Tebow Goes To Gotham. Payton Goes Home.

Training Camp just got a lot more interesting.

March 21st, 2012.  The day Anthony Agbabiaka stopped watching professional football.

Now let us establish something.  Mark Sanchez is an starting NFL Quarterback.  I feel that he has earned that title.  I am a fan of what he can do in Tony Sparano's offense.   He is not Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Eli Manning or Aaron Rodgers.  Not every Quarterback needs to be that.  The Jets also believe that based on the contract they gave him.

A few of my readers know that the Jets are my secondary team.  As a fan of the Jets since childhood, I may be the only fan pleased by this deal.  It gives the Jets an intriguing situation at QB.  Sanchez is the starter, but that does not mean that Tebow will ride the bench.  If there is an Offensive Coordinator that can properly use Tebow it is Tony Sparano.

What Tebow brings to the Jets is a player that defies logic in the 4th quarter, a workout machine and a guy who can push Mark Sanchez to work harder.  It is no secret that the Jets were looking for a viable backup to push Sanchez in camp.  However, it was not expected that Tim Tebow and Rex Ryan would share a locker room.  He also brings his very Christian message and his uniquely limited passing skills that he has undoubtedly worked his ass off to improve.  Both of which Tebow has been criticized for.  However, the former has been praised by many as well.

The Jets will be fine if these things can happen
1. Sanchez and Holmes mend their fences.
2. Tim Tebow can be a critical role player and is not thrust into the starting role.
3. Certain Jets can scale back the media fodder they provide.

I will be fine if I can
1. Limit how much I watch First Take anytime in the 365 days.

As for the Saints, I attempt to not focus an article on scandals.  Notice I never wrote an entire article about Bountygate or Ryan Braun's appeal.  So I will keep this short.

We are aware that Sean Payton has been suspended for the entire 2012 season and Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely.  With apologies to any Ram fans who read Coffee, the St. Louis Rams are an irrelevant franchise for at least another season.  As for the Saints, I cannot say that their season is over because Drew Brees is still their Quarterback.  Payton's fingerprints will still be all over this team.  Believe it.  They will still win the NFC South.

Changing Horses: The Theme Of The Offseason.

In a move that any 8-year old girl can understand, all Peyton Manning wanted this week was a new horse.

Peyton Manning is a Denver Bronco now.  The Broncos wanted a horse that can take them the distance.  So where does that leave us in our QB carousel. 

Manning to Tebow: "Thanks for keeping the seat warm, buddy."

NFC NORTH

1. Packers: Aaron Rodgers

2. Bears: Jay Cutler

3. Lions: Matt Stafford

4. Vikings: Christian Ponder (for now)

NFC EAST

1. Giants: Eli Manning

2. Eagles: Michael Vick

3. Redskins: Robert Griffin III (presumably)

4. Cowboys: Tony Romo

NFC SOUTH

1. Saints: Drew Brees

2. Panthers: Cam Newton

3. Falcons: Matt Ryan

4. Buccaneers: Josh Freeman (depending on how this season goes)

NFC WEST

1. Rams: Sam Bradford

2. Seahawks: Matt Flynn

3. Cardinals: Kevin Kolb (for now, for money)

4. 49ers: UP IN THE AIR

AFC NORTH

1. Bengals: Andy Dalton

2. Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger

3. Ravens: Joe Flacco

4. Browns: UP IN THE AIR (might have to stick with McCoy

AFC EAST

1. Patriots: Tom Brady

2. Jets: Mark Sanchez

3. Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick

4. Dolphins: WAY UP IN THE AIR

AFC SOUTH

1. Texans: Matt Schaub

2. Colts: Andrew Luck (presumably)

3. Titans: Competition (After Manning sweepstakes, Hasselbeck and Locker will probably compete in camp)

4. Jaguars: UP IN THE AIR (Most likely Tebow, Gabbert or Henne)

AFC WEST

1. Broncos: Peyton Manning

2. Chargers: Phillip Rivers

3. Raiders: Carson Palmer

4. Chiefs: Matt Cassel (for now)

Now the players in the rest of the offseason are Ryan Tannehill, Tim Tebow, Blaine Gabbert, Colt McCoy, Alex Smith and Chad Henne.

Alex Smith and Tim Tebow are the biggest players here.  Tebow-mania has ended in Denver prematurely for the same reason Manning had to leave Indy.  A front office with a chance too good to pass on.  But Tebow is going to be shopped, as Denver sees him as a legitimate NFL quarterback.  I am on the Tebow to Jacksonville bandwagon.  Gabbert has not impressed me in his first season.  

As for the Broncos, they now will undergo the media circus that involves putting Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow in the same sentence.  However, the 2012 Broncos will feature less close games with bad teams.  Tim Tebow will start on a team with an inferior defense to Denver and will ahve less success.  The offseason has a little more unfolding to do, but let this story occupy your television set for about three weeks.  

Meet Jeremy Lin

The Jeremy Lin tongue wag.  It's a thing.

In 2006, Jeremy Lin's Palo Alto Vikings went 32-1 and won state.  He was the Northern California Division II player of the year.

No scholarship offers.

He was offered to walk on to his dream school, UCLA.  He was only guaranteed spots on the team at Harvard and Brown.  However, Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.  Lin chose Harvard.

In his four years at Harvard, the team started to gain national recognition.  Lin's biggest performance, arguably, was a 30 point performance on the road against 12th ranked UConn in his senior season.  His four year run at Harvard ended with a first team selection in his senior season and numerous team and individual records set.

But like every other California-bred Asian who graduated from Harvard in 2010, Lin went undrafted.

Before the season started, he signed with the Golden State Warriors.  He spent the season back in forth between Oakland and Reno, where Golden State's development team play.  During the 2010-11 season, Lin playing sparingly when he was in Oakland.  However, he did gain a cult following among Asian American fans, being the first American in the NBA of Chinese or Taiwanese decent.  His game was praised by the likes of Derek Fisher.  He received nearly as many interview requests as fellow Warriors, Stephen Curry.  He was approached by people wanting to make him the subject of documentaries.

However, the first day day of training camp after the lockout Lin was released by Golden State.  In the next three weeks, he was picked up by Houston, waived by Houston and signed by New York.  A month later he was sent down to Erie for another stint in the D-League.  He was called up a week later and he is here to stay.

He was in the D-League fifteen days ago.  If you do not know the name Jeremy Lin, you have been living under a rock.

I know it is a long basketball season and this kid has only shined in three games.  He went off for 28, 25 and 23 points in his last three games and the Knicks are 3-0 in that stretch.  He has warranted all of the headlines on a team with Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert and Tyson Chandler.

He has warranted almost Tebow-like coverage from ESPN and appears to be on an even-keel.  Tonight he plays the Lakers.  We can see Jeremy Lin on the court with Kobe Bryant.

We might not hear about Tim Tebow for an entire week.  Maybe for a few months if "Linsanity" could tongue wag his way to an NBA title.



UPDATE:  Tonight at MSG, Lin led the Knicks to a 92-85 win over the Lake Show.  This game was marked by weak guard play on LA's part.  As a result, Lin put up 38 points en route to the victory.

I will now often refer to Lin as the "Yellow Mamba."

Brady, Gronk Put Tebow Media Circus To Rest In 45-10 Beatdown.

Tom Brady torched the Broncos with
5 touchdown passes in the first half.

At halftime the score was 5 to 3. Tom Brady completed 5 touchdown passes. Tim Tebow had 3 completions. The game was over by then, so that was a closer contest at that stage of the game. The New England Patriots rode Brady's arm to a 45-10 over the Denver Broncos. Tim Tebow could not get comfortable in the pocket today. The Broncos' QB was sacked 5 times in a 9-26 effort.

It's hard to argue that there is a better Tight End
in the NFL than Rob Gronkowski.

There were several reasons why the Patriots won this game, namely Tom Brady's motivation to win following the failures of playoffs past. Brady played one of his better statistical games of his career. Having the best tight end in football in Rob Gronkowski helped Brady out too. GRONK was a major contributor to the win catching 10 balls for 145 yards and 3 TD's.

As for Tebow, he was negated all night long by New England's defense. The Patriot defense got to Tebow 5 times, forcing a fumble and holding him to less passing yards the the Pats' leading receiver caught for.

"Tim Tebow is an enigma,
the likes of which the NFL has never seen." - Mickey White

I would not call this game a sign that Tebow and Tebow's college offense does not work in the NFL. I will concede that there are going to be games that are ugly. It happened against Detroit, it happened against Buffalo, it happened against New England. The only analogy I can make here is Freddy Garcia's last season with the White Sox. He would pitch solid most nights, lights out some nights and get shelled once every five or six starts. Those starts were so poor that Garcia finished 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA. That's how I look at Tebow. 12 Touchdowns, 6 Interceptions and a 46.5 completion percentage.

What we will remember about Tebow from this season is the hype. The hype that was warranted. Tim Tebow is an enigma, the likes of which the NFL has never seen. Tebow could not adjust to an NFL offense, but knows how to win games in the NFL. A team around him in a way that we have not seen in a long time. He needed a good offensive line and good running backs. He needed a good defense. But when you got him to the 4th quarter, he started to resemble a quarterback. He resembled a winner. Regardless on how you feel about him as a quarterback, you must admit that he took the Broncos farther than Kyle Orton would.

Tebow's secret was never a secret though. He was the best conditioned player on the field and when you run the ball for three quarters, the defense is worn out in the fourth. The key to beating Tebow was to put him away in 45 minutes.

The real shame about this Broncos defense was that the defense did not get the recognition that they deserved from the media. People that know enough about the game, knew how special that defensive unit was and they have a lot to be proud of from this season. That whole team does. Tebow, Fox, the running back back corps, the line and especially the defense. However, just like the man who played Jesus on SNL said he would not be able to show up for the first New England game, the Denver D did not show up for the second.