| The media crush at Tebow's introductory presser was crazy for a future special teams contributor. (Getty Images) |
When the Jets signed Tim Tebow to be their backup quarterback -- for now, anyway -- it was believed he would see action on special teams as well. This past weekend, New York special teams coach Mike Westhoff made it clear that Tebow could have a major role on his unit this year (until, of course, he takes the starting role from Mark Sanchez, amiright?).
Like offensive coordinator Tony Sparano last week, Westhoff wasn’t forthcoming with what his specific plans are for Tebow. But he also said Tebow could be a “more potent Brad Smith.”
Not that it’s extremely high praise, but it does let Jets fans know Westhoff sees potential for Tebow in a non-quarterback role.
Westhoff told the New York Daily News that Tebow was agreeable about Westhoff’s plans for special teams and eager to learn the role, and Manish Mehta calculates that Tebow could play as many as 30 percent of his snaps on special teams (that’s taking into account the fact New York averaged 5.8 punts per game in 2011).
So, if you take that with the idea that Tebow could play as many 20 snaps on offense, it seems that the Jets are ready to see what kind of contributions he can make to their team in 2012. Even if it's not all at quarterback.
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