Tim Tebow Resident In Big Apple Is Not Home

It’s not easy being an athlete in New York. It is somewhat a misunderstanding when it comes to the Tim Tebow trade and, as bizarre as it is, he is relocating to a city of drama and craziness. Never is there a dull moment in New York, and with Tebow claiming his citizenship, the media circus has only gotten more berserk.

There is no bigger distraction, even spiritually, in sports other than Tebow simply for shoving his religious beliefs in our faces. It’s all probably for the overexposed Christianity flap-doodle, or for Tebow’s inability to throw with anticipation and only produce enough magic to pull off the miracle. Even though, he’s a charismatic superhero, the holy son of optimism and natural powers, resplendent on the field, he’s the most polarizing human being in sports.

It is, however, awkwardly strange that he ends up in an environment where he will, no doubt, feature extensively on the front page of local newspapers vilified for playing the quarterback position non-traditionally with the type of style not seen too often from a peerless NFL quarterback. If you haven’t been staying on top of things, the flawed quarterback was traded from Denver to the Jets in exchanged for fourth and sixth round picks, including an additional $2.5 million.

The addition of Tebow absolutely creates a plethora of fame, but with all the swirling controversy in an uproarious locker room as players are committed to the blame game, he can either be useful or ineffectual. What happened to the hearsay of him potentially returning home to Florida as Tebow could have polished his career with one of those mediocre franchises in the state where he once was a college legend? What happened to the sensible predictions of him ending up in Miami or even Jacksonville, a pair of NFL teams in desperate need of a quarterback, though the Jaguars are committed to breeding quarterback Blaine Gabbert?

The soon arrival of Tebow, as a situational quarterback and maybe even an inspirational, charismatic voice that motivates and drives starter Mark Sanchez to finally produce in the quarterback role, makes sense to some degree with new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano. It’s a move that seems to be the right fit for an offensive system catering perfectly to Tebow’s singular running style. With Sparano, the creator of the Wildcat formation, Tebow could benefit the Jets. This all may not be such a bad combination when Tebow’s running style complements the Wildcat offense, designed to create a mismatch with a speedy runner against an unprepared defense.

But, then again, he’s in a town where criticism is heavy, in a town where fans and the media can be aggressively finicky and belittling of his mistakes and flaws, such as Tebow’s inability to transform into an elite passer. It’s what Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan desired and decided to obtain him in a trade to serve as the second-string behind Sanchez, whose paltry performance last season toppled much promise and heated up an ongoing rift in the Jets organization. It’s confusing to see what the Jets saw in Tebow and why the front office felt they needed him, after giving Sanchez a three-year contract extension, which increasingly raised his guaranteed money to $20.5, due to him over the next two seasons.

This isn’t the strangest deal ever, and even if this seems like a perfect fit — in many ways — it makes no sense whatsoever. The more we talk about Tebow, the more he becomes famous to America pop culture, a role model, a pious figure who many admire simply for his good character, dignity and humility. The more we doubt him, the more he’s willing to put time and effort in improving his poor throwing motion. This is what fascinates those who truly eulogize Tebow – either the most likable or polarizing athlete in sports.

It’s notable that he has good work ethic and tremendous appreciation for the game he plays, especially after he was named the Broncos starting quarterback a year ago to replace a struggling Kyle Orton, which resulted in a seven-game winning streak and playoff berth. This has been, no doubt, an interesting offseason – even greater — an intriguing spring for Tebow and the Jets. If this team is trying to develop Sanchez and assure that he turns into a reliable passer, anticipating for him to play skillfully for every penny he’s worth, then bringing in Tebow could initiate disturbance and even reduce his confidence and pride.

In every way, Tebow is moving on to New York and competing for the starting job, in the saddle to take the place of Sanchez if all hell breaks loose next season. If this Tebow trade foils, Ryan is indeed out of a job, as the circus hasn’t left the town since his arrival, known for guaranteeing Super Bowl victories and constant failures. By making this deal, the Jets created unnecessary quarterback controversy, pairing two aspiring quarterbacks all on one franchise in one town.

The Big Apple just became the Circus Big Top.

Trading for Tebow, who had led the Broncos on an incredible run last season, was an insult to Sanchez and it gives us every reason to believe that the Jets are moving in a new direction and could shut the door on him in favor of Timothy Richard Tebow. That’s not only disrespectful — that’s also being disloyal to Sanchez, who the Jets said they deeply love and want as their everyday quarterback. It’s almost like seeing an ex-boyfriend secretly flirting with an unnamed chick while still in a relationship with the girlfriend. The drama exists in New York — it really does — and sadly, the Jets have no trust in Sanchez with a superstar like Tebow waiting in the wings.

As insane as this week has been, regarding the trade talks surrounding Tebow that eventually turned out to be true, these were all sights for which he’ll be used on third and fourth-down plays in most series. The dumbest thing of all of this — even though he can arrive to New York and exemplify a superhero — is that he’s pampered, ennobled and treated like he’s the greatest quarterback on the planet, when in all, he’s nothing more than only a backup to Sanchez at least for the beginning of the season. It almost comes across as if the Jets traded so much talent to receive Tebow when, in reality, they gave the Broncos nothing. The arrival has brought another circus to town, rightfully so.

And, as always, the New York Giants are laughing at the Jets, having all the bragging rights in the world after their recent Super Bowl win. This wasn’t such an intellectual deal, after all. Worse of all it could delay the development of Sanchez, who once was known as Sanchise long before he sputtered and degenerated. Please forgive me if I’m paying no mind about his storybook run with the Broncos. It’s not an overreaction to refresh our memories on what a success he was last season, mastering the role as a quarterback perfectly and had won seven of eight games after the Broncos placed him into the lineup following a 1-4 start.

He’s not your average quarterback. As we all know, his mechanics are bad and he has a slow release. As we all know, he has potential, much of it, but is still a work in progress and not quite ready. This is all bad for a franchise with enough problems as it is. Sanchez was named the team captain, but couldn’t bring the team together as a unified squad. The other troubling issue is a moody Santonio Holmes, surrendering on his teammates at the end of the season. And, well, Ryan admittedly said he had lost his locker room.

So what does that tell you?

Sometimes it’s hard to understand the Jets. And, in this case, nobody knows the team’s intent. This is what it takes to win games?

I’m not even sure the Jets have the answer to that one.

Jets lost Swagger That Led to Mediocrity

He has voiced so many opinions and thoughts about the Jets in pregame news conferences, that Rex Ryan is verified as a jester for his bizarre silliness. A week doesn't pass, it appears, without his peculiar antics or hilarity.

So now, already, we are left to guess if the losses have softened the spirit for the Jets, who haven't been cohesive or poised but undisciplined and divided. If we became accustomed to the Jets 2-3 start, including the humiliating loss nationally, now we're really becoming used to the scarcity and lack of success as this team was supposed to be ranked as one of the contenders with a chance in reaching the Super Bowl.

His peculiar demeanor shouldn't bother us, but if the Jets have the urge to win, maybe now would be a good time for the Jets to curtail arrogance and zip it shut. If the Jets are ambitious to accomplish more than just clinching a playoff spot in pursuit of a championship, maybe Ryan should let the game speak for itself because all the unnecessary trash-talk has poisoned the team.

If the Jets keep losing, though Ryan is the public figure folks in New York adore with his bombastic and erratic antics, he'll finally take criticism from the masses in New York and the local newspapers could banter with him on the front page as he'll feature as the headline. Too much humor disrupts, I know. Too much lack of discipline damages cohesion, I know.

This is, to simply put it, the most dysfunctional team in the league, perhaps not even close to winning a championship and instead close to qualifying for an acting gig for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. The reality in football this season is that the Jets-Patriots rivalry is nothing but hype, and has bothered our self-consciousness as we are hypnotized by a meaningless rivalry.

It used to be an American trait for populace to buy into the ridiculous hyperbole as the meanest war in football became bigger than the Yankees-Red Sox hype. But now, although it is the perception of mutual animosity for a pair of protagonist, there'd be no reason to relight romance for the rebirth of a moribund rivalry like the old days. Any fight is uneventful if the duel is not saturated with bad blood, and assuming that the Patriots are no match for the Jets, then it's not really fun watching an annual meeting.

It's funny how, for a legion of reasons, people still embrace the Jets-Patriots engagement when it's only another game on the schedule. It would not be a surprise to see the Jets miss the playoffs, prematurely dismantling in a season they were projected to elevate beyond standards, wilting on offense despite having enough reinforcements and dividing among a unit inside the separated locker room.

The assumption is, of course, the Jets aren't playing together but individual ball and should actually, in such a quick process, emphasize the significance of cohesion and teamwork. If anything, Mark Sanchez earns his teammates' trust and surely has evolved into a leader but his team's nucleus is not workable. They like him and, relatively, they trust him.

The downside is -- his damn team is not performing like a Super Bowl contender, and in truth -- it's possible to think of the Jets as a disappointment. We understand, Ok? This is a unit unprepared and uncontrolled bothered by tumult because of poor judgment from on-the-field mistakes that comes from the lack of team effort. The championship aspirations have suddenly vanished, and now Sanchez is frustrated after a 30-21 loss on Sunday in the latest renewal of a rivalry. Do you blame him?

"We got a couple of third and manageables, we just gotta convert," Sanchez said after the game disappointingly. "Some underneath passes, we just gotta connect and I don't know the reason why we came out so slow. We had probably the best week of practice all year this week. Guys were into it. We knew our plays, we knew the gameplan."

It's never sweet for the Jets to lose against their hated rivals, but it's too bad New York couldn't prevail in a hostile territory in Foxborough, an environment where the Jets are disrespected and demoralized badly by Tom Brady and the Patriots. It's foolish of people to call this a rivalry -- and every season we believe in the nonsense.

So whether you like it or not, it's not a rivalry, but just another game on the schedule. This was never worth the hype, but since the Jets vs. Patriots have had the greatest show on turf in recent memory, it's sensible of fans to await an AFC East clash. This year, anyway, the Jets don't have the edge over the Patriots. This time, the Patriots have the edge over the Jets, and not by a slight advantage, but a huge differential. It wasn't long ago when the Pats, having their rivals numbered nearly every time they met, when the Jets lost by an embarrassing six touchdowns to New England in December. And then, more impressively, they won a month later in the playoffs by destroying Brady and the befuddled Bill Belichick in a game that Ryan roughly out coached the nominal Beligenius.

Not that time.

It's the most contentious rivalry, but it's not very telling when the Jets are inferior, falling as quickly as the other football franchise in town. If Gang Green can't beat its nemesis, for what has become one of the best football battles in a long time, then it is considered unsuccessful.

And thus far, the Jets have been unsuccessful not even intimidating or invulnerable. It's not, even if this is essentially America's primary sport to embrace and enjoy each weekend, fun watching the Jets but painful seeing them squander critical games. It is frankly a nightmare, as Halloween quickly approaches at a time when fans are panicking over the Jets, to realize that New York lost its third straight game.

The Jets are struggling because, with the stubbornness and silliness amid the season of pursuit to glory, they have no identity. Watching the Jets at Gillette Stadium, with the softest pass defense in the league and no hard-nosed football, was like rooting against a paltry pee-wee team. That's all you need to know about the Jets, a sad story written this season as we can laugh our asses off. It's the same thing every week, a tiring routine aging faster than the Statue of Liberty.

The unspoken weaknesses about the Jets is that, because of their indecisions and indiscretions in drawing plays on offense and adjusting on drives, they are frustrated among offensive players. The problem -- and this is the biggest issue -- is the Jets inability to stop the run and hinder the opponent's passing game. The Jets were fun to watch, but now they're not.

This time, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer looks on from the sideline daze and upset with an offense in turbulence. Five games into the season, and the Jets aren't fighting for a playoff spot, let alone winning games. The craziest aspect of the Jets recent downfall is that the Patriots still manage the edge, beating them every chance they have, despite that New York absorbs exposure and spotlight simply for Ryan's loudmouth.

With his dramatic reality shows, Ryan is the celebrity nut, from his foot fetish, to his obscene gestures that featured on tabloids, to his outrageous theme on HBO's "Hard Knocks" where he made a complete fool of himself -- he and the Jets were given national spotlight. It's true that the Jets are mired in disarray thus far, staggering against their archenemies to take more energy out of the players.

It's true that nobody is intrigued by Santonio Holmes, but are disbelievers. It's true that nobody is satisfied with Plaxico Burress, but is irritated. The only person who might be radically showing his emotions is Sanchez, who swung the door to the interview room open Sunday evening and walked in mad.

He folded his arms and stood around, for about five minutes, leaning against a door. It wasn't long after that Ryan, a descending coach who is too busy trying to be hilarious more than serious about his team's perfection, walked into the room, in full view of the media, venting on what actually went wrong with the Jets.

“I never thought I’d be here losing three straight, but that’s where we’re at,” Ryan said. “We’ve earned it.”

I've never thought they'd be losing three straight, either.

But the reality is that they've lost three straight. And in the standings, the Jets are 2-3, sitting two games behind New England and Buffalo with a stumbling offense and an unstable defense that couldn't forestall the Patriots on a series of plays. The weaknesses for the Jets are that the team can't run the ball efficiently or proficiently and they can't lesson the mistakes.

The eight penalties for 89 yards hurt New York, along with its inability in the blown coverage on Wes Welker when he dusted for a 73-yard catch on the Patriots' opening drive in the second half. There was no coverage for Deion Branch on his 2-yard touchdown, and the Jets can't win by struggling to convert on seven of its first nine possessions.

When it was over, Brady had finished with 321 passing yards, leading to Stephen Gostkowski 28-yard field goal that sealed the victory. But even though the Jets saw gradual improvement in the running game behind a balanced offensive line by the return of Nick Mangold, the lack of explosiveness and prowess is how New York had fallen short. It could become worse if the Jets drop another next Monday night against winless Miami, following three consecutive road losses.

There is no denying that the Jets need much work. But at this rate, the Jets are going nowhere.

Not Ready for Takeoff: Why the Overrated and Overhyped New York Jets Will Disappoint in 2010

It seems that some in the media as well as many others throughout the blogosphere feel the New York Jets are the favorite to win the AFC East, if not the AFC itself. Some even feel they could be a top contender to win the Super Bowl.

There’s been quite a bit of hype about them lately, and if you ask me, it’s beginning to get annoying.

Am I the only one not buying into the New York Jets’ hype?

I don’t see them even making the playoffs, let alone dominating the AFC East, the AFC as a whole, or the entire NFL. Instead, I feel the Jets will fail their fans miserably, and will be a huge disappointment this upcoming 2010 season.

First, the Jets struggled to even make the playoffs last season. Now, how they did last year isn’t always a good indicator for how they’ll perform this year, but it does give you a starting point, as you have to look at why they struggled, and whether those areas have been addressed.

The Jets, even with a stacked defense and a solid offense struggled last year mainly because Mark Sanchez was just terrible. The defense was stacked with characters like Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis, and yet, the Jets still were lucky to get to 9-7 on the year largely because of Sanchez’ inability to lead his team.

Entering Week 16 of last year’s regular season, the Jets played their starters against the resting 14-0 Colts. In my view they got lucky with that win, as Indianapolis pretty much handed it to them. The same thing pretty much happened in Cincinnati. The Jets could have just as easily finished the season 7-9, and it was a surprise to me when they didn’t.

Largely overhyped by the New York media, Sanchez was lucky he had the luxury of an impressive defense, and even more fortunate he had such a solid rushing offense. Without those two elements, his flaws would likely have been even more exposed than they actually were.

However, Thomas Jones carried most of the load of that great rushing attack, and was the true leader on offense for the Jets. He’s now gone, and Jets fans deluded belief that Shonn Greene and/or LaDanian Tomlinson are going to easily shoulder that load are in for a rude awakening.

Even with an incredible offensive line, the Jets struggled last year at times, and with the departure of Thomas Jones, I see those struggles continuing. I just don’t see Mark Sanchez leading them to the Promised Land. I believe Jets fans are likely to see another year where his interceptions outpace his touchdowns.

New York has added some decent components, such as the aforementioned LT, as well as Santonio Holmes and Laverneous Coles on offense, and Antonio Cromartie and Jason Taylor on defense. However, I don’t see them being enough to improve this Jets squad from last year, and with their losses in personnel, I believe they could be worse unless Sanchez improves dramatically.

Laverneous Coles and LT are role players at best on this team, both of them well past their best days. LT has lost much of his speed, and won’t be juking-out any defenders or pulling out any flashy moves like he did in San Diego. Those days are gone forever. I give him one or two years before he finally hangs up his cleats.

Holmes is a good option, but those Jets fans who think he’s the equal of say…Fitzgerald or Moss are in for a big surprise. He’s nowhere near that talented. He’s strictly a possession receiver, and with Sanchez throwing to him rather than Ben Roethlisberger, I see his production dropping dramatically. Not to mention, Jets fans won’t even be seeing any action from him until Week Five.

When they do, they better keep their fingers crossed that he can help.

On the defensive side, they do have Kris Jenkins returning, and the addition of Jason Taylor will help a little, but I believe he’ll be nothing but a role player on this Jets squad, and won’t be anywhere near what he used to be.

Cromartie, on the other hand, will disappoint badly. I believe he’s highly overrated. He’s only had one good year so far in his career in my view, and that’s just not enough to believe he’s going to be a foundation for the Jets secondary. Couple that with the fact Revis might hold out because of rough contract negotiations, possibly not even playing this year, and the Jets would be screwed in the secondary.

In summary, I can’t really understand why people are hyping the Jets so much. To me, they’re overhyped and overrated. They have a tough AFC East to traverse this season, and are likely going to lose more games than they win against those division foes.

The New England Patriots are still there, with a now healthy Tom Brady. The Miami Dolphins are a dark horse in the division everyone should keep their eyes on, and Buffalo, while not the greatest team in the AFC, will probably steal a win against New York simply because they’re division rivals, and that’s how it goes down most times.

I have New York finishing third in the AFC East. Sorry, Jets fans, but I’m not buying into the hype.

No Holmes, No Ben; Are The Pittsburgh Steelers In Serious Trouble Now?

We’ve heard the latest news.

First, there was Santonio Holmes. A bad apple lately, the Steelers sent him off to the New York Jets.

Then there was Ben Roethlisberger, who was accused of sexual assault a year ago. The case continued, and he is now suspended for six games (four if he puts up good behavior).

With all this, are the Pittsburgh Steelers in serious trouble? Is this true? In fact, it is. The Steelers are now stuck in the draft, possibly needing to draft a receiver, a quarterback, and possibly a running back.

The Steelers need help, now. They look to start either Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon for those four games. I believe Roethlisberger will put up good behavior. But the question is, can the Steelers handle those four games?

Those games can be very critical in making the playoffs for Pittsburgh, who haven’t made it since the 2008-09 season, their championship year. So, can the Steelers do it? Probably not.

I really don’t see it. But they’re gonna have to find a way. They need to work together and back up Big Ben as much as possible.

I really don’t think he will be traded. It’s kind of stupid mentioning the Browns. Why in the world would they send Big Ben to a rival team? Why trade him at all? If anything, they should keep him for the playoffs.

I really wouldn’t trust Dixon or Leftwich leading the Steelers to the playoffs. It just doesn’t seem so likely. But Pittsburgh is in serious trouble, that’s for sure.

They need to find a way to fix themselves. And a receiver is needed in my opinion. Holmes is gone, Sweed drops balls. Their main weapons in the passing game would be Hines Ward and Miller, that’s all.

So there’s another reason. A quarterback would probably needed if the Steelers would be without Big Ben for six games. Also a running back, to help out with Rashard Mendenhall.

So what will the Steelers do?

Can they do it?