It's crazy enough for any backup quarterback to get his own press conference. (Even David Carr.) It's even nuttier when the backup gets introduced on a full-sized indoor practice field because the media won't fit in the normal press room.
"There's a lot of people here," Tim Tebow said as an introduction to New York Monday.
Get used to it. Mark Sanchez didn't get this treatment when he was taken No. 5 in the draft. Rex Ryan didn't get introduced in the Jets indoor practice fieldhouse either. Tebow did; this was the first time the Jets have used the fieldhouse for the media.
Tebow spoke about his great relationship with Sanchez and wasn't worried about the natural tension between a backup and starting quarterback.
"We're going to have a lot of fun together," Tebow said.
And the New York media will do their best to find out if that's not the case. 50 seats are in the usual Jets media room. The team set up 80 seats on Monday, and it wasn't close to enough. More than 30 cameras were on hand for the shindig. Roughly 200 members of the media were in attendance.
This is a problem.
"It's a marketing ploy," former Jet Damien Woody said over the weekend.
The Jets didn't do Tebow any favors by conducting this press conference. The Anonymous Jetsalready can't believe their team went to such lengths for a backup. Tebow didn't do himself any favors by allowing it to happen.
"The reason we're doing this today is because I have bosses, too," Tebow said with a laugh and a big smile. "And they wanted me to stand up here and talk to ya'll, so I can blame it on them because they made me do it."
It was a funny line, but it points out the awkward path the Jets have chosen. They are making their backup quarterback bigger than the team. There were reports during Tebow's rookie year that he declined many endorsement deals. He didn't want to overstep his place in the locker room before he established himself on the field.
The Jets would have been well served to let Tebow take that same approach in his first days in New York.
"Its an honor for all of you to show up to hear me say a few words today," Tebow said. "I really don't feel like it will be too much of a distraction because I honestly will try not to pay too much attention to it."
Tebow may not pay attention, but the city of New York is closely watching every move Tebow makes. That includes all of Tebow's new teammates.
