The New York Jets broke out the much-awaited Wildcat formation with Tim Tebow at practice on Monday.
After practice, Jets head coach Rex Ryan talked about the Wildcat and his plans for the formation. Mark Sanchez is definitely the starter at quarterback, Ryan said. However, the Wildcat will still feature in the offense.
"We have an excellent quarterback, we'll have our offense, and the Wildcat will be part of our offense. We've said that from day one. The great thing is you don't know if we're going to run it once, you don't know if we're going to run it 20 times, 50 times, whatever. That's up to us and if you're not prepared for it, why wouldn't we run it? If you're not defending it well, why wouldn't we keep running it? You're going to run something until you stop it. That's that old (saying). Packer sweep, they kept running."
Ryan said that Tebow is better suited to run the formation than past players because of his throwing ability. He also compared Tebow to Ronnie Brown, a running back who had some success running Wildcat plays for the Miami Dolphins.
"Well, Ronnie Brown was tremendous. He was absolutely tremendous at running the football and they're both left-handed. It's just that Tebow throws the ball better. I think that's the big difference between him and Ronnie is he throws it better. Now, Ronnie probably runs the ball a little better than Tim, but Tim can throw the ball better. With Ronnie, you were really defending the run. He did burn some people on the pass but you were really concentrating on the run where (with) Tim you're going to have to defend both."
Tebow said his familiarity with the Wildcat and run-read option plays makes him comfortable using the formation.
"Well, it's something that I've had so many reps (with) and (I have) gone through that so many times, especially at the University of Florida and even in high school too. So it's something I'm very comfortable with and obviously, that's why most of the time I am under center and doing things that I haven't done as much, play-action drops, seven-step drops, five-step drops, getting in the gun and doing that stuff has always been a little easier for me."
Tebow also said that using the formation led to some of the best execution he's seen in camp.
"I think what gets me excited is when you see us go out there and execute. Whether it was that or just regular plays, I felt like today we were able to execute and have a lot of explosive plays, a lot of big plays. Besides probably that last drill, I felt like we had one of our best days out there, so it's a great sign for the offense, we just (have to) keep getting better."
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