Subway Squawkers debate: Is Tim Tebow good or bad for the New York Jets?

Squawker Lisa, one of my teams has embarrassed themselves yet again. Did Woody Johnson feel left out with the Wilpons battling James Dolan to see who's the worst owner in town? Trading for Tim Tebow is a move meant more for publicity than for improving the team. The Jets need help at receiver, safety, linebacker and offensive line more than they need someone who can run the wildcat a few plays a game. A fourth-round pick may not seem like much, but yesterday the Eagles traded a fourth-rounder for former Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans. But why fill one of your actual needs when you can trade for a quarterback just days after giving Mark Sanchez an extension and signing Drew Stanton to be backup?

The notion that Tebow can help in the locker room is ludicrous. If a backup quarterback has any clout in the locker room, that says more about the starting QB. Instead, the locker room will be further fractured as factions form around Sanchez and Tebow. Within a year, one of them will no longer be a Jet.

I hope the holdup over the salary clause in the contract kills the deal, but whether or not it does, what does it say about Mike Tannenbaum, who rose to power as a capologist, that he missed it?

The Jets have traded for a quarterback who had dramatic success in getting his team to the playoffs and won a game there, but is generally considered to be subpar. They already have a quarterback who got his team to the playoffs twice and won four games there, but is generally considered to be subpar.

After the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008, the Jets responded by trading for Brett Favre. By the end of the year, their coach was fired and Favre was gone. After the Giants won their most recent Super Bowl, the publicity-hungry Jets have traded for Tebow. Let's see who's still standing in the Jets' circus at the end of the year.

* * *

Squawker Lisa responds to Squawker Jon's tirade:  First of all, before I unleash a tirade of my own, I would like to say that I was the one to point out to Jon yesterday that the Jets were interested in Tebow. Not only did he pooh-pooh it, he nay-sayed that it could be true. Then, when we were on the phone today, he heard the news that Tebow would be a Jet, and told me. I screamed into the phone, I was so excited. Jon just screamed. I think he looked like this picture.


So Jon, while I am practicing my Tebowing moves to get ready for the fall, I must take issue with you comparing Tim Tebow to Brett Favre, especially since Favre's tenure with the Jets is most remembered by him sending out a photo of his junk to female Jets staffers. Blech. I don't think we have to worry about Tebow doing such a thing.

Second, as a great man recently wrote, "The team with the guts to trade for Tebow and start him at QB will get a steal. He's a force of competitive nature. #FreeTebow" Okay, it wasn't really a great man, it was Skip Bayless, but we both think Tebow is awesome!

Third, could the Jets locker room be any worse? Let me remind you of how one of your team captains, Santonio Holmes, quit on his team last year, and how your team's own players were questioning the quarterback. And you're worried Tebow could make things worse? That's like somebody on "Hoarders" with a houseful of adult diapers stinking up the joint griping about a stray gum wrapper lying around!

Holmes was called a "cancer" in the clubhouse. Tebow is like sunshine and lollipops and unicorns and double rainbows.  How could you not like him? Are you against fluffy kittens, too?

Sure, this move probably has more than a little to do with publicity, and what is wrong with that? It's a Steinbrenner-esque move. It reminds me a little of George Steinbrenner bringing in Goose Gossage after Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young Award except that neither player isn't really that good. Work with me here, okay?

And let me remind you, since John Elway seems to have forgotten, that if it weren't for Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos would not have made the playoffs last season, and Peyton Manning would be going to the 49ers. Tebow does have some kind of magic to him!

How long before the call starts for people to call for Tebow to be the starting quarterback -- I say it will take as long as Sanchez's first game! Come to think of it, do you want to chip in on buying a pro-Tebow billboard?

Finally, as my man Vince Young had to say today, this could be good for the Sanchize. “I know it’s tough for him with a guy like Tim Tebow coming to be a part of your team and taking a bit of your fame as a leader,” said Young. “But at the same time, it’s a good thing as well. He can help out the running game. He can push you to play even better for your team.” You see? It will all work out!

* * *

Squawker Jon's rebuttal to Lisa: 

Tebow was a feel-good story for a few weeks when he kept winning in dramatic fashion. Remember when Aaron Small kept winning for the Yankees in 2005? Another feel-good story enhanced by the player's deeply religious beliefs. There was talk of making a movie about Small. But the magic wore off the following season.

Sure, Tebow has a longer record of winning, with two national championships in college. But quarterbacks winning college championships don't necessarily turn into pro successes. You should know this as a Vince Young fan.


(By the way, I was surprised to see you quoting VY for leadership advice. What other words of wisdom did he have - "if Tebow takes over as quarterback and they won't let you back in the game, just throw your equipment in the stands"?)

In fact, the Jets already have a backup quarterback who won a national title, Greg McElroy of Alabama. And the year McElroy won, 2009, the quarterback he beat in the SEC championship game was none other than Tim Tebow.

As for clubhouse chemistry, Holmes was disgruntled when Sanchez couldn't get him the ball. Imagine how he'll feel when Tebow is aiming the ball in his general direction.  

And how can you say I'm against unicorns? As someone patiently waiting for the Mets and Jets to produce championship teams, it's clear I believe in mythical creatures.