Curtis Martin: “Tebow will be Good for Mark”

Curtis Martin took a different take on the Tebow trade. Mandatory Credit: Tony Kurdzuk/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

One person we never hear from is a very quiet guy. He was quiet and unassuming as a player, a great player, and now he is quiet and unassuming too. Now he is a quiet and unassuming hall of fame inductee, the great Curtis Martin. When approached at a Long Island grocery store near his home, Curtis took a different take than others, most of all Joe Namath.

“Tebow will be good for Mark; he’ll bring the best out of him,” Martin told ESPNNewYork.com Saturday, adding that he has been stopped by many Jets fans wanting to know his take on the trade that has everyone buzzing. “Competition is a good thing. No matter who you are, you need competition.”

The Jets have tried to convince us this is not a QB competition, but Tebow will see time in various packages, which leads most of us to believe that there will eventually be a QB competition.

Martin agreed, saying “it’s hard not to have a controversy with two high-profile guys like Sanchez and Tim Tebow.” But he expressed confidence the team and the two players will manage the distractions.

“I like Tebow,” Martin said. “Certain players have the ability to get things done, and he’s definitely one of those guys. I don’t know how he gets it done, but he finds a way. There’s a mystique about Tim Tebow. Somehow, he gets it done.”

Unlike most other people in the area, Martin took the tact that this will be good for Mark, likening the situation to when the Jets selected Lamont Jordon in 2001 as his heir-apparent.

“I thought he probably should’ve had my position because he had more ability,” Martin said. “I told LaMont, ‘You’re bigger, stronger and faster than me, but you’re going to have to work to take my position.’

“I looked at LaMont Jordan as a daily reminder that your time in this game is short lived. He pushed me to become the best I could possibly be. If he was better than me, fine, I would’ve gone someplace else. But he made me a better player and the Jets a better team.”

Curtis proceded to continue with his hall of fame production, while Lamont Jordan remained a backup until he signed with the Oakland Raiders. He never came close to fulfilling his potential.

Curtis Martin is actually a very spiritual guy as well, so he can appreciate “Tebowing”

“I’m a spiritual guy and I always appreciate guys like that,” he said. “He’s a young guy, he stays humble and he’s not afraid to pray. Some guys are known for touchdown dances; Tebow is known for praying on one knee. He has a prayer named after him. To me, that’s a good thing.”

These are two guys that are a lot alike, not in production yet of course, but in work ethic and faith. No doubt that Tim Tebow will work hard, and his faith is an asset. Curtis things this will push Mark to be better, and I agree that this might be the result. All evidence, so far in Mark’s young career, however, shows that he crawls into himself, and that would make Curtis dead wrong on this.