ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith: “The fix is in”

Stephen A. Smith, of ESPN’s First Take, had an interesting take Tuesday morning—on why the New York Jets brought in Tim Tebow.

Again and again, Stephen A. reiterated how he feels about Tebow. To his credit, he does mention (like many others) that he thinks highly of Tebow and that he is a good PERSON. With that being said, Smith had a different take on the Jets intentions for trading for Tim Tebow.

The fix is in”

-Stephen A. Smith

(You can see the rest of what he said in this video; here on ESPN’s First Take.)

I couldn’t disagree more. Take the jump to page 2, and let me explain why.

The Jets want to win now

An 8-8 season last year is not where the New York Jets want to be as an organization. So how did the Front Office try to improve the team this offseason?

• They improved the Defensive Front, re-signing Aaron Maybin and Sione Pouha. Also drafting Quinton Coples with the 16^th overall pick.
• They improved at Safety, signing Free Agents Yeremiah Bell and LaRon Landry.
• They extended Mark Sanchez’s contract.
• Finally, they added a dynamic offensive weapon—trading for Tim Tebow.

Each one of these moves were made as a reflection of the Jets philosophy as a team—run the ball, control the clock, and play great Defense.

What’s another area the Jets needed to improve in?

Team chemistry.

Enter Tim Tebow. He is a “Natural born leader”, to quote Darrelle Revis. But besides having a positive impact ON the field, Tebow also has a positive influence OFF the field and more importantly… in the locker room.

Mass confusion for opposing Defenses

The possibilities that the Jets have on Offense this year are endless. Opposing Defenses must ask themselves the following on any given snap:

• Who’s under center, Sanchez or Tebow?
• What formation are they in?
• Are they running the option?
• Are Sanchez and Tebow BOTH on the field at the same time?

(Or my favorite)

• If so, is there a trick play coming?

Defensive Coordinators NEED to ask themselves (and answer) these types of questions on every single down. That can be exhausting for coaches, as it tends to add tons of stress. Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine saw it first hand on one bad call…Cover Zero. It single-handedly killed the Jets in 2011, and ultimately gave them a loss in Denver late in the season.

Competition

The New York Jets are behind Mark Sanchez. It’s pretty obvious that the organization has his back, after giving him a contract extension. That’s not the question.

The popular question surrounding Tim Tebow is: Why did the Jets trade for him? You can look at how Mark Brunell was the back up to Sanchez, and how he was not a real threat to his job. You can also look at the predicament the Jets would be in if Sanchez were to go down (God Forbid)…or if Sanchez struggles tremendously. There needs to be someone that can step in and win games.

Some say, “Well, what if Sanchez struggles? If fans call for Tebow, it’ll mess with his head.”

My answer to them is most likely similar to what the Jets front office’s true intentions are. And that is, that if Sanchez can’t get it done (which we believe he can), then we’ll put in someone in the game who can.

Whatever the real reason is, it seems to be lighting a fire under Mark Sanchez. That’s what he needed, and most fans would agree with that.

Mark tightened his grip on the Offense, and became the leader that he knows he can be. That’s exactly what the coaches, front office, and fans wanted to see in the first place. Tebow or not, it’s happened…and there are plenty of reasons to have faith in Mark Sanchez.

His 4-2 record in the post-season (wins @ Brady, P. Manning, Palmer, and Rivers) sounds good enough to me.

I think this whole “Quarterback Controversy”, is a little overhyped, and that the Jets simply added another weapon on offense, which takes pressure off of Mark Sanchez… and how teams game-plan against him.

What do you guys think?

Comment below!