Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski will preview week 15 games on Sunday NFL Countdown Presented by IBM on December 16, at 10 a.m. NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen will report the day’s news.

The three-hour program will focus on Sunday’s six marquee matchups between teams with winning records, a rare occurrence on NFL Sundays this late in the season.  Countdown correspondents –  Josina Anderson (Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears) Sal Paolantonio (Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens), Rachel Nichols (New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons), Bob Holtzman (Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans), Ed Werder (Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys) and Colleen Dominguez (San Francisco 49ers at New England Patriots) – will report from each one of the games. The last time a NFL Sunday included six games between teams with winning records was Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003. Other highlights:

• A Conversation with Big Ben: Last Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger returned from a shoulder injury to quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers in a surprising home loss to the San Diego Chargers in a game symbolic of the team’s roller coaster season.Countdown’s Merril Hoge sits for a one-on-one conversation with Roethlisberger.
• Von Miller Interview: The Denver Broncos defense, led by second year linebacker Von Miller, deserves as much credit as quarterback Peyton Manning and the offense for the Broncos’ eight-game win streak. Countdown’s Tom Jackson, a former Broncos linebacker, travelled to Denver for a sit-down interview with the AFC Defensive Player of the Month in November.
• Frank Caliendo: The humorous segment has Caliendo playing ESPN host Bob Ley and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Countdown will also feature a live look-ins at quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan, running backs Arian Foster and Ray Rice, and linebacker Ray Lewis in their pre-game routines leading into the 1 p.m. games; Kenny Mayne in his self-titled segment – the Mayne Event; Cris Carter’s “Where You At?”; and Jaworski and Hoge’s Xs and Os “Eye in the Sky” segment.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football: Tennessee Titans Host New York Jets

The Tennessee Titans host the New York Jets on Monday Night Football on December 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Since moving to Tennessee in 1997, the Titans are 9-5 on MNF and have won their last three games. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will call the action with sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

Televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, MNF will also be available at WatchESPN.com(computers) and via the WatchESPN app (tablets) for those who receive video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.

Providing pre-game news and information, Chris Berman hosts the two-hour Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jacksonand Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. On-site host Stuart Scott, analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young, columnist Rick Reilly and Salters will join the studio crew from the stadium. Highlights:

• “Showdown Sunday” Recap: Countdown will recap Sunday’s NFL games with highlights, in-depth analysis, the latest news and reactions focusing primarily on the six matchups between teams with winning records.
• “Gruden Extra” with Jake Locker:  Second-year Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker, who participated in Gruden’s QB Camp before the 2011 NFL Draft, joins Jon Gruden in the MNF bus to discuss his first season as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
• Soundtracks – Jets Season:  In this week’s “Soundtracks,” Countdown will feature key in-game audio from head coach Rex Ryan and the New York Jets throughout the 2012 season.

Snickers NFL Matchup – Patriots Play-Action Passing; Giants Red Zone Offense; Broncos Blitz Schemes; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the weekend’s key matchups by taking viewers inside the film room with X’s and O’s analysis Sunday, Dec. 16, at 6:30 a.m. on ESPN (ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.).  Highlights:

• Blitz Breakdown – Roethlisberger Pressured:  Hoge shows two blitz concepts by the San Diego Chargers from last week that overwhelmed the Pittsburgh Steelers pass protection and forced a sack on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
• “X and O Files” – Tony Romo Interception: The Cowboys battle to make the playoffs continues at home against the Steelers, who have the best defense in the NFL. Jaworski uses an interception quarterback Tony Romo threw against the Washington Redskins to show how Romo was confused by a disguised coverage.
• “Between the Lines” – Giants Red Zone, Manning to Bennett:  Jaworski uses the telestrator to show how the New York Giants dictate successful one-on-one matchups between tight end Martellus Bennett and opposing linebackers in the Red Zone.
• Hoge Breakdown – Kaepernick 50-yard Touchdown: Hoge explains how the San Francisco 49ers have added the read-option into their offense to create extra dimensions to their run game.
• “Coaches Clicker” – Bears’ Struggles in Run Defense: After allowing 141 rushing yards per game in the last five games, Hoge shows how the Chicago Bears defensive struggles result from poor linebacker play.
• Shot Play – Patriots Play Action Pass: Jaworski describes how the New England Patriots use multiple tight ends and run action to influence the safeties on a play-action that resulted in a touchdown to wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.
• “Game Changer” – Broncos Blitz Sack:  The Denver Broncos have 15 sacks from blitzes this season.  Jaworski shows a successful blitz with linebacker Von Miller coming off the edge to get to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
• “The Money Down” – Andrew Luck to Reggie Wayne on Third and 17: The Indianapolis Colts lead the league in third and 10-plus yards conversions. Jaworski explains how Andrew Luck’s quarterbacking attributes allow him to move in the pocket and convert downfield throws on crucial third-down situations.

Image Courtesy : Baltimore Ravens

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The only thing the Houston Texans (3-0) did wrong on Sunday was not allow quarterback Matt Schaub to go home with his entire left ear intact. Other than that, they took care of business the way they had it planned all week.

On a high hit handed out by Denver linebacker Joe Mays, which warranted a flag, Schaub severely cut his left ear and had to come out of the game for a play. It turned out that a chunk of the lobe actually fell off.

“I felt fine,” Schaub said. “I just lost a piece of my ear. I was bleeding and my helmet came off. So, I had to come out for a play, but I was fine.”

Schaub threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns, Arian Foster tallied 105 yards on 25 carries and the Texans held on late to clinch their third consecutive win to open the season, defeating Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos (1-2) on the road, 31-25.

“We knew that we had to try to get the ball downfield because they had a lot of people committed to the run,” said Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. “We did what we had to do to win, convinced them that we had to make some big plays and they did.”

Houston responded to Denver’s quick five points at the outset with a 60 yard Andre Johnson touchdown to gain a 7-5 lead at the 6:38 mark of the first quarter.

They never trailed again from that point on.

A three yard touchdown pass to Foster and 52 yard strike to receiver Kevin Walter later, the Texans had extended to a 21-5 advantage less than midway through the second quarter.

By halftime the Broncos were not done, though, as they were able to cut it to a 10 point game with two field goals before entering the locker room.

A dominant third quarter by the Texans in which they outscored the Broncos 10-0 put a considerable amount of distance between the two at 31-11.

It appeared to be over, but Manning, as he has always done, would not go down without swinging.

Manning found his old battery mate from his Indianapolis days, Brandon Stokley, for 38 yards and a touchdown to trim the deficit to 31-18 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.

Another Manning touchdown pass with exactly three minutes left to go gave the Broncos an opportunity to win the game if they could find a way to come up with a much needed stop.

But that didn’t happen, as Schaub found Johnson down the left sideline on a critical 3rd and 5 in Houston territory. They were eventually forced to punt, but by that time the Broncos were left on their 14 yard line with just 20 seconds on the clock.

They tried to pull off a lateral-laced miracle as the clock struck zero, but to no avail.

“Second week in a row we lost by six points,” said Broncos head coach John Fox. “It’s the second week in a row we started very slowly. Different side of the ball this time.”

“We have to learn from this game, address it, be honest, everybody needs to be accountable and try to improve forward,” Manning said. “It’s not the ideal situation. Everybody would love to be 3-0. That’s not the way it is right now.”

While Manning and his new crew are still trying to find themselves, Schaub and the Texans just keep rolling along, even if pieces of body parts are literally being torn off.

Said Kubiak of Schaub’s performance, “Boy, he played like a champ today.”

Image Courtesy of   Houston Texans

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The Chicago Bears took on the Denver Broncos under the lights at Soldier Field to kick off their preseason play. Not only were Bear fans fortunate enough to see their team play, they also got a glimpse of Peyton Manning in his first game with the Broncos.

Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 44 yards and threw an interception in the 31-3 victory. It was evident that Manning was grateful and excited to be back under center for the first time since missing all of last season. Manning connected with three different wide receivers within his first four pass attempts, already spreading the field and keeping defenses guessing. Denver’s offensive line kept Manning protected very well and did not allow him to get hit once. Peyton’s leadership and experience definitely makes the Broncos a team to look out for once the regular season comes along.

As for the Chicago Bears, their starting quarterback, Jay Cutler, warmed up, but did not play because of the birth of his first child on Wednesday. As a result, Jason Campbell started for the Bears and completed 4 of 5 passes for 13 yards. In addition, running back Matt Forte sat and watched from the sideline, giving the start to newly acquired Michael Bush.

Bush carried the ball three times for two yards and also fumbled. Also, wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, caught one pass for four yards in his Bears debut. The addition of both Bush and Marshall makes the Bears become an offensive threat this upcoming season. Not to mention that Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are already very well acquainted with each other after playing together in Denver.

However, the only positive offensive note for the Bears from Thursday’s game was rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery led the Bears receiving core with four receptions for 35 yards. The former South Carolina Gamecock was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft and signed a four-year deal in early May. Jeffery has been playing extremely well during training camp and is showing a ton of potential.

Defensively for the Bears, Julius Peppers also watched from the sidelines. In addition, linebacker Brian Urlacher did not play for reported personal reasons. However, Urlacher has been suffering from some knee soreness.

Chicago will welcome RGIII and the Washington Redskins Saturday, August 18, for their second preseason game. As for the Broncos, they will also be in action August 18 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Although the Bears finished last season with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs, their offseason additions could possibly help make them the second best team in the NFC North Division behind the Green Bay Packers.

Image Courtesy of   Chicago Bears

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Imagine this dream scenario for your favorite NFL team: The most competitively decorated athlete in college football history is drafted to a non-rival, small market team. The athlete helps to rake in millions of dollars in revenue for the franchise, including having the most popular selling jersey worldwide.

He goes on to become a pop culture spectacle and by most accounts a national phenomenon after achieving varied success, highlighted by repeated late game heroics and inconceivable wins. After being supplanted by a once-in-a-lifetime free agent quarterback, the aforementioned athlete is traded to your very own hometown team for a throwaway draft pick to play backup quarterback and lead your team to football’s promised land. If it all seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.

I’m talking, of course, about NFL superstar Tim Tebow and his jettison from Denver, into the laps of the all too willing New York Jets. Call me a cynical Jets fan (a decade of inept offensive coordinators, failed quarterbacks, and AFC championship game losses has probably put me over the edge) but I’m still confounded as to why Tim Tebow is on my team. Sure, he’s an unbelievably, likable, hard worker and a beast in the weight room. So is Nick Mangold’s sister, but that doesn’t mean I want her coming off the bench to run a quarterback draw for a dozen snaps a game.

My main problem with Tebow in New York isn’t due to his ineffectiveness at quarterback; it’s the complete lack of logic the Jets’ front office displayed in handling the situation that makes the franchise look like a circus sideshow. First, futile flirtations with Peyton Manning questionably necessitated the contract extension of already shaky quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Whether this was in the cards for months or an attempt to assuage Sanchez’ defeated ego wouldn’t matter because weeks later, Tim Tebow would don the green and white. This trade would instigate a positional (and media) battle between the country’s most popular athlete and the unreliable quarterback of the future for the Jets organization.

In a perfect world, the competition that Tim Tebow brings to the quarterback position would light a fire under Mark Sanchez and propel him to a career-defining year. If Sanchez had the intestinal fortitude of crosstown rival Eli Manning, or even the gutty gamesmanship that coach Rex Ryan continues to emptily preach, maybe it would be a different story. Unfortunately for this Jets fan, it seems all the more likely that Sanchez will crumble under the pressure and cede an increasing number of snaps Tebow’s way, as the season falls apart.

As a rule of thumb I try to always reserve judgment on newly acquired talent, but the stats are hard to ignore. I don’t see how a quarterback with a 47.3% completion percentage and almost as many turnovers as touchdown passes could possibly help in the backup quarterback capacity. Judging by initial reports out of the Jets camp, Sanchez and Tebow are struggling mightily with their passing accuracy, a downfall that has plagued both quarterbacks in their short tenures in the NFL. Sanchez and Tebow are performing so poorly, that Jets fans may be clamoring for third stringer Greg McElroy by camp’s end.

New York Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum and Head Coach Rex Ryan continue to propagate the idea that Tebow was brought to New York to be an athlete, rather than an exclusive quarterback. Preliminary reports even had his number of snaps estimated between ten and twenty a game. Wildcat packages with two quarterbacks on the field at once had naïve Jets fans salivating at the creative possibilities under new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano.

How would defenses account for two passers and infinite rushing possibilities? Pretty easily actually. Tebow’s speed has never been a weapon in his rush-heavy arsenal. Defensively command the edges of the box- something the Jets couldn’t do when they lost to Tebow in Denver last season- and he’s forced to run into a questionable Jets offensive line.

Cover the short passing attack, and Tebow is forced into deep-outs and fades, undeniably the weakest part of his game. NFL defenses will be praying  (no pun intended to the Tebow-ing masses) for Sanchez and Tebow, two mediocre quarterbacks, to appear on the field at the same time.

Part of the phenomenon that is Tebow-mania, is that I actually feel bad to doubt his potential as a New York Jet. I respect how real he is with his fans, and I truly feel that the interviews he gives showcase his endearing and likeable personality. But smiles and charm don’t help shed the little brother complex the Jets and their fans face in their own city.

The acquisition of Tim Tebow has done nothing but create a mockery out of the Jets camp. A franchise in desperate need of a spark seems to have lit the wrong end of the dynamite. Now the world is waiting to see if it will blow up in our faces.

Image Courtesy of   Rob Wilson / Shutterstock.com

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Christian Bale, the star of the latest box office hit ‘Dark Knight Rises,’ visited Aurora, Colorado on July 25 to visit the victims of the “Batman Shooting.”

Early the morning of Friday, July 20, twenty-four year old James Holmes entered theater 9 in the Aurora Cineplex and started shooting. He killed twelve people and injured another 58 at the premiere of the final film in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. Holmes was arrested the same night and will face the death penalty if he is found guilty of all of the charges. Recently the judge ordered that film crews be banned from the courts during the hearing.

Christian Bale originally just released a written statement about the tragedy stating: “Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”

On July 25 Bale paid a special visit to Aurora with his wife, Sibi Blazic. The couple put flowers on the memorial to the shooting victims that is nearby the theater. According to Access Hollywood most people left him alone either because they did not recognize him or wanted to leave him in peace.

Bale also visited the hospital and thanked the medical staff and the police. He was able to visit five victims in Aurora’s local hospital and also met with two others who were bused over from the Swedish Medical Center in ambulances. He spent about fifteen minutes with each person and stayed about a total of two hours, flanked by security and police.

According to hospital personnel Bale wanted to keep his visit out of the press and to not turn the visit into a publicity ploy. A Warner Bros. spokeswoman reported that Bale was not representing the studio, just himself.

Janie Bowman-Hayes, assistant vice president of surgical services at Swedish Medical Center said, “he just said he wanted to come to thank all of us because he has been thinking about this. He knows the whole world has been thinking about this. He took it upon himself to come and thank us.”

Bowman-Hayes added, “He did this out of his heart, and you could really tell. It was so sincere. It was just, ‘thank you’.”

Bale visit may have been influenced by an online campaign in which people encouraged the star to go and visit the victims. Other visitors to the hospital have included members of the Denver Broncos and President Barrack Obama.

Image Courtesy of cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

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With the 2012 NFL Draft all wrapped up, heated initial reactions have given way to more methodical and calculated analysis of who will look back on this draft as the pivotal moment that sent their franchise soaring towards Superbowl contention and those, who will have to endure further seasons of obscurity after setting their franchise back years.

Hit a Home Run: Patriots and Steelers.

- New England Patriots

The Patriots surprised a lot of people at the draft, trading up twice in the first round to snag both Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower, with Bill Belichick usually much more in favour of trading down and stockpiling picks. Both Jones and Hightower are elite prospects and combined with their second-round selection, safety Tavon Wilson, Belichick has upgraded his defense significantly.

Providing they can work through his off-field issues, they will have also gained great value with cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who slipped all the way to the seventh round despite being a potential second-round selection. New England already have a Superbowl caliber offense which needed very little strengthening after the free agency additions of Brandon Lloyd and Robert Gallery, and this draft will potentially go a long way to shoring up a defense which had become a bit of a liability for Tom Brady and Co.

- Pittsburgh Steelers

If the Steelers were asked prior to the draft where their biggest weakness lay, they would have replied ‘Offensive Line’ – cue the arrivals of David DeCastro and Mike Adams. Despite the lack of excitement generated by using your top two picks on offensive linesman, the Steelers added potentially the best guard and tackle (some had Adams rated higher than Riley Reiff) respectively in the draft.

Although Adams comes to Pittsburgh after testing positive for marijuana, both he and DeCastro will shore up an offensive line which was often out-muscled and outsmarted last season. The additions of both Shaun Spence and Alameda Ta’amu in the third and fourth rounds will also help invigorate an aging defense and could be the long term starters in place of both James Farrior and Casey Hampton.

Plenty of Potential: Eagles and Ravens.

- Philadelphia Eagles

The addition of Fletcher Cox in the first round will be huge for Andy Reid’s defense this season as they have lacked a good nose tackle for sometime now. Cox was arguably the best in this years’ draft class despite being picked after Dontari Poe. Despite Cox’s lauded ability and potential, it was in the second round that the Eagles really found success, drafting both Mychal Kendricks and Vinny Curry to bolster their defense. Both guys were predicted by many to possibly make it into the first round and should be able to make an instant impact for Philadelphia in the tough NFC East division.

- Baltimore Ravens

General Manager Ozzie Newsome continued the tradition of making great draft moves when he traded out of the first round, picked up an extra fourth-round selection, and still managed to draft a first-round talent in the form of Courtney Upshaw. Fellow second-round pick Kelechi Osemele will likely start on a Ravens’ offensive line bereft of guard Ben Grubbs, whilst running back Bernard Pierce, a third-round selection, could be used on short-yardage situations to help out Ray Rice in a way similar to Ricky Williams last season.

Fourth-round picks Gino Gradkowski and Christian Thompson both have the chance of being the long-term replacements for Matt Birk and Ed Reed respectively, whilst sixth-round pick Tommy Streeter has the physicality to be able to offer something in the receiving corps immediately for Joe Flacco.

Must Do Better: Browns and Broncos.

- Cleveland Browns

It is hard to admonish a team which picked up a player of Trent Richardson’s caliber, but the price they paid was big, perhaps too big. He will dramatically improve their running game, which is admirable, but the Browns have the misfortune of playing in a division with three of the best run defenses in the entire league.

They have also fallen for criticism with their other first-round pick, Brandon Weeden. The 28-year old is a good quarterback and should serve the Browns well, but there is no denying that he is a stopgap until they can found their franchise quarterback of the future. As such, Cleveland has been criticized for picking Weeden with the 22nd overall pick, with most experts suggesting he would have still been available later in the round and the Browns could have traded down and picked up a pick which they lost in the trade to ensure they got Richardson.

They also failed to draft a wide receiver until Travis Benjamin, who they took with the 100th overall pick, and look somewhat undermanned at the position.

- Denver Broncos

New arrival Peyton Manning may be happy to be a Bronco, but it is very doubtful he will be pleased with his new team’s performance in the draft. Similar to the Ravens, Denver traded out of the first round but picked up Derek Wolfe in the second. Wolfe, although a talented nose tackle, was tipped as a third, or even fourth, round pick by many experts, and was not deemed to be good value.

Running back Ronnie Hillman and corner Omar Bolden may eventually become starters, but in reality there is little for the Broncos fans to be excited about immediately, with quarterback Brock Osweiler, who will learn from Manning, as perhaps their most exciting pick.

Image Courtesy of   Philadelphia Eagles

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So, in case you have not heard, Tim Tebow is the back-up quarterback of the New York Jets now, and as you could imagine, it has been perceived as kind of a big deal. Unfortunately for the Jets, however, acquiring a player of Tebow’s stature has not put the spotlight on them for the most positive reasons thus far.

Since bringing in the former Broncos starter, whose miraculous and oftentimes Hollywood-like runs last season hit their ultimate peak with a 29-23 overtime victory against the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in a Wild Card playoff match-up, the Jets front office and coaching staff have been on the receiving end of extremely harsh, relentless, national media criticism.

While the Jets insist that Tebow’s acquisition was not a PR move and that he will only be used in Wildcat packages and as a second-string option, that is not how most people around the country are viewing it. To put it lightly, it is safe to say that a good number of experts were not exactly fond of the idea of trading for one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in recent memory, not when his presence could ultimately create a starting quarterback controversy somewhere down the line between him and three-year Jets starter Mark Sanchez.

Hold on, people. We have had a little over a week to digest this move, so let’s all just take a deep breath, and look at it rationally. That is the least we could do. Barring an injury to Sanchez, Tim Tebow will not start for the New York Jets at any point next season, and there is no reason to worry about any drama arising. Plain and simple. After admittedly pursuing, and shortly thereafter failing, to obtain longtime former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, the Jets proceeded to give Sanchez a three-year, $58.5 million contract extension to remain their starter under center.

Under his new deal, Sanchez will be owed a total of $20.5 million in guarantees over the next two seasons – a price that the Jets would not be willing to pay just to cut him or have him on the bench in order to throw Tebow out there. Of course, they could use that money to buy Sanchez his own personal gold-plated, diamond-encrusted bench if they were to sit him, but that does not seem very likely or practical in today’s salary cap era.

Before Sanchez signed the extension, he was still tied to the final two years of his rookie contract, which included no guaranteed money, meaning that the new deal displayed the Jets’ faith in him. With the loss of wide receiver and Wildcat quarterback Brad Smith in free agency last season to the Buffalo Bills – an AFC East division rival – the Jets all but abandoned the Wildcat, which had proved to be successful for them since drafting Smith out of Missouri back in 2006.

As a gifted runner with below-average talent as a passer, Smith was a stereotypical college quarterback at Mizzu. It is well-known from Tebow’s playing days at Florida and Denver that he has a very similar skill set, but with more build in his frame and more experience throwing the ball at the NFL level.

New York needs someone like Tebow to get their Wildcat back on track, especially with Sanchez’s occasional passing droughts and new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano calling the plays. During his time as the Miami Dolphins head coach, Sparano’s Wildcat offense gave defenses a fit with running back Ronnie Brown taking direct snaps.

If you did not watch the games or highlights last year, Tebow needed things to go perfectly to win ball games. He only completed 46.5 percent of his passes in 2011 and was clearly the beneficiary of the league’s fifth best rushing offense and a defense that completely dominated teams, at times, during his 7-1 run at starter.

Sanchez may have had a completion percentage of just 56.7 a year ago, but he does not have the prolonged, troublesome throwing motion of Tebow and is expected to improve now that former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and his primarily horizontal passing attack have left for St. Louis.

Don’t worry about Tim Tebow or Mark Sanchez, it is a non-issue, period.

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Although this year’s class of free agents was not heralded as being a remarkable group of players, one position in particular has caught the headlines early in the free agency period. The position of quarterback, despite always receiving more media attention than any other position, has seen several big name moves around the league with expectant fans waiting anxiously to see how their new stars perform in the game’s most critical position.

One of the more unreported signings has been former Jacksonville Jaguar David Garrard’s move to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were spurned by Peyton Manning and Alex Smith all within the space of a week and were lucky to add Garrard to their roster where he will compete with current incumbent Matt Moore for the starting spot.

Although Moore showed flashes of brilliance last season, his inconsistency will be a worry for head coach Joe Philbin and Garrard’s arrival gives Philbin two serviceable options at the position, in addition to any further recruitment through the draft. As long as Garrard is showing no ill effects from his herniated disc, which kept him out of the 2011 season, his career pass completion rate of 61.6% and experience of the west coast offense that Philbin wants to implement at the Dolphins could well give him the edge over Moore when the new season arrives.

As the 2011 season came to an end, everyone expected then soon-to-be free agent Matt Flynn to join former offensive coordinator Philbin at the Dolphins, but instead the former understudy to Aaron Rogers is now plying his trade at the opposite end of the country, in Seattle. Flynn’s move to the Seahawks has been suggested by many to be enough to put Seattle into playoff contention despite the presence of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.

The main concern surrounding Flynn is whether he has the ability to be an NFL starter, having previously been a back up to Rogers in Green Bay. He put in two sensational performances for the Packers towards the end of the regular season but it is also important to remember that the Packers were a highly-tuned offensive machine last season and Flynn will not be surrounded by the same embarrassment of riches this year in Seattle.

The most important contributing factor to whether or not Flynn’s first season for the Seahawks is successful arguably rests with whether or not receivers Sidney Rice and Mike Williams can remain fit throughout the season.

Peyton Manning stole the headlines with his move to the Denver Broncos but questions remain as to whether the Broncos were the right destination for the quarterback. The Broncos do offer a good chance of making the playoffs given the relative weakness of the AFC West, but there are also many negatives to consider regarding his choice to play at Mile High Stadium.

The cold winters, lack of a dome and lack of elite receivers will all come as a shock to Manning who did not have to contend with these issues during his time at the Indianapolis Colts. The decision to join the Broncos is even more surprising considering there was also interest from both San Francisco and Tennessee.

The 49ers, who made it to the NFC Championship game last season, arguably offer a more realistic chance at a Super Bowl appearance, whilst the Titans offered Manning a ‘position for life’ effectively guaranteeing the quarterback a position with the franchise beyond his retirement. For better or worse however, Manning has made his decision and committed to the Broncos, making Denver one of the most eagerly anticipated teams to watch in 2012.

Perhaps the most intriguing and potentially successful move has been the acquisition of Tim Tebow by the New York Jets. The announcement of the move came shortly after Mark Sanchez agreed terms on a new long-term contract in New York and raises questions over who will be the starting quarterback for the Jets.

Sanchez has seen his progression stall of late, with some even suggesting he has regressed, and many experts had tipped the Jets to let him move on this offseason. The arrival of Tebow, which will not only help reduce discord in the Jets locker room, could spur on Sanchez and help the quarterback reach the potential he has promised since he joined the league.

Even if Tebow has been acquired solely as backup for Sanchez, he offers a fantastic second choice option and may well be the best backup in the league, with notable mentions to both Jason Campbell and Kyle Orton who have moved to the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys respectively.

One thing can be guaranteed however, should Sanchez show the same lacklustre performances next season then Linsanity will have to take a back seat and allow Tebowmania a chance to shine in the Big Apple.

Image Courtesy of     https://www.facebook.com/DenverBroncos

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In a stunning move the New York Jets have acquired Tim Tebow and a seventh round draft pick from the Denver Broncos for a fourth and sixth round pick. The Jets will also have to pick up half of a $5 million dollar salary advance that was paid to Tebow by Denver at the beginning of last season.

The trade was originally announced yesterday only to hit a snag as the Jets didn’t like some of the language in Tebow’s contract in regards to the salary advance. Jacksonville then tried to throw their hat back into the ring, and Tebow was asked for his opinion on where he wanted to go, thrilled at the chance to play for the Jets.

Tebow joins the team whom he was able to defeat last year on his magical run of 4th quarter victories. His arrival not only brings with it “Tebowmania” and everything associated with it, but may also spark a quarterback controversy with current starter Mark Sanchez. His presence as such a polarizing figure could split a locker room that doesn’t need any more distractions.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie tweeted on Tuesday night “we don’t need Tebow,” saying he was confident in Sanchez and the guys already on the team. Today he tweeted “Why are we doing this?”

Tebow is also the same player who last season, in the week leading up to the Jets-Broncos game, was criticized by Jets players when it came to his passing abilities. Now teammate cornerback Darrelle Revis said Tebow’s style as an “option” type quarterback wouldn’t be able to sustain itself as a long-term success.

The timing of the trade is also weird as the Jets signed Sanchez to a three-year, $40.5 million contract extension two weeks ago despite a disappointing season. Then, last week they signed Drew Stanton to be their No.2, giving him half a million in signing bonus. They also still have Greg McElroy, the former Alabama standout.

The Jets look at Tebow to fill the vacuum left by Brad Smith who signed with the Buffalo Bills last season in their wildcat situations. Especially since new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was the coach who introduced the wildcat to the NFL.

Hall of Fame Jets QB Joe Namath wasn’t happy with the move.

“I’m just sorry that I can’t agree with this situation. I think it’s just a publicity stunt. I can’t go with it. I think it’s wrong,” Namath told “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN1050 in New York. “I don’t think they know what they’re doing over there.”

Rex Ryan, who has vowed to return to the power running game, hopes Tebow could bring some assistance, as they only have one established running back in Shonn Greene.

The potential of backlash is especially great for the Jets as Tebow has a monstrous following and his popularity could distract Mark Sanchez. Sanchez, coming off a sub-par season could be facing the rumblings for Tebow if he doesn’t play well.

Tebow must also adjust as he falls back into the backup role after becoming the starter last season in Denver and leading them to the playoffs and a first round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The next week however Denver was crushed by Tom Brady and the Patriots.

When it comes down to it though, Tebow made the playoffs and Sanchez did not. Sanchez struggled mightily down the stretch which got people wondering about his future with the Jets. The team backed him publicly, but vowed to change the quarterback depth chart for 2012.

With the trade for Tim Tebow, we can see that they were serious.

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The beginning of the free agency period always sparks a frenzy of activity throughout the league, none more so than this year. Big names have moved on to unfamiliar territory and will be expected to perform instantly, in some cases providing their new teams with the tools to be able to make a run at the playoffs (Buffalo Bills fans be warned, Mario Williams is just one man).

With many of the more high profile players already signed to new deals, it is time to take a step back and look at the winners and losers of what has been a surprisingly interesting free agency thus far.

Given the relatively weak class of free agents this year, it is perhaps not surprising that many teams have swooped early and signed some of the better players to very lucrative contracts, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showing very little restraint early on. They have helped quarterback Josh Freeman immensely with the signings of Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson.

Freeman’s development seemed to stall last year, Tampa Bay will be hoping for a return to form with the added protection of Nicks and the top receiving target of Jackson. They have also strengthened a fairly weak secondary with Eric Wright, formerly of the Detroit Lions, as they look for the secondary to match up with their formidable defensive line.

The Buccaneers can be fairly pleased with their moves in free agency so far, spending big (and with their cap space and poor form last season, why wouldn’t they?) but acquiring key pieces which have helped strengthen a very young team.

Another team who has spent well so far, but gone under the radar in comparison to Tampa Bay, has been the San Diego Chargers. They have brought in Le’Ron McClain (the injury prone Ryan Matthews will be eternally grateful) to help shore up their running game, whilst the arrival of wide receivers Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem should help to make up for the loss of Jackson to Tampa Bay.

Perhaps their most useful signing so far will be on the other side of the ball, with former Baltimore Raven linebacker Jarret Johnson making the move to San Diego, a signing which will surely aid the Chargers’ poor run defense. Given that both Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs have labeled Johnson as the key to the Ravens unforgiving defense, he could be exactly the man the Chargers need to take the next step on their way to becoming Super Bowl contenders.

The biggest signing of the Free Agency thus far has arguably been Mario Williams’ move to the Bills. He singlehandedly improves their defense immeasurably and will give Tom Brady something to fear when his Bills meet the Patriots next season. This will of course be trumped by the signing of Peyton Manning once the quarterback decides whether his future lies in Denver, Tennessee or San Francisco as he not only singlehandedly improves a teams’ offense, but makes them a Super Bowl contender, such is the talent he brings to a team.

Not every time has been so active in the early stages however, with the likes of the Ravens, Steelers and Patriots all biding their time given that their limited cap space means they cannot compete with the Buccaneers and Bills of the league in terms of lucrative contracts.

While the Patriots will retain the nucleus of their team next season, the Ravens have already lost starters in the forms of Ben Grubbs, Corey Redding and Johnson, whilst the Steelers have had to cut several key players in order to stay under the cap and face the challenging task of trying to sign star wide receiver Mike Wallace to a new contract. Both teams will need to spend wisely towards the end of free agency if they are to retain their statuses as genuine Super Bowl contenders.

Whoever ends up with Manning, whether it be the Broncos, Titans or 49ers, is a strong candidate for the team to have done best in the free agency, as are the previously mentioned Buccaneers.

However, the fairly understated signings that the Chargers have made will help them immeasurably, potentially putting them back into the playoffs and therefore could well be the best signings of the Free Agency period so far. At the other end of the spectrum are two AFC North sides, the Ravens and the Steelers.

The Ravens are noted for building through the draft and do have some cap room left to make some important moves, but the Steelers could be in genuine trouble. With little to no cap room left and the likes of Farrior and Smith already cut, there is little to celebrate in Pittsburgh this offseason and fans will be hoping for some very good prospects in the upcoming draft lest the Steelers fall below the Ravens in the battle for supremacy of the AFC North.

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Although the contract details have not been made public as of this morning, it is being reported that Peyton Manning has chosen to take his talents to Denver.

The Denver Broncos won out against several other teams who were said to be in the running for the services of Manning who was just released by the Indianapolis Colts. The Broncos won the division with an 8-8 record last year and made the playoffs with young polarizing Tim Tebow running the show. Tebow proved that he can win in the NFL but for the last 14 years, Peyton Manning has proven that he is a future Hall of Famer. The decision was simple, even for supporters of Tim Tebow.

At this point it is clear that Tebow will most likely be on the trading block and probably be shipped to another team before the ink dries on Payton’s new contract.

Peyton chose to go play in the AFC West instead of the NFC West with the 49ers, taking the more difficult route to the Super Bowl — considering how difficult their schedule will be for the upcoming season in Denver. The 49ers who were in hot pursuit would have given Peyton a top ten defense along with an improving receiving corps, not to mention a division with teams like the Rams and the Seahawks. Instead, Peyton will compete with the underachieving but tough San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders (who play hard) and the improving Kansas City Chiefs.

It is an interesting decision by Peyton because of what went on in Denver last season with Tebow mania and the talent, or lack thereof, on this roster. The last memory we have of this team is the post season blowout at the hands of the New England Patriots where the defense had no answers for the Patriot offense. Leader of defense Brian Dawkins, too, is a year older and the injuries continue to pile up. Champ Bailey, one of the greatest defensive backs in NFL history, is also not getting any younger. Although he played at a pro bowl level last season, there were times where he looked slow and outclassed. Linebacker D.J Williams might be out for the first six games due to a drug suspension and the defense will most certainly suffer.

It won’t be as easy as people think, especially playing with the toughest schedule, but Peyton will bring balance to this team. We won’t see a tired defense forced to hold teams to 12 points in order to win eight games. The pressure will be high but Manning chose this team and must know what he is doing. It is fitting that he is likely to end his career playing for John Elway, maybe even winning a Super Bowl.

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The Peyton Manning era in Indianapolis officially came to an end Wednesday at noon, as the team’s 14-year quarterback held a nationally televised press conference with Colts owner Jim Irsay, who announced that the team was cutting Manning. Manning missed the entire 2011 season following multiple neck procedures and was due a $28 million bonus this month.

However, after a 2-14 season landed the Colts with the number one overall draft pick and the opportunity to bring in the highly touted quarterback out of Stanford, Andrew Luck, both sides were in agreement that it would be in their best interest to part ways.

There had been an abundance of chatter over the last few months about the possibility of Manning calling it a career due to a cloud of uncertainty about his ability to return from this serious neck surgery continuously hovering in the picture. Manning completely put that notion to bed when asked after making his speech at the press conference, however.  He stated, “Well, I don’t want to retire,” and continued, “Nobody loves their job more than I do. Nobody loves playing quarterback more than I do, and I still want to play.”

Twelve teams have already expressed interest in signing Manning, but only seven have been confirmed thus far – the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, and Seattle Seahawks. The Jets, though, pulled out of the Manning race over the weekend after giving their young quarterback, Mark Sanchez, a three-year contract extension. Rumors have also included teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans. Manning has said that he will sign with a new team within the next week.

Which team would offer Manning, not only a chance to make it to the Super Bowl next year, but the best chance overall?  The answer would have to be the Houston Texans. Although the Colts were Manning-less all year long in 2011, do not think for even one moment that the Texans’ ensuing level of success was a fluke by any means. Last season was the greatest in Texans franchise history–one in which they clinched their first ever AFC South title, playoff berth, and victory.

Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart were both placed on IR with major injuries during the regular season, but rookie third-string quarterback T.J. Yates had plenty of talent around him to win a playoff game after making his five regular season starts. Despite all of the other interested/potentially interested teams having their own share of talent, the Texans certainly boast more than anyone else.

The depth of the Texans roster begins on the outside with their wide receivers. Andre Johnson is a four-time Pro Bowler and one of the elite deep threats in the league with his lethal combination of size and speed. Jacoby Jones, a fifth year receiver, shows great promise as one of the faster wide-outs in the game.

Their starting tight end, Owen Daniels, has become one of the more consistent players at his position as well. Houston’s starting running back, Arian Foster, also gives the Texans one of the most dangerous running attacks out there. With Ben Tate behind him, the team led the league in rushing at 159.5 yards per game.

And the Houston defense? Well, they were no joke either. They ranked in the top five in the league in all defensive categories, despite missing Pro Bowler Mario Williams for much of the season, were second in both passing and rushing, and first in yards per game.

The AFC South, as Manning knows from playing his whole career there, is one of the weaker divisions in all of football. This would only improve his chances of making it to the promise land even more. Houston appears to be the way to go for Peyton.

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Denver Broncos backup quarterback Brady Quinn apologized Tuesday for critical statements that he made in an article in the March issue of GQ Magazine, “The Year of Magical Stinking: An Oral History of Tebow Time,” concerning the man that stands between him and the throwing of his first NFL pass since the end of the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns – the one and only, Tim Tebow.

The article, written by Michael Silver, consists mostly of quotes in reaction to the ‘Tebowmania’ frenzy that began back in Week 7 down in Miami when Tebow made his first start of the season. Broncos head coach John Fox, team president John Elway, teammates, players around the league, and others chimed in on a week-to-week basis.

There were varying opinions and throughout, but Quinn was the only one who made national headlines this week for several of his remarks; the first being the reason why he believed Tebow got the nod over him to replace the struggling starter, Kyle Orton.

“I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that,” said Quinn. “Just ’cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn’t have any billboards. That would have been nice.”

Quinn went on to add that he felt that the team “had a lot of luck” during their unbelievable run and that Tebow did not seem “very humble” when it came to the way that he expressed his faith.

Once the article made its way to the public and Quinn realized his words were one of the biggest stories in the world of sports, he decided to take to Twitter to clear things up. In the fourth tweet, Quinn mentions that he has “reached out to Tim to clear this up” and apologizes “to anyone who feels I was trying to take anything away from Tim.” All of that is fine and well. He felt that his words might have been offensive and apologized for them. That’s what adults do.

But he also brings up the point beforehand that “That interview was conducted three months ago, and the resulting story was a completely inaccurate portrayal of my comments.” He goes on to say that he made Silver aware of his “disappointment” with him. Well that is where Quinn is dead wrong and should have no gripe whatsoever.

A lot of interviewees like to play the ‘I was taken out of context’ card when they say something that they realize they shouldn’t have in hindsight. Granted, Quinn did not use those exact words, but that’s basically what he’s implying.

And in no way, shape, or form does that seem fair to Silver. He did nothing wrong, yet Quinn is attempting to make him look like the bad guy for comments that he ultimately regrets. All Silver did was take his quotes and put them into his piece. Isn’t that the way good journalism always has and always will work?

If Quinn was misquoted, however, that’s a different story. But if he was, he would have said so, right? Therefore Quinn is still in the wrong. Maybe Quinn said a number of positive things about Tebow that were left out of the article and he felt that their absence made him look worse. That doesn’t matter. Silver isn’t required to use all of Quinn’s quotes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this was not an off-the-record conversation between Silver and Quinn. Silver would not use such quotes in a published work. That would kill his reputation amongst both his potential interviewees and colleagues forever.

This was an interview with a sportswriter, which Quinn was obviously aware of when he used the word “interview” when referring to the discussion. Brady Quinn, you need to make one more apology, and it should be directed towards Michael Silver.

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More and more former NFL players are rapidly joining the class action lawsuit anticipated to be filed on January 17 in Philadelphia Federal Court. The concussion lawsuit is necessary, because of the debilitating and permanent effects of head injuries and concussions that have afflicted present and former professional football players in the NFL.

For close to one hundred years, evidence has linked concussions to long-term neurological problems. For decades, specialists in brain trauma have warned about the risks of permanent brain damage from repetitive concussions. Former players and their attorneys are claiming that the NFL, as the organizer, marketer, and face of the most popular sport in the United States, in which head trauma is a regular occurrence, was aware of these risks but deliberately ignored the risks associated with concussions and actively concealed them.

Given the current concussion litigation that has begun between the NFL and many of its former players, PlayerInjury.com has been set up by the players, for the players, to provide one accurate centralized source for lawsuit information.

Kevin Turner, a former New England Patriot and Philadelphia Eagle who was diagnosed with ALS (also referred to as Lou Gehrigs disease) in May of 2010 said, “I knew that there were risks involved with football. When I say that, I mean I knew I had a risk of knee trouble, arthritis, and neck pain. No trainer or doctor ever cautioned me about concussions and their cumulative effects.

I believe that I had well over 100 concussions and they kept me playing. We need to protect every athlete – and that includes our children. Awareness is the first step.” Former center, Steve Everitt, who played for the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and St. Louis Rams commented that “there must be fundamental fairness with regard to medical monitoring and our health. After being that physical for so long, who knows what the future holds.”

Former offensive lineman, Joe Panos, now an NFL agent, who previously played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, stated “that everyone involved needs to understand that we must move on after our professional football careers and that our health is vital to both our professional and personal lives.”

Britt Hager, a former linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos and St Louis Rams said, “If the NFL had evidence regarding our health and didn’t tell us, shame on them. I thought we were supposed to be in this thing together.”

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Once news broke that Josh McDaniels was re-hired as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, most assumed that he would be joining the team next year, not next week in a divisional playoff matchup against the quarterback he once drafted, Tim Tebow.

Although current coordinator, Bill O’Brien, agreed to become the new head coach at Penn State last Saturday, it was determined that he would still retain the role of New England’s offensive coordinator throughout this postseason. McDaniels, who had previously held the position for the Pats from 2006-2008, was chosen as his replacement shortly after and will shockingly serve the coaching staff as an offensive assistant beginning Saturday night with a trip to the AFC title game on the line against the Broncos.

Adding a new coach right before a huge postseason showdown is already an interesting move to begin with, but considering the fact that McDaniels brought in Tebow and coached Denver from 2009-2010, it is raising even more eyebrows across the league. Many are outraged by the idea of McDaniels possibly being able to provide New England new information about Tebow specifically.

That concept should not be too large of a concern, though. New England did an excellent job of containing Tebow’s heroic antics, handily defeating Denver on the road 41-23 back in Week 15, without McDaniels’ assistance.  Tebow threw for just 194 yards that day, as the Pats were able to easily overcome an early deficit.

Still, that does not justify what New England has attempted to do coming into this crucial game. Hiring someone who once coached or played for your opponent is not a crime in sports. If anything, it is gamesmanship, as we have seen it occur countless times. However, the timing concept in this scenario is absolutely absurd.

Imagine if this happened to your team. With so much at stake in a do-or-die situation, would you not be livid knowing that the team you are battling against has inside information as to what you were trying to do – and that they were able to bring the informant in just days before?

The fact that the NFL allows teams to add unnecessary pieces to their coaching staffs in the middle of the postseason is simply unbelievable. We have never seen anything like this take place in other major sports, so why does this league think that it is acceptable, especially when preparation plays a bigger role than it does in any other sport?

If a team has to have a strict playoff roster set before the end of the regular season, then it should go the same way for coaches as well. The role that they play for their teams needs to be more respected.

Unfortunately, we are not psychics, so we cannot outright proclaim that actions like these really do change the outcomes of games. Instead of giving the fans, players, and coaches alike something to strongly complain about, do not give them the opportunity at all by forcing coaching staffs to remain the same during the postseason.

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Everyone in America has been hearing or talking about Tim Tebow nonstop for the past few weeks. The Patriots were apparently tired of hearing it.

Behind Tom Brady’s three touchdowns, two passing and one running, the New England Patriots put an end to Tebow’s string of late game comebacks and clinched a playoff spot in a 41-23 win over the Denver Broncos.

“It was a really good day for us,” Brady said. “Very emotional game. It was really rocking early. We showed some mental toughness.”

The Patriots were able to bounce back from a horrendous start that saw them fall behind 17-6 as Denver scored on its first three possessions. Denver outgained New England 167 to 4 in the first quarter.

But unfortunately for the Broncos, there was no late game heroics as the fast start eventually turned into a fizzle as they didn’t do anything for the rest of the game. Three late turnovers, something Denver had been limiting during their winning streak, was too much to overcome.

“We did have things going pretty well early, scored on the first three possessions and felt like we were moving the ball good and then we put it on the ground,” Tebow said. “That’s something you can’t do against a great team and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Besides that, we were right there with them.”

Denver still controls their own destiny, but the road to an AFC West title goes through Buffalo and Kansas City, who knocked off the undefeated Packers ending their 19 game winning streak.

Tebow finished 11 of 22 for 194 yards along with 93 yards on 12 carries for two touchdowns, but was sacked four times.

The Achilles heel for the Broncos seems to be elite passers as they are 1-4 this season against the likes of Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Philip Rivers. Their lack of offensive scoring punch doesn’t seem to allow them to keep up with the quarterbacks who can sling it all over the field.

“He’s still the best out there, in my opinion,” Bailey said of Tom Brady. “And you make mistakes against a guy like that, he’s going to make you pay. That’s pretty much what happened all day.”

Brady finished 23 of 34 for 320 yards the two scores, one of which was to Ochocinco who found the end zone for the first time this season on a 33 yard reception. Brady again was able to pick up his subpar defense which gave up 167 yards on the ground in just the first quarter.

After falling behind the Patriots went into hurry up mode and Brady was able to find Aaron Hernandez from 1 yard out. Hernandez had a career game hauling in 9 passes for 129 yards.

The Broncos made things close late when Tebow scored on a keeper from 2 yards out to pull them to 34-23, but that’s when Tom Brady did what he does best, and led the Patriots down the field on a 80 yard clock draining scoring drive culminated by BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ 1 yard touchdown to put them up for good.

“The more we fight, the better this team gets,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “We knew they were going to come out fighting. They were going to come out fast and explosive. Our main goal was to weather the storm.”

The Patriots finish out the season against Miami and Buffalo as they look to secure the top seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

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The debate surrounding Tim Tebow is one that virtually every NFL fan is all too familiar with. Even those who have come to Tebow’s defense have acknowledged most of the flaws in his game, ranging from his shoddy accuracy to his obscene tendency to run with the ball, rather than being a traditional NFL quarterback.

Bashing Tebow is obviously nothing new or original, but there is some additional insight that should be noted. Most of this insight can be found when one goes back to the time when the Denver Broncos originally decided to name Tebow as their starter. At the time, the Broncos were 2-5 and found themselves at the cellar of the AFC West.

Many may also remember that naming Tebow as the starting quarterback happened to coincide with the Broncos trading wide receiver, Brandon Lloyd, to the St. Louis Rams. Although the Broncos deny it, the trade was presumably made due to the fact that Lloyd had previously been somewhat outspoken about his lack of confidence in Tebow.

It is reasonable to assume that such a trade would improve team chemistry, but the fact that the player they traded happened to lead the league in receiving yards last season might lead one to deduce that the Broncos are especially confident in Tebow as their franchise quarterback.

Going back to the status of the Broncos’ season upon making Tebow the starter, the Broncos found themselves at 2-5 and still a viable candidate in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. With this in mind, the only rationale the Broncos’ front office could possibly have had behind trading a great receiver in order to start a bad quarterback is that they knew that both managerial decisions would increase their chances of finishing the season with the worst record in the NFL, allowing them to snag the first overall pick in the 2012 draft.

This may sound like a bit of a stretch, but it very well could be the only feasible explanation. It is safe to assume that the Broncos were and are aware that Tebow makes a poor NFL quarterback, considering they had all of training camp and the preseason, along with the two games he started last season, to catch on to his talent.

In spite of this, the Broncos elected to sit Tebow in favor of Kyle Orton, and no team is going to settle for mediocrity over their first round pick, unless they truly have no confidence in that first round pick’s potential. Obviously, at this point, with the Broncos in the hunt for a playoff spot at 6-5, the chances of obtaining the first overall pick in the 2012 draft have diminished for the Broncos.

However, at the time of the decisions to start Tebow and trade Lloyd, the possibility of finishing with the NFL’s worst record was well within range for the Broncos. Being able to possibly correct their mistake in the 2010 draft by giving themselves an opportunity to draft the highly touted Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in 2012 makes this whole process a subtle act of brilliance.

It is not surprising that the Broncos continue to start Tebow, even after their chances of obtaining the first round pick have been replaced by chances of making the playoffs. It would be very difficult to justify trading Lloyd if they were to inexplicably bench him in the middle of a playoff race.

The fact that Tebow has managed to put together a few game-winning drives has only made it easier to justify starting him. What needs to be clear that Tebow has been given far too much credit for his clutch performances. One need not forget that Tebow still played poorly for three quarters prior to each of his dramatic comebacks.

While these comebacks have admittedly been impressive, they were still contingent on the much improved Broncos defense keeping the game close enough for Tebow to exercise his supposed ability to win against all odds. Unfortunately for Tebow, playing poorly for fifty minutes will not always allow enough time for the quarterback to carry his team to come from behind win.

Regardless of what the true intentions were behind starting Tebow, it should be clear that his style of play cannot adapt well to the NFL. When looking at things from a fundamental standpoint, anyone who watches Tebow closely enough can see that he makes several off-target throws throughout each game.

The only saving grace that he has is the zone read option that the Broncos have installed into their offense, which Tebow utilized to great success at the University of Florida. Tebow seems to have been running the ball very well whenever the option is called, but this should not be confused for any hint of potential to adapt his style of play to the NFL.

While the zone read has been a fairly decent change up to opposing defenses so far, the wildcat appeared unstoppable by comparison when the Dolphins started the fad in 2008. If NFL defenses can grow accustomed to stopping the wildcat, there is no doubt that they can do the same with the zone read.

It will interesting, not only to see what the future holds for Tebow as a Denver Bronco, but also what the future holds for Tebow’s status in the NFL as a whole.

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Tim Tebow was the definition of a star athlete during his four years at the University of Florida. He won the Heisman Trophy and three BCS Bowl Games. Two of them were national titles that came in just a three year span.

These are the facts that his supporters point out when they make their case as to why he will be a successful quarterback in the NFL. When labeled by many of his fans, both former and current teammates and coaches, peers, competitors, and even some of his critics as a football player, one simple word often comes to mind – winner.

He won in Gainesville and in 2011 he has won four of his first five starts as the Broncos quarterback. However, it would appear reasonable to note that Tebow’s inability to consistently throw the football at a high level is not enough to lead a championship caliber NFL team, no matter how much of the ‘it factor’ he may have.

So many people want to see him fail for a number of reasons – he is lowering the standards of performance at the position, he wears his religion on his sleeve, and he has this never-ending optimism about his job no matter what the critics say about him. A vast amount of viewers have also lost hope because — this is the NFL.

Not to say that FBS football is a walk in the park, but Tebow’s mechanical flaws at this level don’t display promise for translating into a great degree of success. Several NFL analysts such as former quarterback Trent Dilfer of ESPN agree that his throwing motion is severely prolonged and it’s an advantage to all eleven defenders he’s up against.

Lineman have that extra second or so to get to him, defensive backs have that slight moment to get a jump on the football, and linebackers will have that slim instant to either adjust in coverage or continue their pursuit of him. If that isn’t enough, his accuracy has been atrocious. He has completed only 44.8% of his passes this year, when an NFL quarterback is expected to be at the very least in the fifties, but more preferably the sixties.

He’s missed a number of wide open receivers, he’s constantly overthrowing those who have their man beat downfield, he’s throwing behind them when they create small windows that need to be hit, and for a young man with extremely muscular arms – he tends to underthrow and short-hop his teammates much too often.

‘He wins’ is what his believers always claim. They believe that that’s all that matters. But take a look at who the Broncos have beaten and the fashion in which they did so. The Dolphins couldn’t recover an onside kick late and gave up the game tying touchdown in a prevent defense, Carson Palmer was making his first start for the Raiders, the Chiefs allowed him to complete 2 passes the whole game, and the Jets had to fly cross-country on three days of rest coming off an emotional loss to the Patriots.

The competition will improve. And is it realistic to believe that this option-style offense will continue to win games?  The NFL has tended towarda a predominantly passing league over the last few years, and not only are defenses expected to catch up as they always do, but being a runner will also put Tebow in more situations where he is likely to get injured. Just look at Michael Vick and the numerous injuries he’s suffered throughout his career.

Even Tebow’s own bosses don’t show confidence in him. John Elway, former Super Bowl winning quarterback for the Broncos and current Executive Vice President of football operations for the team continuously denies that Tebow is the future of the organization when asked after every game. Head coach John Fox also admitted that the quarterback would be “screwed” if he had to run a traditional offense.

With all that being said, it doesn’t appear that Tebow will have long-term success in this league unless he finds a way to become a truly efficient pocket passer. People had the same doubts about Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton before this year’s draft, and now he is completing exactly 60% of his passes. The transformation is possible, but is all dependent on Tebow’s physical ability and mental commitment.

However, unless that happens, the future doesn’t seem too bright in Denver.

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In a span of five days, the Jets have gone from controlling their destiny for home field in the playoffs to potentially missing the playoffs all together. The Jets’ defense played great for 55 minutes on Thursday, but couldn’t stop Tebow on the final drive. Tebow capped a 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left to stun the Jets and give the Broncos the 17-13 victory.

“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful. Before the “drive,” the Broncos had punted on their eight previous possessions and Tebow seemed unable to do anything against the Jets defense. He then got the ball with less than six minutes and calmly engineered a 95 yard drive in which he had 57 yards on the ground.

“We played them well through the whole game, until that last play,” Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We played them well. Tim Tebow’s legs took them to victory, ran them to victory.”

It was third and four from the Jets 20 with just over a minute left when the Broncos got a “timeout” when a fan ran onto the field and had to be chased by security. During this break the Jets made the decision to call their first all-out blitz of the night, a decision that will be talked about for weeks to come.

Tebow took the snap, read the blitz, and beat safety Eric Smith to the edge and cut back to find his way to the end zone. It was a horrible play by Smith who was supposed to set the edge, but came to far inside and couldn’t recover. ”You know he’s going to keep it in that situation. That’s what he does. You keep the ball in your playmaker’s hand,” Ryan said.

“We thought he was going to carry the ball and he didn’t disappoint us. But he ran for a touchdown. The kid’s a competitor and makes big plays with the game on the line.” Since Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos are 4-1 and have climbed back to .500 a half game behind Oakland for the lead in the AFC West.

“He’s a competitive dude,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “He’s super competitive. He never lays his sword down. He’ll fight you to the death. That’s just his nature. He’s a great young man.” Mark Sanchez heaved it up toward the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted down dimming the hopes of the Jets to even make the playoffs.

The Jets were up 10-3 when Sanchez made a throw toward Plaxico Burress in which he followed him with his eyes the whole way, that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Andre’ Goodman to tie the game up. Nick Folk broke that tie with a 45 yard field goal with 9:14 remaining.

The drive could’ve been over on the first play when safety Jim Leonhard had a chance to tackle Eddie Royal in the end zone for a safety, but was unable to wrap him up and Royal gained eight yards and got the drive started. Tebow impressed more with his running than his passing finishing 9 of 20 for 104 yards.

“I said before, I trust him. I trust him with everything,” teammate Von Miller said. “No matter how many interceptions he throws, no matter how many touchdowns he scores, that’s Tim Tebow and I’m going to ride with him to the end. I hope he shut up a whole bunch of critics today.”

Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell had to share snaps for most of the night when Shonn Greene took a knee to the ribs and left the game. He never returned after that and with LaDanian Tomlinson being out already the Jets running back situation is very depleted. “He did it to us in college and he’s doing it here,” said teammate Robert Ayers, who went to Tennessee.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers-like. As long as we get it done, that’s all that matters.” The Broncos and Tebow look to continue their success in their race for the AFC West and the playoffs when they travel to San Diego to face division rivals the Chargers who have been reeling as of late.

The Jets return home to face the Bills in a must win for the Jets if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

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There is no secret about the game plan when facing a Denver Broncos team led by Tim Tebow. There will be a lot of options and running the ball and virtually no throwing. While it may seem easy to defend, Tebow is 3-1 since taking over the starting job in Denver.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss at home to the Patriots that all but killed any chance of them winning the AFC East, and looking to bounce back on a short week when they face the Broncos, who are suddenly back in the race for the AFC West, on Thursday night.

The Jets had a golden opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny and the AFC East, but lost 37-16 to the Patriots and snapped a three game winning streak. The game was characterized by sloppy play, including a missed 24 yard field goal, a muffed punt that the Jets failed to recover three times, a pick six, and a stupid timeout.

Sanchez didn’t show up to play, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times. The timeout he called before the half prompted coach Rex Ryan to tell NBC at halftime that it was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” ”There’s plenty of football left to play,” center Nick Mangold said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to get out there Thursday night and, you know, right the wrongs.”

The Jets are facing the polar opposite this week as the Patriots featured a lot of spread offenses while the Broncos are strictly a running team. This might pose some problems for the Jets defense that statistically is better against the pass with their talented cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Jets rank 8^th against the pass giving up 210.8 yards per game.

On Sunday Denver rushed the ball 55 times in its win over Kansas City and had 244 yards on the ground. Tebow only attempted 8 passes all game completing 2, though one of the completions was a 56 yard touchdown to Eric Decker. The Jets faced a season-high 39 pass attempts Sunday against the Patriots holding them to 60 yards on 28 carries.

The Jets are still only rank 15^th against the run giving up 116.0 yards per contest. The Broncos have the 2^nd best rushing attack in football averaging 158.2 yards per game, but have been averaging 246.0 yards in their past three games. ”I think it’s just one more thing for people to prepare for,” Tebow said of Denver’s unique offense.

“It’s not like we went out there and did a lot (Sunday) but it’s something you have to scheme for, you have to prepare for and you have to be sound.” There might be some changes for the Broncos in the backfield, though it likely won’t change how the team runs the ball. On Sunday starter Willis McGahee left the game with a hamstring injury and is listed as Questionable.

Backup Knowshon Moreno also was hurt Sunday suffering a torn ACL which will end his season. Sunday they had to turn to third string tailback Lance Ball who was effective rushing for 96 yards on 30 carries, with Tebow adding 43 and a score on 9 carries. They will turn to Ball and second year back Jeremiah Johnson if McGahee can’t go.

The Jets also look to run the ball, though not to the extreme that the Broncos do. They’re averaging 125.5 yards on the ground in their last four games with Shonn Greene averaging 80.8. LaDanian Tomlinson who was hurt late in the game Sunday will not play this week and the Jets have activated rookie Bilal Powel from the practice squad.

The last meeting between the teams was last year and the Jets won 24-20 with a late touchdown from Tomlinson to seal the win. Tebow was only used as a runner in that game carrying the ball 6 times for 23 yards.

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The Chicago Bears displayed their defensive dominance as they defeated their division rival the Detroit Lions, 37-13. The Bears defense went to work immediately, forcing a fumble on the Lions first offensive possession of the game.

Julius Peppers stripped the football from star receiver Calvin Johnson around midfield, and Brian Urlacher was there to scoop up the loose ball and give the Bears possession deep inside Lions territory. With the short field provided by the defense, Matt Forte was able to score the only offensive touchdown of the night for the Bears.

However, that single score would be more than enough as the Bears would go on to force a total of six turnovers and turn them into 24 points. The Bears secondary managed to pick off Matt Stafford four times, matching his season total in one game. Each interception was caused by a different defensive player, and both Major Wright and Charles Tillman returned theirs for touchdowns.

There was speculation by Fox commentator Brian Billick on what may have caused Stafford’s horrendous performance. For the first time in Stafford’s career, he had on gloves, a fact he attributed to the cold weather, but with the game time temperature around 55 degrees, another explanation seems likely.

In the Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos, Stafford’s hand collided with cornerback Champ Bailey’s helmet mid-throw. Stafford was noticeably bothered by the incident during that game, but no reports of an injury have surfaced from the Lions organization.

As Stafford reeled, the Lions tried to rely on the run game, but with Jahvid Best absent, still suffering from concussion-like symptoms, they only managed 80 yards on the ground. With the run game fairing even worse, the Lions went back to the passing attack. And just when the Lions offense would start to gain momentum, a Bears player would disrupt the play or cause a timely turnover.

The rout was on early in this game and, as is customary in divisional blowout wins, emotions started to run high. Players on both sides started to deliver hits after the whistle and, after a Stafford interception, all that hostility culminated into a team scuffle that will likely bring fines from the league office.

Between the Bears outstanding defense and team “fight” that lost in the shuffle was Devin Hesters’s 82 yard punt return for touchdown, usually the most exciting play of the game.

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Around the middle of the NFL season, usually week 7-9, teams hit that proverbial fork in the road. Coaching staffs around the league have personnel decisions to make at the most important position, the starting QB. Option A is pretty simple, and it consists of staying with the starter QB you selected at the beginning of the season with the hopes that he will lead your team to the playoffs.

However Option B is a complex situation full of hard decisions and calculated gambles. Option B requires a coaching staff to replace the starting QB with someone on your bench for the remainder of the season. The complex part revolves around why replace the starter, who you do replace the starter with, and when do you finally pull the trigger.

Well in Week 7, six NFL teams have gone the route of Option B and that got my editorial partner, Kristian Winfield, and me to thinking. Which one of these fresh faces will have the better season? The candidates are as followed Charlie Whitehurst (SEA), A.J. Feely (STL), Christian Ponder (MIN), Carson Palmer (OAK), Tim Tebow (DEN), and John Beck (WSH).

It’s almost a loaded question against us because a QB swap is usually only made after a team has had an unproductive 7 weeks. We will admit that there are some exceptions, and injuries sometimes force the hand of a coach. More often than not, the former is the underlying factor in a change at the QB position.

Before we each give you our picks, let’s review why each QB is starting in the first place.

John Beck: John Beck impressed people during the preseason with his picture perfect passes, but because of a single interception thrown, the start was given to Rex Grossman. In five games Grossman might have hauled in 1,132 but it was clear Grossman was driving the Redskins’ offense into the dirt. Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan decided to make a change and Beck was named the new starter.

Carson Palmer: After losing starting QB Jason Campbell for the season because of a broken collarbone, coach Hue Jackson came face to face with his biggest crisis as new head coach, who was going to start at QB. In a surprise move the Raiders traded away multiple draft picks for former “retired” Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

A.J. Feely: Feely was the back up on the St. Louis Rams to Sam Bradford. In last week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bradford suffered a high ankle sprain that forced him wear a protective boot during the week. With a 0-5 record and the Rams clearly out of the divisional race there was no need to rush Bradford back, so head coach Steve Spagnuolo handed over the reins to Feely.

Tim Tebow: Late in the season last year Tim Tebow was named the starter on the Denver Broncos after the Broncos’ playoff hopes were dashed. Tebow was supposed to remain the starter this year but due to a coaching change and horrible pre-season play by Tebow, Kyle Orton was given his starting position back.

Under Orton this year, the Broncos went 1-4 and new coach John Fox gave Tim Tebow a chance to reclaim his starting position back. Charlie Whitehurst:  Charlie Whitehurst was given the starting position after Tarvaris Jackson injured his pectoral muscle against the Giants.

Whitehurst had been previously named the starter late into the 2011 season, winning a game against the St. Louis Rams that sent the Seahawks to the playoffs. Christian Ponder: After Donovan McNabb’s abysmal 1-5 start for the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Leslie Frazier made a power move, inserting Christian Ponder into the lineup as the starting QB.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for, our “expert” picks.

Kristian’s Pick

The Vikings season was going nowhere fast, to put things into perspective, Donovan McNabb played absolutely terrible for the six games as the Vikings starter. In the first game of the season, he only threw for 39 yards—worst among starting QB’s in the NFL for season openers. Through five-and-a-half games, McNabb threw for four touchdowns and two interceptions.

I can name some wide receivers that have more receiving TD’s than McNabb has passing. Either McNabb was going to drag the franchise into the dirt, or a change was going to be made. Enter my pick, the pure passing rookie QB out of Florida State, Christian Ponder.

In their win last week over Carolina, Ponder played very well, considering the situation, throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown, while completing 18-of-28 attempts. And the week before, against the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, Ponder threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

He’s still got a long way to go, but for a rookie that was pretty much dumped into the rotation after six weeks, Ponder is a significant improvement from the lackluster performances of McNabb. Ponder IS NOT the short term solution, but by showing promise and glimpses of greatness, he definitely is the Vikings’ QB of the future.

Terrance’s Pick

My pick is the man who can do no wrong, the Christian crusader, the legend himself, Tim Tebow. All of the reasons why I think Tebow will have the better season are not intrinsically football-related.  Tebow has the will to win, and has proven that he can win on every level of football.  You can’t teach a man how to be winner, that is something you have to be born with, and Tebow has it in spades.

For example take his performance in week 7 against the Miami Dolphins into consideration.  Tebow played like absolute crap for 55 minutes of a 60 minute game, but when you have that never-say-die mentality, sometimes five good minutes is all you need. Tebow lead his Denver Broncos to score 15 points in five minutes, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a two point conversion.

Being down 15 points and subsequently scoring 15 points in the final five minutes of game a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970. During the Broncos’ improbable comeback, Tebow consistently made big throw after big throw, performing so well that ESPN analyst Skip Bayless compared him to Steve Young.

However if there is one factor that could trump all of Tebow’s intangibles it would be his poor throwing mechanics. This has been the one gripe about Tebow since he entered the NFL last year. His awkward throwing release causes him to be inaccurate and overthrow receivers.

Before the 2010 NFL Draft Tebow worked tirelessly on correcting his throwing motion, when under pressure old habits tend surface and his team suffers. That same awkward delivery was on display during the first 55 minutes of the Dolphins game; Tebow consistently missed open receivers.

The one upside to Tebow’s glaring flaw is that his throwing motion can be fixed, and there are instances where he has shown that, just not on a consistent basis. Only time will tell us which one these six QBs will have the better season.  The only that is for certain is that each NFL season is highly unpredictable.

For all we know, both Ponder and Tebow could perform miserably the rest of season, and make our expert picks null and void. If that happens let’s just hope that Toonari Post doesn’t swap us out for some fresh journalistic faces.

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The Detroit Lions stopped their two game skid, as they trampled the Denver Broncos on Sunday to get the 45-10 victory. The game was Denver Broncos newly starting quarterback Tim Tebow’s first home game of the season, and was supposed to be his coronation party. The Lions defense had other plans as they turned it into the hazing of Tebow.

Lions defenders managed to sack Tebow seven times, turning Tebow’s jersey into a grass stain and dirt collage. With a barrage of Lions defenders in Tebow’s face at all times, his completion percentage suffered mightily, hitting under 50 percent of his targets.

The Lions defenders also shut down operations for the Broncos run game, aside from a 34-yard run early in the first quarter; it was a tough day on the ground for Broncos running backs Knowshon Moreno and Lance Ball. Each running back racked up over 60 yards, but the Lions made them hard-won yards, with little hope of a breaking free for a big gain.

Things on the other side of the ball weren’t as difficult as quarterback Matt Stafford showed little to no signs that his Week 7 injuries were going to be long term problems. Stafford lit up the Broncos secondary throwing for over 250 yards and three touchdowns and stayed interception free.

Behind Stafford’s strong play, the Lions offense looked like the team from earlier in the season. The usual culprits, Calvin Johnson and Titus Young, had major games, each pulling in a touchdown reception. Johnson’s 56-yard touchdown reception made him only the second receiver since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to have 11 touchdowns in the first eight games of a season.

Stafford played so well and with a Tebow comeback out of the picture, Stafford was benched in the 4th quarter, and replaced by back up Shaun Hill. Stafford’s early exit was also prevented him from further injuring his already tweaked knee and ankle, as well as his throwing hand, which seemed to be bothering him after his hand collided with Broncos cornerback, Champ Bailey, during a throw.

There are no reports yet on the seriousness of the injury. If Stafford does have to miss any time because of the hand injury, the Lions will have to rely on their run game, which is missing its star, Jahvid Best. The run game, while effective, is still missing the big-play ability of Best, who missed his second game in a row due to a concussion suffered in the Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The running back by committee again consisted of Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams, who rushed for a combined 83 yards and touchdown by Morris. While the Lions are thankful for the improved play of Morris and Williams, they will be hoping for a speedy recovery for Best when they return to football action in Week 10 against the Chicago Bears.

For the Tebow-faithful, not a lot of good aspects could be found in this game. They can only hope that the next time he is on his knees during a football game, it’s on his own terms.

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There were just as many Tim Tebow fans in Miami on Sunday as there were Dolphin fans. Tebow’s fans were all very disappointed as he looked absolutely awful. It looked like Miami, to many fans’ dismay, were on their way to their first victory of the season. Then he did the unthinkable and led an improbable comeback.

Tebow led the Denver Broncos with two touchdown passes in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter in his first start of the season, which forced overtime. Matt Prater sealed the win with a 52-yard field goal in overtime to give Denver the 18-15 victory over Miami. Denver was trailing 15-0 with five minutes left in the game when Denver took over at their 20 yard line.

Tebow, who had been hearing it from fans all game, looked atrocious up to that point, and Denver had zero conversions on third down. “It was my fault we were in that position,” Tebow said. “Silly things kept happening. On the sidelines, we were still believing. We wanted it, and they believed in me for more than 60 minutes.”

Tebow managed to lead touchdown drives of 80 and 56 yards with a successful onside kick thrown in the middle. He scored the game tying two-point conversion untouched with only 17 seconds left on the clock. In overtime, it was Denver’s D.J. Williams who sacked Matt Moore, forced a fumble, and recovered it at Miami’s 36 yardline.

It only took three more plays, and Prater sealed the Dolphins’ fate as their winless streak continues extending the NFL’s longest streak to ninegames. If coach Tony Sparano wasn’t on the hot seat before, he sure is now after this disappointing loss. “Of course he’s the head coach, and he’s going to take a lot of heat,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “But trust me, it’s not him. Not just him. It’s all of us.”

“I’m just discouraged for the players in the locker room,” Sparano said. “They work really hard, and we don’t have anything to show for it right now.” Tebow struggled for most of the game, suffering seven sacks, failing to pick up blitzes, and making several horrible throws nowhere near the intended receiver.

But this didn’t make him lose confidence, and he was able to lead an eight-play drive capped by a five-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas for the touchdown with three minutes left to make the score 15-7. The Dolphins failed to grab the ensuing onside kick, and Virgil Green recovered at their 44 with two and a half minutes left.

Tebow was able to find Daniel Fells for a 28-yard gain, brining them to the three yard line, Again, he found Fells for the three-yard score with time running out. As for the Dolphins, they are just looking for any sort of remedy to their season. “I’m trying to search for answers,” Miami running back Reggie Bush said. “I just keep coming back to embarrassing.”

This was a big win for Denver and Tebow. Midway through the third quarter, Denver had netted two yards on 10 pass plays, which is an average of seven inches a play. After that, Tebow went nine for 13 for 1,121 yards and finished 13 of 27 for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 65 yards on eight carries.

Despite the salute to the Gators and Tebow mania, the stadium was almost half empty at the start — a sign of growing fan discontented with the Dolphins. The crowd was booing the home team before Miami’s first series ended, but Denver moved the ball no better. Together, the two teams failed to convert their first 16 third-down situations.

Miami is just looking for any answers as they fall to 0-6, and have to travel to MetLife stadium to square off with Big Blue.

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We all saw this coming. It wasn’t supposed to happen in week 5, 6 or even week 7 but here we are: the Tebow era has officially arrived. This entire situation was handled poorly by the Broncos from the off season. Fans are fickle so it makes sense that they would clamor for the backup quarterback after an 0-4 start. The problem is Tim Tebow was third on the depth chart.

This was not purely a coaching decision or even a front office decision. This sudden move was brought on by the Denver fans. Now we all will see what Tebow can do and what the coaches saw in practice that landed him third on the depth chart. It must be a first in the NFL to have a quarterback coming from third on the depth chart to starting without any injuries to the true backup. Only with Tebow is anything like this possible.

Best Team In NFL

Power rankings change from week to week in the NFL, so it is unlikely to find the same team leading that conversation from week 1 to week 6, but that is the case with the Green Bay Packers. It would not be surprising for this team to go 14-2 this season or even better, but of course injuries will play a large role in that.

They are by far the best team, but the way they are winning will have to change or expand if they are to win the whole thing again.  They are 22^nd in the league in rushing and 30^th in passing defense, meaning there is still room for improvement. Then again, maybe they don’t need anything but Aaron Rodgers -arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.

Michael Vick and the Eagles

Michael Vick and the Eagles are 1-4 right now after losing again this past weekend: a game where everything that could have gone wrong did in fact go wrong. There is a lot of blame to go around for this dismal start to the season, but at some point everyone assumes they will correct things.

There is too much talent for them not to. When watching the Eagles play, it is difficult to see where all the money went and what they got back in return.

They are second to last in rush defense and the huge holes they allow makes it impossible for their smaller and less experienced linebackers to make plays. Some of the blame has to go to the defensive coordinator, but more blame has to go to the head coach who hired a guy who has never coached on the pro level before.

Let’s not forget to blame Michael Vick for his inability to stop turning the ball over. Maybe they will turn things around, but they start next week against Washington, an improved division opponent who is 3-1 thus far.

Jets, Overrated?

The New York Jets have and will always be on the front pages and in every football conversation no matter what goes on in the game on Sundays.  Rex Ryan is a talker to say the least and his team usually responds, except for the last couple of games: games played against rivals New England and Baltimore.

They had horrible performances both resulting in loses. The Jets now stand at 2-3 early in the season and a must win game awaits them in Miami, a team without a quarterback and playing a major role in potentially winning the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. The defense has been a letdown so far for the Jets but the offense has been worse, and after Miami the schedule only gets harder.

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

It’s not every day you find a quarterback like Payton Manning who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Yes, it’s true every year the talent evaluators become infatuated with a particular college player and proclaim him King, but this Andrew Luck thing is interesting and somewhat different.

Is Luck the next Manning or the next Favre or even Tom Brady? We won’t know for sure until he has gone through the pains of being a quarterback in the league. The pro football world has been all about Andrew Luck for a while and he would have been the top pick last year if he had chosen to leave and go pro.

But we must wait another year while the legend grows and he matures into what will hopefully be a great NFL Quarterback. Teams and professional athletes are not usually in the business of losing on purpose in hopes of landing a savior, but it sure would be nice for a team like the Miami dolphins or any other team looking for a quarterback.
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The first quarter of the NFL season is in the books. Bye weeks have begun and six teams are off: Baltimore Ravens; Dallas Cowboys; Miami Dolphins; St. Louis Rams; Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns. Teams are starting to make identities for themselves as we enter week five.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Buffalo Bills: Eagles have lost three games straight for the first time since 2007. Cincinnati handed the Bills their first loss last week. The Eagles defense should start to come together after a nightmare start. Eagles 28-21

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers: The Saints travel to Carolina in what seems to be a shootout in the making. Cam Newton has been great but the defense hasn’t helped at all. Saints 31-27          

Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans: The Raiders have been one of the better 2-2 teams. Their offensive and defensive lines match up with anybody in the league. They look to make the Texans one dimensional after Houston lost Andre Johnson to injury for the next three weeks. Raiders 21-14

Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts: Kansas City picked up their first win of the season last week at home and now are looking for a road victory. Colts have played tough the last two weeks but are still win-less. Colts will break through this week behind Curtis Painter. Colts 17-13

Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars: The Bengals have been one of the best pass defenses after a month of play. The Jaguars game plan last week was to have Gabbert throw a bunch and limit their best players, Maurice Jones-Drew, touches. That didn’t really work out for the Jags. Bengals 20-14

Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings: The Cardinals head on the road, giving up 12 sacks this season. The Vikings have 12 sacks themselves with DE Jared Allen leading the way. Vikings 23-16

Seattle Seahawks @ N.Y. Giants: The Seahawks will have to make the dreadful west to east coast trip. The Giants are hot and have won three straight. They look to take full advantage. Giants 27-14

Tennessee Titans @ Pittsburgh Steelers: The Titans have been solid on both sides of the ball this year and stand at 3-1. The Steelers are in big trouble after injuries to RB Mendenhall and QB Ben Roethlisberger. Couple that with horrible o-line play. Titans will also look to establish the run and get Chris Johnson going. Pittsburgh will compete tough at home but the edge goes to the Titans. Titans 24-17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ San Francisco 49ers: The buccs have been on a roll since week one. The 49ers have been good at stopping the run and look to make Josh Freeman beat them Sunday. 49ers 21-17

San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos: Vincent Jackson tweaked his hamstring last week but is probable for a week five start. Broncos’ defense has been bad and got lit up for 48 points. Chargers 28-14

N.Y. Jets @ New England Patriots: The Jets are 0-2 on this current three game road trip. They are looking for the keys that got them to two straight title games, the “Ground and Pound”. Patriots get their TE Aaron Hernandez back to add more weapons to Tom Brady’s disposal. Jets should keep the ball out of Brady’s hands long enough. Jets 17-14

Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta Falcons: Aaron Rodgers is making an early case for MVP as he’s been simply amazing thus far. Atlanta has struggled in pass defensive this season and the Packers are second to last in that category. This matchup screams shootout. Matt Ryan has only one career regular season loss at home. Falcons 35-28

Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions: Chicago ran it up on the Panthers for over 200 yards. That probably will not happen against one of the best defensive lines in football. Detroit also adds rookie DT, first round pick, Nick Fairly who has been sidelined with injury. The undefeated Lions just got better. Lions 23-17
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New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills: Buffalo is 2-0 after coming back from a 21-3 halftime deficit last week against the Raiders. The Patriots are coming to town and have won 15 straight meeting against the Bills. They look to make it 16. Patriots 38-24

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Carolina Panthers: The quarterback carousel continues for the Jaguars. They will now start rookie QB Blaine Gabbert after Luke McGown’s awful performance against the Jets. Panthers found their guy in Cam Newton but he is still searching for his first win. Panthers 27-24

Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans: Denver’s defense has been bad over the first two weeks. Gave up 150 yards to McFadden in week one. In week two they allowed two receivers to go over 120 yards. The Titans might finally be able to get the run game going. Titans 24-17

N.Y. Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles: Since last year Vick is 9-2 in the regular season as the Eagles QB when he plays all four quarters. When he stays healthy, they have a good chance of winning. He’s cleared to start after he left last week with a concussion. Eagles 28-14

Houston Texans @ New Orleans Saints: Statistically, the Texans have one of the best pass defenses in the league. They will get their first real test on the road in the Dome when they take on Drew Brees and the Saints. Saints 24-23

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings: The Lions are off to an amazing start. Detroit has to come back to earth sometime. They haven’t won a divisional road game in years and Adrian Peterson runs well against them in his career. Vikings 23-16

Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns: Dolphins have found their RB in rookie Daniel Thomas. He ran for over 100 yards in his first game last week. Browns had an impressive road victory in Indianapolis for their first win last week. Dolphins have been better on the road. Dolphins 20-14

San Francisco 49ers @ Cincinnati Bengals: The 49ers run defense has been stout during the first two weeks. As good as their run defense has been, their pass defense has been just as bad. Andy Dalton has been a surprise for the Bengals. Dalton and the rookie WR A.J. Green have had a nice connection thus far. Bengals 16-10

N.Y Jets @ Oakland Raiders: The last time these two met at Oakland, the Jets won in a blowout 38-0. One of the storylines ended up being that Mark Sanchez was caught eating a hotdog on the sidelines. Do you mean that this was one of the stories on the side? Reports are the Raiders are using that as motivation. Jets are looking to repeat more of the same of the last meeting. Jets 24-21

Baltimore Ravens @ St. Louis Rams: The Ravens couldn’t stop the pass against the Titans. That seems to be their weakness over the past year. Lucky for them they go into St. Louis and face a struggling QB, and banged up receivers and backs. Ravens 23-10

Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers: This could be a trap game for the Chargers. Despite the loss last week and the Chargers desire to win this game, it is a division game. It is also a game in September and these Chargers have struggled early in past seasons. Chiefs have not competed yet this year. Chargers 28-24

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Falcons take their balanced offensive attack into Tampa Sunday. Tampa had trouble defending the pass in week one and the run in week two. They could struggle with both in week three. Falcons 21-17

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks: Cardinals have played well in the first two games, going 1-1. The same can’t be said for Seattle who’s 0-2. This is the NFL, where unpredictable happens. Seahawks 21-20

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears: The Packers have had the worst pass defense in the NFL giving up 800 yards in the first two games. Bears don’t have a downfield threat to make that trend stand. Packers 31-17

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts: This won’t be pretty. The Steelers showed what happens when they play a bad team. It was a shutout victory for Pittsburgh. The Colts are lifeless without Manning. Steelers 28-7

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys: Coach Mike Shanahan looks like a genius after letting McNabb go, going with Grossman at QB and trading for Hightower. The Cowboys home openers start on Monday Night Football but comes with a cost. Injuries to Romo (punctured lungs) Dez Ryant (thigh) and Austin (hamstring) will set them back. CB Terrance Newman is back and the defense will keep them in it. Cowboys 24-17

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The AFC West hasn’t seen one team dominate for a significant amount of time since the days of John Elway. Those days are long gone now and the division has become significantly more competitive. Kansas City burst onto the scene last season, finally getting back to the playoffs under second year coach Todd Haley. Though they were the story of the division by far, San Diego and Oakland saw quite productive seasons, and Denver has finally figured out who will hopefully be their quarterback of the future. So whose the favorite in 2011?

Oakland Raiders: Oakland has had a solid defense over the past few years. Led by star defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha, few teams were able to torch the Raiders, allowing them to keep games close squeak out eight wins while fighting for a wildcard spot. Unfortunately Asomugha will now hit free agency and Oakland has virtually zero chance of resigning him. They will surely have a gaping hole, one which will need to be addressed immediately. They should be able to lean on Darren McFadden on the offensive end who has finally lived up to the hype he had out of college. He put up 1157 yards and seven rushing touchdowns last year in a tandem backfield with Michael Bush who had eight touchdowns himself. The throwing game hasn’t been the same since the days of Rich Gannon, but if Oakland can control time of possession and play well on the defensive end, they should be able to stay in contention. Besides, nobody wants to play them in Oakland. Those fans are flat out crazy.

Denver Broncos: I find myself at a loss about what to say here. I was never the biggest Kyle Orton fan. He never put up great stats when he was winning in Chicago, but he seemed to find a way to get it done. Someone flipped a switch when he got to Denver by making him throw for almost 7,500 yards in his two seasons as starter. The Broncos should not have won only four games last season. Underachieving doesn’t even begin to describe what they did, but maybe in a way it was a blessing. Toward the end of the year they were forced to turn to highly touted draft pick Tim Tebow. The thought probably was that if he didn’t get a chance now, he might be stuck as a backup for quite a while. He performed fairly well in his short time and proved that he could lead a team the same way he did for so many years at Florida. All the fuss about Tebow’s mechanics? Throw it all away if he can win games. If he can match the results that he had as a Gator remains to be seen, but new coach John Fox seems to have faith in him. Fox has always brought a defensive mind to his teams, and Denver should be no different. We will surely see some changes in the Broncos next season, and I’m sure much improvements on an abysmal 2010.

San Diego Chargers: Well since we’re talking about underachieving, San Diego seems appropriate. How they can be the best offensive and defensive team in the NFL and yet still end up only 9-7, and miss the playoffs at that…wow. Complete inconsistency in finishing games, this team just seemed to forget how to win. Antonio Gates had gotten out to an incredible start to 2010 but was bitten by the injury bug which surely had a gigantic impact on the win column. In fact they saw many of their receivers go down throughout the year, and were without Vincent Jackson for much of the year due to suspension, but there should be no excuse. Philip Rivers still found a way to throw for almost 5,000 yards yet again, so I’m not sure if the receivers really were the problem. There’s not really much to say about them. They don’t need to address very many issues, they don’t need to change very many schemes, they just need to go out and win the games. I wouldn’t be shocked if they had the best record in the league next season, but I also somewhat expect more of the same for them. There’s only one way to shake a reputation of choking: win.

Kansas City Chiefs: Todd Haley is inspiring. Jamaal Charles is a beast. Dewayne Bowe is a touchdown machine. Matt Cassel is…well…adequate. Why did everyone sleep on Kansas City last year? The roster was most definitely there, and now everybody knows it. Maybe that will be a disadvantage for them, having higher expectations going into this year, but I doubt it. This team grew up a lot last year, their young players, namely Charles came into their own and carried this team to the playoffs. If they can add a few pieces they should be able to meet their next goal of notching a playoff win or two. The fear for fans is that they’re one of those “one hit wonder” type of teams, and will be once again overtaken by the Chargers eventually. I don’t think this is true after watching the job that Haley was able to do in close games to get his team over the hump, but I also don’t have all that much faith in Matt Cassel. They need to prove themselves again this year to put their stamp on the division and prove 2010 wasn’t a fluke. 10 wins should be the benchmark for this squad, and hopefully a playoff victory.

The Chargers have the talent, the Chiefs have the chemistry, the Broncos have the poster boy, and the Raiders have the 150 year old owner who will surely do something to mess up the one decent season his team has had in a while. I’d like to see Kansas City win the west again because who doesn’t like an underdog? The tough thing for this division is that the AFC is so competitive all-around that it would be shocking to get two AFC West teams into the playoffs in one year. Divisional games will be dog fights, and I for one, can’t wait to see what happens in those late afternoon games this season.

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