History tells us that this experiment will fail and could leave the New York Jets scrambling to recover. However, if (and that's a big if) Rex Ryan can make a mixture of Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow work smoothly, his mad man persona will evolve into the work of a genius.
Despite a majority of the world's population expecting Tebow to be on his way to the Sunshine State, donning a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey, the Broncos took a different route. The Jaguars may have had a fighting chance with Tebow and might have sold out a game or two next season.
In the end, the Philippines-born gunslinger was shipped to the New York Jets
Mania was what it was called when Tebow resided in the poultry market of Denver. Now, with the Empire State Building as a lightning rod for his positivity and unfailing faith, Tim Tebow will command a hyperbole of attention that hasn't been seen in the modern era of the sporting world (minus the Tiger Woods Turkey Day fiasco).
So where does the triumvirate come into play?
For years, having a feature runningback in your offense was a requirement; a single, skilled player to carry a majority of the load when it came to the ground game. The game of football has evolved and where featured backs once resided, now a committee of variably talented individuals share the load of the work.
As the game of football evolves, all the positions begin to take on new forms. Now, a majority of positions are treated more like hockey; lines of players cycle in and out of the game to stay fresh.
The sacred position, never to be subjected to such dilution: Quarterback. Like Highlander (a grossly underappreciated movie from the mid-80s), there can only be one.
The New York Jets have an opportunity to flip that philosophy on its head.
Mark Sanchez signed a three year extension with the Jets on March 9th; an additional $40 million dollars to verify their commitment to the young quarterback out of USC.
16 days later, the Jets surprised the NFL by trading for Tim Tebow. An insurance policy as Sanchez's progress over three years has slowed down? A PR move to fill the seats and pull some fans away from that other team?
Mark Sanchez will be making too much money to sit on the bench and Tebow's fans will make sure the Jets force their hand sooner than they'd like. Besides another potential trade, the only way these two can co-exist is if they each play a primary role in the offense this season.
Nonetheless, can two men share the same spotlight? With one of those men being Tim Tebow, it might actually be possible.
The NFL has never seen a more selfless, humble man on a roster with the acronym QB in front of his name. More importantly, Tebow can do everything Sanchez can't do and vice versa.
Honest NFL fans can openly admit that both Sanchez and Tebow are mediocre quarterbacks at best with a large amount of potential. Add them together and you have one quality quarterback.
Right now, the two of them, combined precisely like a scientific experiment, could be explosive. Like yin and yang, Sanchez will throw the ball and Tebow will run it, with a smattering of the other along the way.
Ryan couldn't pass up a chance to prove the entire NFL community wrong and make everyone think he is the only one capable of successfully pulling off such a low-percentage gamble. Like Gaius Julius Ceaser before him, Ryan can empower Sanchez and Tebow to pool their talents.
In doing so, they could create a formidable foe that NFL defenses, if given a choice, would rather stay home then have to gameplan against a two-headed green monster. Despite the historically motivated doubts, there is a chance that Ryan and the Jets could form the NFL's first successful leadership triumvirate.
Patrick Tompkins is a sports enthusiast and an up and coming sports writer. He grew up in Greenville, Michigan and many of his articles focus on revealing a new perspective on the teams and sports we have watched for decades.
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