Sharing Slang and Laughs, and Hoping It Stays That Way - New York Times

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. â€" As quarterback Greg McElroy conducted an interview after the Jets’ preseason finale Thursday in Philadelphia, Mark Sanchez started plotting the prank. Nodding toward McElroy, Sanchez motioned to the teammate standing between them to pass an orange wedge. Sanchez crept behind McElroy and shoved the fruit down the back of his T-shirt. While McElroy squirmed, Sanchez bumped fists with his co-conspirator, Tim Tebow.

That snapshot of Sanchez and Tebow â€" pulling a practical joke, sharing a laugh, enjoying each other’s company â€" should be preserved, remembered later in the season. It will be a predictor of their bonhomie in handling a delicate predicament, or proof that such camaraderie once existed.

Every experiment sets out to prove a hypothesis, and the Jets believe not only that Tebow and Sanchez, who bristled last season when pulled for even one snap in practice, can complement each other in this quirky situation, but also that they will do so all the way into the playoffs. It seems so promising in August, when losses do not count and criticism of a stagnant offense can be squelched by that one magical word: preseason. But if the Jets struggle against what appears to be a difficult early schedule, creating tension at quarterback, how will Tebow and Sanchez react?

“This is uncharted territory for us,” guard Matt Slauson said. “And it’s going to take all of us working together to make it work.”

Sanchez and Tebow agree, having spent the last five months building a friendship â€" in meeting rooms, at film sessions, on the practice field, over brasserie dishes in the meatpacking district of Manhattan and Japanese food in Laguna Beach, Calif., near Sanchez’s annual Jets West passing camp. They do not quite finish each other’s sentences, but guard Brandon Moore, for one, said he thought Sanchez and Tebow were getting along rather well, “probably more so than people thought.” When Sanchez teased him about running shirtless through a downpour after practice in Cortland, N.Y., Tebow responded by ribbing Sanchez about his photo spreads in GQ magazine.

“We have definitely gotten closer through this process,” Tebow said, smiling.

Tebow has leaned on Sanchez’s mastery of the offense, using him to decode the sardonic wit of the quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh. Sanchez has sought Tebow’s insight on coverages and fronts, and has relished gaining a new accomplice in teasing McElroy.

“It went from me and Mark understanding each other’s jokes to Mark and Tim really understanding each other’s jokes,” McElroy said. “Now I’m kind of on the outside looking in.”

Almost immediately, McElroy said, Tebow started picking up on their slang, calling great throws dimes, as Sanchez often does. Their competitive streaks run rampant in the quarterbacks room, where Tebow and Sanchez resemble contestants on “Jeopardy!” vying to press the button first, racing each other, and McElroy, to answer questions.

“It’s like a spelling bee in there,” the offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano, said.

In subtle ways, Tebow and Sanchez have influenced each other, most notably in the weight room. Although Sanchez decided to bulk up before Tebow arrived, adding 12 pounds of muscle, teammates have sensed a renewed commitment from him. He and Tebow were two of six Jets to record perfect scores on the Functional Movement Screen, an assessment tool that measures mobility, stability and core function.

“Man, oh, man, they were really getting after it,” Coach Rex Ryan said. “They push each other that way. It’s kind of a neat thing with everyone trying to make this a controversy or pit those two against each other. You look at their body language. I hear them. What they have is genuine.”

Sparano sensed it on the sideline at MetLife Stadium during the Jets’ preseason game against Carolina. When Sanchez connected with Dustin Keller for a first down, Tebow hooted and hollered. When Tebow broke free for a long run, Sanchez reciprocated.

That easy rapport â€" McElroy called it natural â€" is what Sparano hoped would develop after the Jets acquired Tebow from Denver on March 21, placing him in a situation that, generally speaking, neither quarterback probably preferred. For Tebow, who two months earlier guided the Broncos to a division title and a first-round playoff victory, the trade was a demotion. For Sanchez, who two weeks earlier agreed to a five-year contract, it represented a threat to his primacy.

Sanchez’s previous backups â€" Kellen Clemens, Mark Brunell and Kevin O’Connell â€" were reasonable facsimiles of one another: valuable mentors but modest quarterbacks, hardly the kind to imperil his job. In fact, had Sanchez sustained a serious injury during his first two seasons, Ryan said the former Wildcat ace Brad Smith would have started over Clemens or Brunell because of his versatility and elusiveness. In essence, Tebow is a bulkier, left-handed version of Smith.

Moore said he could relate to the way Sanchez might have felt back in March.

“Someday, Vlad Ducasse could take my job, but I talk and joke with Vlad and coach him the same way I coach anybody else,” Moore said. “He’s not Tim Tebow, but it’s sort of the same. I don’t have people writing about me and people trying to take my job. That would be a little different. That probably would make it awkward.”

Tebow was not wary of tension percolating. But he also realized he had to navigate a new set of teammates, many of whom realized, as Slauson said, that “he brings a lot of scrutiny to an already incredibly highly scrutinized team.”

In an interview, Tebow said he applied the teachings of his high school football coach, Craig Howard, who would tell his players, “It’s our job as coaches to love you; it’s your job as players to love one another.”

Tebow said he set out to earn his teammates’ respect by always working as hard as he could. Even when McElroy tried to play a joke on Tebow during a film session, cuing video of McElroy’s Alabama Crimson Tide defeating Tebow’s Florida Gators for the 2009 Southeastern Conference championship, Tebow proceeded to watch the rest of the game, giving a detailed critique of his and his teammates’ performance.

“You can’t lead anyone unless you know where you’re going,” Tebow said, “and you can’t lead anyone unless you’ve earned their respect. If they don’t respect you, they’re not going to follow you.”

Moore, like many players, said he wondered how the dynamic between Tebow and Sanchez, two alpha personalities, would evolve. So did Sparano, who endorsed the team’s pursuit of Tebow in conversations with Ryan and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum.

In mid-April, soon after voluntary workouts began, Sparano met with Tebow and Sanchez. He wanted them to understand that “this is not a negative thing, it’s a positive thing” and explained how the new offense, which would include packages of plays for Tebow in situations including short yardage and red zone, could benefit each player.

As an example, Sparano mentioned his experience with Miami in 2008, when Ronnie Brown would spell Chad Pennington for a play. Sparano treated Pennington’s exit like an extra timeout, using it to set up the Dolphins’ next two calls.

“It’s just not normal for a quarterback â€" or to any starting player â€" that he might have to come off the field,” Sparano said. “You owe all of them an explanation. I’m not of the nature to just do things and not explain why. I want to make sure they all understood why this fits us.”

The Jets’ intention for Tebow remains a closely guarded secret; in the words of Sparano, “there’s going to be some version of something.” But Sparano realizes the dynamic at play. He intends to eliminate guessing and, perhaps, minimize anxiety by communicating to Sanchez and Tebow their roles leading up to every game, starting with next Sunday’s opener against Buffalo. How they handle those responsibilities, and the scrutiny that is certain to intensify, could decide the Jets’ season, and there is nothing funny about that.

“They’re going to have to coexist,” Moore said. “And they will. There’s no other option.”