Troy Aikman weighs in on Tebow

As a New York-area sportswriter, it is my sacred duty to ask every former NFL quarterback I encounter about how the Jets are handling that position these days.

So . . . you're up, Fox analyst Troy Aikman:

"It works as long as Mark Sanchez continues to play well," he said. "It's a unique situation. I don't know Mark Sanchez, but I think he sure has handled everything very well. There was enough pressure on him going into the season and that all got ramped up a little bit when Tim Tebow came in as the backup.

"There are those who say, 'Well, if you can’t handle that you shouldn't be playing quarterback in this league. I don't know that they really understand the quarterback position."

Speaking of Tebow, can he play?

"Play what?’" Aikman said, then paused for effect.

Um, quarterback?

"I think there has got to be a lot of pieces around him for that to happen," he said. "You have to have a lot of other things. I believe, as obviously the Denver Broncos believed, that you have to be able to throw the football well in this league if you're going to win, and he hasn't shown an ability to do that consistently.

"Until he does he'll be a quarterback that would be inconsistent. So those are areas that just have to get better."