Kind of funny the way you basically contradict yourself in your own post. To whit: "as far as what they know and don't know, I don't have much faith in that, either. They don't seem to know much about the team and how to get it to play better. Among other things." Yet, you presume that "Tebow is not a real backup Qb" What are you basing this on ? How he looked last year running Fox and McCoy's offense with fewer than 16 starts under his belt ? Running Sparano's offense this year right when they first installed it ? With 2nd and 3rd team players who didn't know the offense either, and are now out selling insurance ??
I'm very dubious about what Tanny and Rex "know." The fact is that no one knows how a player will perform until he actually plays. The biggest assets of a successful QB aren't athleticism and a cannon arm, but football IQ and decisionmaking. We don't know how McElroy will perform until he actually does. Seriously, what have we got to lose? (And really, Sanchez's chemistry with receivers? The season is done-- what possible benefit is there to maintaining Sanchez's chemistry with a bunch of B-list receivers?)
Unlike McElroy, Tebow HAS had some chances in there, and has done nothing. It never made sense for Tebow to come to the Jets. Never. It's clear now they had no plan for using him to "supplement" Sanchez, and by their own words he was not brought in to be a conventional backup. Which I have no quarrel with as a perception, since Tebow is not a conventional backup by any stretch. He needs to have the O reorganized to play around him in his style of play. The Jets would have to retool mid season to do that. And Tebots can say all they want that Denver did that last year. Well, first of all, this is not Denver, as you may have gathered by now.
Not when the starting QB has sucked ass so badly for most of the games he's played in this year, and a number of them at the end of last year as well. It would be completely different if Sanchez played well, had gone down to an injury, and then McElroy comes in and we find out that he's actually better than Sanchez. Kind of like how no one is going to knock Harbaugh for playing Alex Smith all season with Kap sitting on the bench. Why ? Because Smith played pretty well. No reason to replace him. Sanchez ? He's given plenty of reasons and he should have been benched long ago.
To borrow an example from last year, nobody called John Fox a clown for waiting to bring in Tebow. They were just happy that the team was finally winning, because winning is all that matters in this game. The notion that he keeps McElroy on the bench because he wants to avoid winning games (because that will somehow make him look bad) is dumb. Funny, I don't remember anyone calling Bill Belichick a clown for waiting so long to put Brady into the starting lineup. What kind of idiot couldn't see that Brady was better than Bledsoe? :breakdance:
Percy Harvin hasn't developed at all. This is a freakish talent who had a few break out performances but has over all underperformed his talent as a WR. A polished Percy Harvin should be a monster in this league and he isn't.
Let me try it from this angle. Given the constant expressions of faith in Mark Sanchez by Ryan and the rest of the organization, and assuming as you seem to do that they believe what they say and do not have some hidden agenda, and given what we have seen from Mark Sanchez, Then how much ability do you think they have to assess quarterbacks?
You are getting really frustratingly obtuse here. First of all Belichik did not put Brady in. Mo Lewis did. Were you a Jet fan then??? Everyone else here knows what happened. As for Denver, OF COURSE the Tebots who were running amok in Denver last year did not complain when Fox put in Tebow. And there are several levels on which that was a different situatoin, including that Orton was still recovering from injuries from the prior season. Apples and oranges. Man you are being obtuse.
Tebow's had chances here ? When ? Are you talking about the limited touches he's had coming in to run Sparano's "WC" ? Please god tell me that you don't really think those were chances to show what he could do at the QB position. In a way, I agree with you. But, the only reason it doesn't make sense is because we have an OC that has absolutely no idea how to use Tebow. David Lee would have much more success with him. So would Harbaugh in San Fran and even Shanahan in Washington. I can see the conversation now. Rex to Sparano: "Hey Tony, could you use Tebow as a weapon in the Wildcat?" Sparano replies: "Oh yeah, didn't you know, I brought the WC to the NFL. I wasn't born yesterday, I can draw up some seriously good WC plays" Sparano has absolutely no idea how to design "WC" plays, or Spread Option plays. He doesn't know when to use Tebow or when to leave Tebow standing on the sidelines. The guy is just seriously inept. You're right. this is not Denver. It never dawned on me that some other NFL OC could be as clueless about running an offense as Mike McCoy. Turns out that I was wrong.
nobody said he wants to avoid winning games. he wants to save face. as for Fox, he did not wait to make a change until the season was essentially over. he made a change when he realized that Orton wasn't getting the job done and wanted to see if Tebow could play and save the season. clearly that decision making, and Rex's decision making, aren't even remotely similar. unless you continue to ignore the differences. did Belichik ever say multiple times he was not going to play Brady because Bledsoe gives them the best chance to win? if you want to address what I said, and even attempt to dispute it, you can't ignore the most vital aspect of the position. it isn't that Rex simply refuses to play McElroy, it is that he has stated McElroy would not be able to play better than Sanchez, and thus give the Jets the best chance to win.
John Fox didn't trade up in the draft to take Orton at #5, rather, he inherited Orton so he really had nothing riding on him. That's the thing. Rex and company went all in when trading up to get Sanchez. That's a hard bet to walk away from, and it would be awfully embarrassing. Rex isn't the first coach to stick with a player that he's hitched his wagon to.
I have relatively little faith in the Jets ability to evaluate quarterbacks, but I trust the opinion of football professionals who see McElroy in every practice over the opinion of mouth-breathing armchair GMs who are still waiting for Brett Ratliff to make his first Pro Bowl. There is literally no basis for assuming that McElroy is a better option than Sanchez or Tebow aside from wishful thinking. What difference does it make how Brady got into the lineup? By your logic, Belichick is a "clown" for not recognizing that Brady is better than Bledsoe and making the switch before Mo Lewis forced his hand. It's really not that different a situation. Whether it was due to injuries or not, Orton was playing like shit and it took Fox 6 games to make the switch. When it worked out nobody criticized him for waiting too long, they just praised him for eventually getting it right. Look, the NFL is a bottom line business. If you win, fans will love you. How you get there really isn't that important (or at least it isn't to most people.)
I don't know what they are afraid of, I'd probably try Tebow over McElroy, but no, we don't have the option of cutting Sanchez without eating most of his salary next season and nobody will want to trade for someone overpaid like that, so it's not a realistic option. Nobody wants an $8 million plus paid bench warmer. If he's the best QB, you play him and get him ready for next season, whether we're in playoff contention or not. The Bills have the same record as us and they aren't even considering benching Fitz because they recently gave him an extension, just like our FO did with Mark this year. Sanchez Rex & Co get one more year, might as well get them all accustomed to each other and the system.
The didn't go all in they gave up very little to get Sanchez. I think Sanchez sucks but having watched Tebow and McElroy I think they suck as well. In fact I think the Jets team at 4 and 7 based on the schedule they played are right about where they should be even with better QB play. This is not a team that's a mid pack NFL QB away from a SB. It's a team that might compete for a SB with 1 of the 4 or 5 elite QB's in this league, maybe. Why should the Jets go with either Tebow or McElroy if what they see in practice every day shows them that Sanchez is the far superior player? There jobs are ultimately going to be decided by someone who understands the game not the fans. It's not like none of us or the coaches haven't seen Tebow in game situations we have and Sanchez is clearly better. McElroy in mop up against 3rd stringers has shown a pro look coupled with a Saturday in the park arm.
And just for the record, I'm not even against swapping Sanchez for McElroy -- although I have very little faith in McElroy's abilities as an NFL QB, at this point in the season I'd be fine with it. I just think that the notion that Ryan is somehow afraid to make the swap is ridiculous. He needs wins to save his job. If he thought there was any reasonable chance that it would work, he'd make the move.
He has more to gain right now making a switch and it working then standing pat and it not working. What he can't afford to do is switch and have it fail which it will.
I disagree. if he puts in McElroy and he sucks and they lose, it strengthens Rex Ryan's cause. how do you expect him to win when the QB's on the roster are all garbage? McElroy, the 7th round 3rd stringer, cannot make Rex look bad by playing badly. it is what you would expect.
The HC lossing is going to get him fired. If he puts in McElroy knowing he can't do the job and he doesn't he will be finished with the NFL. No NFL GM who is worth a shit would tolerate that from a HC.
that's the point, he doesn't know what he can do as a starting QB in the NFL because he has never been one. the idea that backup QB's get a fair shot at a job when you have a high priced starting QB on the roster is ludicrous. the coaching staff isn't giving the reps to McElroy with the first team to even remotely say they know what he can do. no GM worth a shit would fault Rex for benching Sanchez and giving McElroy a shot at this point considering how bad Sanchez has been. the idea that he would never get another job in the NFL if he benched Sanchez is laughable. again, if McElroy sucks it would only strengthen any argument for Rex with any GM worth a shit, because you can't blame Rex if all he had to choose between was Sanchez and McElroy.
You don't think every GM in the NFL knows McElroy doesn't have an NFL arm? Putting him in over Sanchez is ludicrous. If you want to bench Sanchez for the opening drive to discipline him fine but what are you discipline him for? He can't run a crappy O with inexperienced WR that’s good enough to win against the better teams in the league? He's the best we have and it's by miles not inches. He's a bottom tier NFL QB we have to live with it until we can make real roster changes. Rex best shot to keep his job is to finish the year strong and have the entire team play with a little discipline and effort.
