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The New York Jets decided to release Tim Tebow after his one year stint with the team. The move was in the best interest of both parties as New York rids themselves of a major distraction and Tebow can continue his career as a legitimate football player rather than a side show. His fantasy football value is dependent on where he lands but don’t count Tebow out as useful offensive piece if a team can utilize him correctly.
Tebow to the Jets was the dominant story of the 2012 off-season despite the likes of Peyton Manning, Vincent Jackson and Mario Williams changing uniforms. The whole situation was blown out of proportion from day one. The media become obsessed with Tebow as a public figure rather than a football player, completely disregarding his accomplishments both collegiately and professionally. The issue was compounded when Tebow landed in the biggest media market on the planet.
People overlook players such as Tebow and Manti Te’o because the media has a tendency to cover everything except their play on the field. I’m sure avid sports fans don’t forget that Tebow led the Florida Gators to two national championships and the Denver Broncos to a playoff win in his rookie season. Putting everything else about Tebow’s tremendous character aside, those accomplishments cannot be achieved by anyone without genuine football talent.
The truth is that Tebow can’t play quarterback at the NFL level but everyone and their mother already knows that. For every one person that mentions Tebow’s talent, there are probably 5,000 stories about his shortcomings or an irrelevant off-the-field issue such as his faith.
Despite all of the attention, Tebow might be the most slighted individual in sports. New York used him completely wrong and it was a contributing factor to the downfall of Mark Sanchez as well. Throwing Tebow in at quarterback to replace Sanchez in random situations was detrimental to the entire offense. There should be specific wildcat and goal line sets designed for Tebow in which he runs the majority of the time but keeps the defense honest with occasional throws.
The one intelligent move that the Jets made was to implement Tebow as their punt protector. Tebow converted on three out of four fakes out of the punt formation including a 23-yard pass on fourth and 11 against the Indianapolis Colts.
There are offensive coordinators around the league that are smart enough to successfully incorporate Tebow into an offense. I said it when the Jets acquired Tebow and my opinion still remains that the ideal use of Tebow should result in 10 pass attempts and 10 rushing touchdowns. If a team can get those results from Tebow then he might eventually have fantasy value.
