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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – On a day where the focus was on the fallout from anonymous sources blasting backup quarterback Tim Tebow in the New York Daily News, the locker room was not surprisingly a bit on edge.
Tebow was of course the focus of the day.
Making his entrance near the end of the media session in the locker room, Tebow was swarmed by the media and spoke nearly 13 minutes at his locker to both cameras and the written press.
During that time, he answered only questions about the New York Daily News story that ran on Wednesday where an anonymous teammate called him “Terrible.”
The author of the story asked a follow-up after Tebow answered a question where he said that he was going to emerge from this situation working even harder. The question posed to him by the author of the “terrible” story was if he needed an impetus to work harder.
“There’s always more you can do, always a little bit more,” Tebow said, his briefest answer to that point of the interview.
But on the field, Tebow is making adjustments. In the role of personal punt protector, his understanding of the uniqueness of the position continues to grow.
Lost in the decoy and the actual threat he poses to turn a punt into a Jets first down, his blocking is making strides. There was of course the mass confusion surrounding his culpability in Week 8 on the Dolphins blocking a Robert Malone punt Malone nullified that theory, saying that Tebow picked up the right player on that busted play.
In practice, Tebow has gone from his head being on swivel to knowing and understanding who to pick-up when the defense comes crashing through the line. He quickly gets his assignment and lays an impressive, technically sound block that often stands-up his assigned man.
His throwing motion, oft-criticized for being elongated, has also been shortened . . .
With the team losing Isaiah Trufant for the season with a knee injury, the next man up might well be Aaron Berry. After some trouble with the law this off-season, Berry could well be a shrewd signing from the Jets.
He is talented cornerback and he seems to be rounding into more football shape after signing with the Jets just a few weeks ago.
Berry is very physical at the point and his footwork is ever improving, but the physicality of his game fits in perfectly to the Jets defensive scheme.
“I really like to play physically on the line,” Berry told Jets Confidential. “Get in there, get involved and make the receiver work. I think that fits well here.”
On a day dominated by Tebow talk, Ricky Sapp got a shout-out from head coach Rex Ryan during his daily press conference. Sapp is a good story, a player who came off a serious knee injury during his junior year at Clemson, was taken mid-draft and has failed to be fully healthy. Now looks like he’s finally health, and could turn into a solid player. He moves well including his vertical movement and possesses enough sideline-to-sideline speed to help compensate for a slow group of linebackers. There is also a growing maturity about the player that is encouraging.
Ryan also praised punter Robert Malone for his net punting average and Malone seemed to be taken aback by the praise.
“I do think this is the best I’ve been punting in three years,” Malone told Jets Confidential. “I think I’m just maturing, approaching things differently.” . . .
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie blasted music from his locker and did not turn around as the media surrounded him. He refused to speak.
November 15, 2012
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