Jets, Tebow get to work on wildcat package

Mum’s the word for now, with a level of secrecy that made even Tebow chuckle.

“I also don’t know if I’ve ever seen this much interest,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s secretive. We’re running our offense and our plays and our reads. It’s part of the offense for us.”

New York provided a small glimpse into its plan for Tebow and its wildcat-style formation on Aug. 2 during goal-line drills, but had not worked specifically on the scheme until Monday. The players were told Sunday night during the team meeting that it would be run during their next practice.

As Ryan has insisted, it appears the wildcat will be at least a small part of Sparano’s offense with Tebow around. Sparano helped make the scheme popular a few years ago with running back Ronnie Brown when he was the coach of the Miami Dolphins, and Tebow was clearly brought in to be the guy to make it work in New York.

“They’ve seen Miami run the wildcat more than anybody, so they get an idea of what our plays are,” Ryan said. “But still, you have a different guy back there at quarterback, you can throw the ball more. There are different elements to it where even though you’ve seen it before and it’s on tape, having him back there specifically I think opens more pass opportunities and things like that than maybe most wildcat situations.

The Jets used quarterback-turned-wide receiver Brad Smith in their wildcat formation for five seasons before he signed with Buffalo as a free agent last summer, and also used running back Leon Washington in a version of it. Once Smith left, the Jets were left without a reliable option in the wildcat _ one of the main reasons they acquired Tebow in March.

Tebow ran a run-read option style of offense at the University of Florida and did some of the same during his first two NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos.

“Even in high school, too,” he said. “So, it’s something I’m very comfortable with.”

For how many snaps and when it’ll be used, well, that all remains to be seen.

“The great thing is, you don’t know if we’re going to run it once and you don’t know if we’re going to run it 20 times, 50 times or whatever,” Ryan said. “It’s up to us. If you’re not prepared for it, why wouldn’t we run it?”

When asked if the wildcat could become increasingly featured as the season goes along, Ryan went with a line he has used a few times this summer: “Hey,” he said brushing off the question, “anything’s possible.”

Some around the league have suggested that the wildcat can no longer be effective in the NFL after defenses caught up to it during the last few seasons. Not so, said Ryan, who insists it remains one of the more difficult aspects of the game for a defense to prepare for.

And with the 250-pound Tebow in the mix, that’s exactly what the Jets are counting on.

“I think it can be a weapon,” Sanchez said. “I think if you run it the right way like Coach Sparano will do, we can get explosive with it. We have some great athletes and we want to use all of their talents.”

NOTES: Ryan thinks it’s unlikely WR Santonio Holmes (rib), NT Sione Pouha (forehead/back), S Eric Smith (knee) or WR Jeremy Kerley (hamstring) will play against the Giants. … LG Matt Slauson downplayed beating Vladimir Ducasse for the starting job, and declined to discuss recently taking a paycut in the last year of his rookie contract. “I don’t want to get into that,” he said.

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