Tim Tebow (UPI)
You can say what you want about Tim Tebow, and everyone sure does.
But he deserves better than this, deserves better than having to endure cowardly lions, the kings of least, inside the Rex Ryan Zoo, growling and clawing at him.
He deserves better than to have anonymous potshots taken at him by characters who have no character, deserves better than to have his pristine chapel overrun by a team that leads the league only in finger-pointing and dysfunction.
He should get the hell out, ask for a trade at the end of the Jets season, a 44th consecutive season without a Super Bowl, before he loses his sanity.
Be Fleebow.
When it comes to class, the Jets have reminded us once again that they sit in the back of the class.
Tebow sits in the front.
There are 31 other backup quarterbacks in the NFL, but it is this one, and only this one, who comes under attack from within. What a shame. Only Ryan believes that the inmates no longer run the asylum, that loose lips do not sink ships.
Pray for Tebow.
“I’ve had criticism somewhere my whole life playing football,” Tebow said with a chuckle, “so you try to do your best at handling it, and understanding on one side, you just try to make it motivate you.
“But at the same time, it always has somewhat of an effect on you. You’re human, and it’s not always fun to have people saying negative things about you, but you try to be stronger from it, and it always has made me stronger in the past, and it will continue to make me stronger.”
Nobody has ever, or will ever, compare Tebow to Joe Montana, or call him the left-handed Johnny Unitas.
If Ryan thought Tebow could hit the broad side of St. Patrick’s Cathedral from 20 yards away with a football, he might have yanked Mark Sanchez by now. Tebow is the backup quarterback for a reason. The whole world — save for the legion of Tebowmaniacs who follow him religiously everywhere — recognizes as much.
Only because it is Tebow, and only because these are the Jets, do you get snipers aiming unfriendly fire at a backup quarterback. And at a time when the starting quarterback is playing like a backup quarterback. Of a staggering 3-6 team.
Pray for Tebow.
No anger from him. Plenty from me.
“Some frustration, and I guess some sadness,” Tebow said. “It’s never fun to hear criticism. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve always used as motivation, and you try to get stronger from it. That’s how I approach it. I always find the good and the positive in every situation. And the positive is this, just go work a little bit harder and improve, and build better relationships with your teammates.”
The cowardly Jet who called Tebow “terrible” in a published report? He refused to speak to the media Wednesday. This, after not accepting Ryan’s challenge to stand up and identify himself. This, after being part of a defense Tebow singlehandedly humbled in crunch time a year ago in Denver.
“But I’m a Jet now, and I’m proud to be a Jet,” Tebow said, “and it’s an honor to be in this locker room with a lot of great guys.”
They are the ones who should be honored to have him in their locker room. Because none of them, players or coaches, works as hard as he does to get better.
“Every single day when he hits the field, he works about as hard as anybody I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “He stays longer than probably any player we have, working on those skills. … Everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done.”
He puts on a happy face, never complains, views the world through a half-full glass. He can take the high road and joke with Matt Slauson, standup teammate, about his pro-Sanchez quote that was uttered so long ago that Slauson could not remember exactly when.
“I do think as a thrower, Tim has improved,” Slauson said yesterday.
Tebow also can cut up over the turmoil with Ryan on the practice field.
“I absolutely wanted Tim here,” Ryan said,
To protect the punter. To throw six passes. To rush 27 times. Tebow has been a gimmick. A publicity stunt. A bystander, a spectator to this spectacle. Mr. Irrelevant in New York.
“I think he’s improving fundamentally,” Ryan said.
But his actions speak louder than his words when he says: “We wanted to bring in a backup quarterback you could still win with.”
There is no Tebow Time to be bitter.
“Bitterness only hurts you, it doesn’t hurt anyone else,” Tebow said. “Learned that from my dad. It’s not in their heart, it’s only in your heart.”
He didn’t deserve to be the starting quarterback. But the Jets don’t deserve him.
“I’m thankful that I don’t have to worry about tomorrow because I got a God who holds my future,” Tebow said, “and I’m thankful for that.”
Pray for Tebow.