18
Nov
2011
Tim Tebow Tebows after Tebowing the Tebows to Tebowry (VIDEO)
(Image via instntrply.com)
Oh boy … get ready, folks. If you thought Tim Tebow-mania had already reached its pinnacle in this country, you ain’t seen nothing’ yet.
Last night, after turning in his usual sub-par performance for 3-1/2 quarters, Tebow once again stepped up as the hero, leading the Broncos on game-winning 95-yard drive to defeat the Jets 17-13. Tebow capped the impressive drive himself with a 20-yard touchdown run (video below), and now, after leading his team to a 4-1 record as starter, even his biggest doubters are genuinely starting to believe that there’s something special about this kid.
Critics will continue to argue that Tebow doesn’t have an NFL caliber arm, and going 9-for-20 for 104 yards passing won’t exactly change anyone’s mind about that, but the bottom line in this game is winning, and you just can’t argue with his results. Tebow rushed for 58 yards on the final drive alone, but his greatest skill might be his ability to avoid the big mistake … something Mark Sanchez knows all about after throwing a crucial pick-six that may have cost the Jets the game. By not making costly turnovers, Tebow has been able to keep the Broncos in every game he’s played until the end, and that’s all you can really ask for from a quarterback in this league.
And as he proved once again against a talented Jets defense, Tebow’s ability to make the big play when its most needed is simply uncanny.
“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful.”
Well, if he keeps winning games like this – and evoking the comeback prowess of one John Elway for Denver fans – I think everyone will learn how to manage the stress level just fine.
PS – Lost in all this Tebow talk, it’s really the Broncos defense that won this game for Denver. Oh, and Von Miller is quietly running away with the defensive ROY award. Just sayin’ …
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
7
Nov
2011
Mark Sanchez gets two for flinching (GIF)
This right here is why you don’t often see NFL quarterbacks lining up at the receiver position. From yesterday’s Jets-Bills game, watch Mark Sanchez get the bejeezus scared out of him by diminutive Bills CB Drayton Florence:
BOO! (Image via midwestsportsfans.com)
That’s two for flinching, Mark.
Sanchez and the Jets won the game, this certainly isn’t going to help his image as a pretty boy quarterback, is it?
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
6
Dec
2010
As the Jets-Pats rivalry goes, there’s never been a bigger one than this
Long simmering, the feud between the Jets and Patriots is set to explode Monday night. (Source: New York Daily News)
(Ed. note: This article was originally posted last week, but with the impending Monday night match-up on everyone’s mind today, we thought it deserved another look)
________________________
The word “rivalry” is tossed around a lot in the NFL. You hear announcers, desperate for market share, describe a pedestrian Seahawks-Chiefs tilt as a rivalry. Who’s buying that? Most “rivalries” unfold without so much as a breadcrumb on the line.
The history between the New York Jets and New England Patriots is a messy, entangled war by contrast. With both franchises notched at 9-2 atop the AFC East, you have to go back to the 1990 Monday-night meeting between the 10-1 49ers vs. the 10-1 New York Giants to find a late-season prime-time bout with equal appeal.
The lifetime record between these two teams stands at 51-50-1 in New York’s favor. Records aside, the Patriots are the Goliath, having dominated the last decade with three Super Bowl wins under the leadership of a once-per-generation quarterback talent in Tom Brady.
The Jets, after years of struggle, are at the threshold — but the long-time Jets fanatic is still haunted by ghosts: “When will the other shoe drop? When will the S.O.J.s appear from behind the Wizard’s curtain?”
A season sweep over the Patriots would send a statement league-wide: These Jets are for real.
21
Nov
2010
Jets summon late-game heroics again, outlast Texans (VIDEO)
Santonio Holmes does "The Jet" after scoring the game-winning TD against the Texans (Image via nflgridirongab.com)
For the third straight week, the Jets snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, scoring a dramatic 30-27 victory over Houston at the New Meadowlands today. New York blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead and trailed 27-23 with less than a minute to go, setting the stage for Mark Sanchez to summon his late-game heroics once again.
Sanchez let the Jets offense 66 yards in :45 seconds on 3 plays – including a 42-yard pass to Braylon Edwards, giving them first and goal from the six with :10 to play … that’s when Sanchez looked to his new favorite target, Santonio Holmes:
WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHT AFTER THE JUMP
3
Oct
2010
Tomlinson and Jets dominate Bills, improve to 3-1 (VIDEO)
(Photo: Kevin Hoffman/US Presswire)
LaDanian Tomlinson proved that he still has some gas left in the tank this afternoon, as he rushed for over 133 yards and 2 touchdowns in leading the Jets to a 38-14 rout of the Buffalo Bills. Tomlinson had his first 100-yard game in over two years, and passed Tony Dorsett to move into 7th place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 12, 381 yards.
From the very start, Tomlinson looked like the LdT of old, and the Jets offense had their way with the Buffalo defense. Shonn Green added 177 yards rushing and Mark Sanchez threw 2 touchdowns to TE Dustin Keller, as the Jets improved to 3-1 at the quarter-season mark.
But today belonged to the 31-year-old Tomlinson, who was cut by the San Diego Chargers this off-season and widely considered washed up before finding a new home with the Jets. After the game, he credited head coach Rex Ryan for believing in him, and inspiring him to perform:
“I know what age I am. It doesn’t mean I can’t play,” Tomlinson said. “I never lost confidence. I always knew I could do it. It was just about having an opportunity.”
Watch as Tomlinson leaving a defender flying in his wake, en route to a 26-yard score in the third quarter, putting the game away for New York :
SEE TOMLINSON’S TOUCHDOWN RUN AFTER THE JUMP
14
Sep
2010
Hit Of The Week: Ray Lewis crushes Dustin Keller (VIDEO)
(Photo: Baltimore Sun/Kenneth K. Lam)
We’re starting a new tradition every Tuesday here at ReadAndReact by bringing you the Hit of the Week! We’ll find the most brutal tackle (or block) from each weekend of NFL games, and present it for your viewing pleasure. That’s good times right there, and we’re kicking the series off with unquestionably the one of the baddest men in the NFL, Ray Lewis.
With under a minute to go in last night’s Ravens/Jets game, with New York trying for a game-winning score, Mark Sanchez drops back and fires the ball toward TE Dustin Keller over the middle. Unfortunately for Keller, Sanchez leads him right into the awaiting arms of Lewis, who viciously de-cleats him with a crushing blow. It’s a beautiful, textbook hit; delivered cleanly, but with bad intentions … enjoy:
WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
12
Aug
2010
HBO Hard Knocks: New York Jets, Episode 1
(Photo: Photo: Al Pereira/Getty Images via NYMag.com
Last night, HBO premiered the first episode of this season’s edition of Hard Knocks featuring Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. I took the time to jot down my thoughts during the episode, which I’ve distilled below.
Essentially, this episode was about two things: Rex and Revis. Rex Ryan took center stage as expected and did not disappoint (especially in the cursing department), and Darrelle Revis was the central focus of the episode, despite (or more correctly, because of) his absence from camp.
The fine folks at JetTwit did a much better job breaking down last night’s episode than I ever could, but here are my running thoughts, in case anyone cares:
- If this show were about my favorite team, this intro would get me seriously physically aroused. I think I’m ready for football to start
- Cortland, NY is an awful town … as an alumnus of their rival Ithaca Bombers, I had the displeasure of visiting this beacon of crapitude several times during my college career, and this is not a place you want to spend your summers. But HBO managed to make it look better in 2 minutes of b-roll footage than it ever did during my time there. But I may be biased.
- It’s obvious that the Revis holdout will be big storyline. It must be maddening to have everyone asking about one player when you’re trying to lead a group of 60+ other guys who are all there to do their job
- Rex Ryan doesn’t look to have started shedding much weight yet from the lap band surgery.
- Here’s video of Rex’s opening speech to his players. His goals for the team – all 3 units – is to lead the league in wins. Radical strategy, there. But he’s definitely someone you’d want to play for. Rex is so oddly charismatic, but boy, he sure does say “fuck” a lot (and I mean a LOT – video NSFW for language):
- Rex wears black Chuck Taylors on the first day of camp … apparently this is his thing. And it elicits the “sexy Rexy” chant from a few male Jets fans, and he likes it. Read the rest of this entry »
4
Dec
2009
Braylon Edwards still can’t catch
The New York Jets may have defeated the Buffalo Bills 19-13 last night, and they may have even been helped along by the efforts of WR Braylon Edwards, who had a 13-yd TD catch.
But that doesn’t mean that Edwards has shaken his long-standing problems with dropping perfectly thrown footballs. Check out this play from last night’s game, where Braylon gets wide open downfield, but can’t seem to reel in Mark Sanchez’ gorgeous deep ball. Probably ’cause it hits him in a bad spot … the face:
26
Oct
2009
Mark Sanchez Hot Dogs it during blowout of Raiders
During the Jets’ 38-0 blowout win over the Raiders yesterday, things got so relaxed on the NY sideline that QB Mark Sanchez had time to fit in a mid-game snack. Check out Sanchez taking down a hot dog like he was Kobayashi:
29
Sep
2009
Week 3 NFL Highlights: Ric Flair edition
Julius Jones does the Ric Flair Strut
This week’s installment of your NFL highlights combines 2 things we hold dear to our hearts here at ReadAndReact: football and old-school professional wrestling. Recently, Seahawks RB Julius Jones has been displaying his appreciation for 16x world champion Ric Flair by performing the famed “Flair Strut” in the endzone after scoring a touchdown.
He did it against the Rams in week 1, and yesterday against the Bears, Jones once again did his best Nature Boy impression after ripping off a 39-yd TD on a screen pass (play starts at the :15 mark):
The NY love-fest with Mark Sanchez is fully underway, thanks in large part from this TD run on Sunday. Also, Ric Flair will wrestle Hulk Hogan in Australia later this year. WOO!:
Donald Driver makes an amazing one-handed catch against the Rams. In other news, Ric Flair scratch-off lottery cards are now available in North Carolina. WoooOOOooo!:
