Tim Tebow is the Jets' new Red Zone quarterback?

Posted by Josh Alper on July 19, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

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We’ve heard a lot about Tim Tebow this offseason, but we still don’t know exactly how the Jets will use him on offense this season.

The Jets always say that he’s a backup quarterback, although that’s mitigated by talk about about playing him 20 snaps a game and Wildcat/read-option formations that could grow into something more. The latest suggestion is that the Jets are going to use Tebow as their quarterback in the red zone.

Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that team insiders have told him that the Jets will replace Mark Sanchez with Tebow in the red zone in order to bolster the running game. Tebow’s presence would give the team an extra blocker — be it a back or Tebow himself — in the run game and, presumably, make it easier for the team to get into the end zone.

The funny thing about this plan is that the red zone was the one area in the field where the Jets offense thrived last season. Only the Lions scored more touchdowns on their trips into the red zone last season and the problem with the Jets was their inability to move the ball inside the opponents’ 20-yard-line often enough to avoid an 8-8 season.

Plaxico Burress helped in that department last season, so there’s definitely an opening for a player who can keep things efficient in that part of the field. Unless they do a better job on offense in the middle of the field, though, it won’t wind up making too big a difference.

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