EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 9: Quarterbacks Tim Tebow #15 (L) and Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets during pre-game warm ups before the start of their game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on September 9, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)
FLORHAM PARK, N.J – Coach Rex Ryan is angry. And this time it has nothing to do with his team's performance on the field.
Addressing the anonymous quotes made by some New York Jets ripping Tim Tebow, Ryan says the players did "a cowardly thing."
Ryan, whose Jets are 3-6 and have lost three straight, said Wednesday that he has no respect for players who say things to the media without putting their names to their comments.
A report in The New York Daily News says that more than a dozen players and members of the Jets organization believe there's no chance Tebow could overtake Mark Sanchez for the starting quarterback job — with one saying of the backup: "He's terrible."
Ryan says the Jets never brought Tebow in to be the starter, and adds that he "absolutely wanted Tim here" when New York acquired him from Denver in March.
In the revealing article, various players from the Jets verbally attacked the team’s backup quarterback.
According to an undisclosed Jets player, “nobody” wants Tebow as the starting quarterback.
Even though coach Rex Ryan has publicly supported Sanchez, constant public scrutiny on the team’s performance has caused some to question this decision.
While it is expected that Sanchez’s teammates would defend their team’s leader, their very critical reviews of Tebow seem to some as more personal than professional.
When asked about who should fill the quarterback role for the Jets, Left guard Matt Slauson said the choice was clear.
“I have all the confidence in Mark,” said Slauson. “We don’t really have a choice.”
Asked by The Daily News as to what he thinks of the team's two other quarterbacks, Tebow and Greg McElroy, Slauson’s response echoed his teammates sentiments.
“We have Greg ... and we have an athlete,” Slauson said.
Referencing Tebow’s comeback season last year as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, one Jets organization member made a religious quip at the highly publicized athlete.
“Now we’re depending on miracles?” the member said. “You can’t play that way.”
With reporting by The Associated Press.
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