NEVER TRY QB WEARING REAL ONE 

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Saturday that it’s “a virtual certainty” that Tim Tebow, the quarterback who was actually signed to back up Mark Sanchez, will play for the Jaguars in 2013. The news is hardly shocking. After all, the Jets simply never wanted Tebow the marketing ploy, to ever play quarterback in New York. As Rex Ryan’s crew uncharacteristically begins to play out the string, it will be Greg McElroy, not Tebow, preparing to take over behind center. 

The timing of the switch to McElroy is one that even many “Mac-Backers” in Jets nation are torn over. One the one hand, supporters of the former Alabama product are happy about the fact that he will be receiving an opportunity at all. Many sensing that in McElroy, perhaps an under the radar, late round field general may be found. On the other hand, these same diehards are furious that Rex Ryan chose to give the ball back to “turnover machine” Sanchez last week. While a season still on life support was mathematically worth saving.

By deciding upon McElroy, the Jets have most likely ended the hopes of affording themselves the chance to determine Tebow’s effect on their leaderless roster. By not giving Tebow the ball now, in garbage time, the notion that he was signed in order to steal headlines, also now moves from reasonable conjecture, to scientific truth.

If Tebow ends up with the Jaguars and makes them contenders before the Jets are again, any current Jets embarrassment over the “failed Tebow experiment” will only be the beginning. Imagine the press conferences out of Florham Park this time next year, as Jets figureheads attempt to explain why Tebow was ever signed, then let go. Without ever getting one real shot to shine in the Big Apple.

BRAYLON TO JETS NATION: LET’S ROCK

“Woke up with a huge smile on my face. Enough said. Jets nation let’s rock.”

Jets WR Braylon Edwards, via twitter this morning.

MAYBE WE ARE ALL JUST IDIOTS

The endless cycle of Jets insanity that spans decades and generations, from fan to coach to player, can only mean one thing. Braylon Edwards might have hit on something bigger than he even meant to, on twitter last week. Maybe we are all just idiots. One big happy family of blithering idiots.

by the Jet Report

After a 49-19 pummeling the Patriots handed his Jets on Thanksgiving, Rex Ryan was certain that running the table over the last five games would only be possible if the Jets could go from “butt fumble” to “butt ugly.” With a JV schedule down the stretch, and a defense gaining steam Ryan, with his club at 4-7, began to commit to the game plan of “grotesque.” The Jets are still breathing now because of it.

The Jets December strategy of taking next to no chances with the ball was borne out of a stark reality: That after eleven games highlighted by faulty special teams play, offensive cast-offs and flawed quarterbacks, martial law simply had to be enforced.

The notion of employing an ultra-minimal approach to the offense two weeks back almost backfired initially against the hapless Arizona Cardinals. Thanks much in part to Sanchez’s skittish play. Luckily for Ryan’s Jets, Greg McElroy was able to come off the bench and energize the Met Life stadium faithful. Sparking the Jets to a 7-3 win thanks to one meager touchdown. On a drive based around dinks, dunks and scrambles. 

Ryan, even more concerned about the drawbacks of attacking, then pulled the iron curtain even tighter over his own team. After reinstating Sanchez as signal caller last Wednesday. Capping a dramatic mid-week drama over who deserved to end up behind center going forward.

Ryan followed by insuring that the Jets would run the ball ad nauseam last Sunday. Shonne Green and Bilal Powell’s combined thirty nine attempts led to 166 rushing yards, as the Jets bludgeoned the Jaguars slowly 17-10. A two game winning streak that has this “three ring circus” club at 6-7 and believe it or not, now within striking distance of an AFC Wildcard spot. Provided that Ryan has any late season 2009 magic dust left over to sprinkle on competitors in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

To miraculously make the postseason, the Jets must win out and hope the Steelers lose twice and Bengals once. The only other path would see the Colts pulling the Al Groh Jets trick of going from 9-4 to 9-7. A possibility, when considering that the 11-2 Texans, now just one game up in the race for the one seed, will play Indy twice.

The Jets had little choice other than to turn the playbook on offense into “gruesome” for the stretch drive. They have tried unsuccessfully to implement both balance, and the Tebow Wildcat. Preseason goals that under Tony Sparano, were both poised on paper to improve the team’s scoring totals. A paper-thin wide receiving personnel, a rushing attack that lacked a home run hitter, and the brittle emotions of their franchise QB, combined to help thwart those early season blueprints.

In the meantime, the Jets have witnessed the rise of Mo Wilkerson, and overall growth of the defense as a unit since the bye week. Granted, Ryan Lindley and Chad Henne will never be mistaken for Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. Relying on dominating low level starters, while waiting all game long for a few glimmer of daylight on the ground, was sadly, the only choice Ryan had left.

This Monday night the nation will be forced to endure the return of the Jets and Sanchez: their high priced  “Hand Off Back.” Nothing will change now regarding the Jets mode of operation. Even if Sunday’s results move the Jets closer to the notion of viable contention. Translation: Get ready for a dizzying array of four yard runs, two yard passes, and punts designed for winning the battle of field position.

The Jets-Titans matchup will be a third straight attempt by Ryan to reinvent the old Al Davis mantra into “Just Win Ugly Baby.” A primal kill or be killed goal, that regardless of how it looks, seeks to allow the Jets the right to live another day. Ryan knows that after dabbling with a few alternatives, there is no longer any other way.

by the Jet Report

Woody Johnson wanted Greg McElroy. GM Mike Tannebaum and OC Tony Sparano backed Mark Sanchez. Rex Ryan could have hitched his wagon to the owner while distancing himself from the embattled GM and quarterback. Instead, Ryan jumped into the lifeboat with all three. Now only Sanchez can save the crowded sinking ship.

The mind boggling three quarterback controversy, that never really included Tim Tebow, grew in proportion when it became clear to Ryan that a switch would mean more than McElroy simply getting a late season start. It would signify the possible end of the Sanchez era. Due to one third quarter benching with no reprieve. A price that in the end, Ryan saw as too high to pay in one fell swoop.

Sanchez was given a hefty extension prior to training camp and has had to endure a season with second rate personnel around him. While his two top targets Santonio Holmes and Dustin Keller, have been injured for most of the year.

The greatest problem working against Sanchez has been his demeanor. Sanchez has looked doubtful, glum, and unsure. Too often appearing defeated. Resigned to the fate that the Jets inexperienced receivers will fail him. Traits that hardly bode well for a leader. The distraction of a Tebow-led wildcat package rotating in at any time, has not made life easy for Sanchez either.

All have combined to erode Sanchez’s focus. Like it did on Thanksgiving night, when after calling the wrong play, he tried to dive to the ground towards safety. Only to run into the backside of Brandon Moore, in what is now certain to become a blooper for the ages.

Sanchez’s three interception, 91 yard performance at Met Life Stadium against the lowly Cardinals, truly warranted a mid-game switch. Matching the God awful play of Cards QB Ryan Lindley, was no way to remind anyone about a resume that includes 33 career wins and four playoff victories as a starter.

McElroy had nothing to lose and only a modest task to complete, when he entered the huddle as the Jets trailed 3-0 with 4:58 to go in the third quarter last Sunday. The second year pro simply had to engineer one touchdown drive and not turn the ball over after the fact. However, it was obvious from the minute Sanchez exited, that this was not a simple case of a substitution for a player having an off day. The energy of an entire team and stadium changed. Instantaneously. A fan base that craved seeing Sanchez holding a clipboard instead of a football, went into a frenzy as soon as McElroy began warming up. Key notions that in the end, failed to outweigh Ryan and Tannenbaum’s commitment to Sanchez, as the final decision was being made.

Tannebaum’s future is up in air after a string of poor drafts, and minimal free agent talent brought in to replace important role players who have left. If Sanchez can settle down over the final four games, Tannenbaum may rest easier knowing that he can better justify the extension given. 

Ryan has had these past seventy two hours to go in a different direction. Away from his GM, and for a team that rose with McElroy for one quarter of play. He chose not to. The issues for the fourth year head coach are now twofold. Another vote of confidence may not kickstart a player who has none himself. The move may also now put Ryan on notice in the process. Sanchez is back in the pilot’s seat, but will carry a bigger weight than before. Knowing that he has more than his own job to save. In what will be his final chance to prove that he is the long term answer in New York.

by the Jet Report

By declaring that no decision will be made until Wednesday as to who will start at quarterback Sunday for the Jets in Jacksonville, Rex Ryan has left a lot open to interpretation. Here are some pros and cons regarding each choice, as well as what this three man controversy, means for Jets higher ups.

Mark Sanchez:

Pros: Reinserting Sanchez would mean that the Jets see the problem as mainly the lack of help surrounding him. That they are not ready to throw away his 30 plus regular season wins and four playoff  road upsets. It would also signify a commitment to the Jets word that Sanchez is their future. The team often has trouble doing what it says ,so by going back to Sanchez, there will be proof that when a team whose owner, GM, and head coach say they believe in a player, they actually mean it. 

Cons: Returning to Sanchez in essence, rewards mistake prone play. Ryan wants a game manager behind center who can deliver a few big throws but more importantly, make ball security a top priority. Sanchez has been a turnover machine this season. His frivolous caretaking makes it debatable at this point that he is as Ryan has often said, the one who gives the Jets “the best chance to win.”

Greg McElroy:

Pros: McElroy brought hope and an even keeled demeanor into the huddle against Arizona last Sunday. Continuing down the path with the former Alabama QB allows the offense to grow the positive energy it left Met Life stadium with. Staying with McElroy also gives the Jets staff an opportunity to get an extended look at another game manager. Allowing them to weigh his weaker armed but calmer ways against the skittish but stronger armed Sanchez.

Cons: One drive does not make a career. McElroy’s limitations as a passer may come into play if the Jets fall behind or into a shootout.  How he will handle the role being the starter with something to lose for the first time, is another unknown.

Tim Tebow:

Pros: Acknowledging that  Sanchez is not the answer and going with Tebow  would signify that the Jets were serious about him as an alternative direction. The Jets could see if Tebow truly is magical on the field, and give his hometown a serious jolt of excitement for one day.

Cons: Rewarding Tebow with a job that McElroy earned, after so many chances prior to Tebow’s rib injury to give him a drive to see how the team would react, would be bizarre. A word that defines the Jets thought process from one regime to the next.

Rex Ryan:

Making this an open competition shows that Ryan is finally showing the team and fans that he sees the poor play from Sanchez too. That the loyalty to Sanchez and the stubborn belief in his own talent evaluating does not override what is best for the Jets. A delay may give the Jaguars less time to prepare for Sunday’s game but Ryan in making this a three man issue, may come off as confused to some. Thus nullifying the idea that waiting until Wednesday has an immediate benefit for Ryan as far as winning the next game is concerned.

Mike Tannebaum:

Tanny moved up in the 2009 draft to grab Sanchez. Word last week from offensive line coach Dave Guglielmo that the idea of a platoon at left guard with Vlad Ducasse and Matt Slauson came from higher ups, has to make one wonder whether sticking with Sanchez for this long falls into the same category. One of a team that is trying to weather storms to justify their GM’s top draft picks.

Moving to McElroy or Tebow gives Tannenbaum a chance to perhaps blame the stunted development of Sanchez on coaches not him. He might want to get off the “Sanchez is the answer” train before it’s too late. More devout belief in a sinking ship may sink him as well.

Woody Johnson:

Does anyone believe a word that Johnson even says anymore? This season he has called Sanchez the franchise guy, and Tebow a player he wants around for the duration of his deal. Watching McElroy, the only non GQ quarterback of the three, grab the reigns doesn’t exactly play into the Johnson that many say is simply tabloid driven. On the other hand, Johnson often likes to remind Jets fans that he is about winning. McElroy is certainly the cheaper option too. Maybe through this experience, the real Woody Johnson will finally stand up.