When the Wildcat craze took the NFL by storm in 2008, it was Dolphins coach Tony Sparano who led the way by lining up running back Ronnie Brown as a shotgun quarterback. And when the Jets’ offense stagnated late last season, head coach Rex Ryan ordered the offensive coaches to run more Wildcat.
Now Sparano is working for Ryan as the Jets’ offensive coordinator, and the Jets have just traded for Tim Tebow. It doesn’t take a very big leap to think that Tebow, who’s at his best when lining up in the shotgun and making plays with his feet, will take snaps in the Wildcat.
The biggest question facing the Jets is how often Tebow will take snaps. Will the Jets plan to insert Tebow for a few plays a game, and have him practice plays that specifically take advantage of his strengths? Or will Tebow get a chance to beat out Mark Sanchez for the starting job, and might Sparano be calling an entire game’s worth of plays that take advantage of his strengths?
Either way, it’s clear that Tebow has a skill set that Ryan and Sparano think they can use. John Elway and John Fox never wanted Tebow in Denver, but Ryan and Sparano do want him in New York.
