Tebow Called 'Terrible' by Jets Teammates: QB Remaining 'Positive' (VIDEO)
Unnamed Players Bashing Tebow Are 'Cowardly,' Says Coach Rex Ryan
Tebow was called "terrible" by some of the same teammates who welcomed him to the team some short months ago, but the evangelical Christian quarterback and Jets coach Rex Ryan are pushing back. Despite the malicious nature of the attacks, Tim Tebow is seemingly not shaken by the harsh words.
Tim Tebow's performance— not that there's been much to speak of, as he's been relegated mainly to about seven plays per game on special teams— was bashed by his Jets teammates in a New York Daily News report Wednesday. Most of the players remained anonymous, but their words were no less unkind.
"He's terrible," a starting defensive player told The News.
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"You can't just line up in the Wildcat all the time. That won't work," said another unnamed starter, while yet another said, "Now we're depending on miracles? You can't play that way."
One player, left guard Mark Slauson, was quoted in the report, saying that the difference between starting quarterback Mark Sanchez and backup Tim Tebow was "not even close."
Tebow's response highlighted his commitment not only to the New York football team, but to remaining positive.
"I always find the good and the positive in every situation," Tebow said. "And the positive of this is to go and work a little harder and build better relationships with your teammates."
"I can control my attitude, my effort and my work ethic," he added. "Those are things that will never change based on what anybody says." He also made the effort to control his relationship with Slauson, who made the comments "months ago," calling him an "awesome guy" after talking with him.
Coach Rex Ryan, however, was less forgiving.
"If you're not going to put your name to it, I think that's about as cowardly of a thing there is," said the coach at a press conference. "I don't want to go into the specifics of what I said, but I did address it with our football team."
Safety Yeremiah Bell questioned the veracity of the report, calling it "ridiculous" and "harmful."
"We all think the source is not credible and we don't believe we have those types of guys in this locker room. It's just ridiculous to us," he explained.
"It's never fun to hear criticism," Tebow admitted. "At the same time, it's something I've always used as motivation. You try to get stronger from it."
To see Tebow's full response, click here.
