New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow usually just shrugs off verbal jabs and criticisms with the class and precision of a skilled politician, but he apparently hasn't forgotten Brady Quinn's knock on him in Feb. that 'Tebowing' was nothing but a lame attempt at playing up to the cameras.
In an interview that appeared in GQ, Quinn said "If you look at it as a whole, there's a lot of things that just don't seem very humble to me. When I get that opportunity, I'll continue to lead not necessarily by trying to get in front of the camera and praying but by praying with my teammates, you know?"
Ouch. That quote made it sound like Quinn woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day, and he later apologized for it by saying the comments were taken out of context.
But that wasn't even the worst of what he said, as he hinted that Tebow perhaps ended up getting the second-string role due to the crowds in Denver chanting his name, rather than actual football skills.
"Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle (Orton) got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out," Quinn added. "So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. 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's remarks were nothing but sour grapes, and it seems like Tebow let it get under his skin a bit.
Tebow shrugged off jabs from his biggest detractors, ranging from CM Punk's rip on him that he's not a champion and Jake Plummer's jab at the fact that he wears religion on his sleeve.
Being that Quinn was a former teammate, his jab at Tebow was taken personally in my view. According to an NFL.com report, Tebow got some revenge on Quinn by tweaking Notre Dame's football program.
"I had a teammate at Denver who played the same position as me and he went to the University of Notre Dame," Tebow told Florida backers at a recent event, in reference to Quinn. "He would brag about his university, how great it was. Most of us in the locker room were like, 'C'mon, we all had opportunities. We chose not to go there.' ... But he talked so much about his university that it became easy. I'd say, 'Your whole team had one guy who ran under a 5.0 40 (yard dash). Our kicker ran under 5.0.' "
Good for Tebow for finally standing up for himself and putting an end to the constant bullying and criticism of his performance.
Quinn's comments were nothing but jealousy of Tebow's rapid fan base, as the former Cleveland Browns quarterback didn't fill in for Orton in Denver simply because Tebow gave the Broncos a better opportunity to win at the time.
Whether you agree with Tebow's assessment of Notre Dame football or not, you have to like his willingness to respond to the haters for once.
Tebow has been so politically correct in the past that fans and media would bash everything from his football skillset to his religion, knowing full well that he wouldn't respond.
That all changed with Tebow's shot at Notre Dame and Quinn, as it appears he's now going to stand up for himself when people try to tear him down.
Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
Sources
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a1b9ed/article/tim-tebow-on-notre-dame-new-york-and-beating-the-jets, NFL, Dan Hanzus
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a1b9ed/article/tim-tebow-on-notre-dame-new-york-and-beating-the-jets, NFL, Gregg Rosenthal
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