They were inconsistent, but the Bronocs won games 18-15, 17-10, 17-13, 16-13, 13-10, and lost a game 7-3. So yes while inconsistent, that defense did step up hugely.
When you say the Cowboys took the next step under Garrett, you mean rising 2 spots from 4th in points and 5th yards in 2006 to 2nd in points and 3rd in yards? That's not a tremendous leap. They were a great offense both years no doubt. 2006 was also the first year Tony Romo made the Pro Bowl. The Cowboys didn't run the wildcat because they didn't have the personnel for it nor had any intention of doing it. Rex on the other hand very specifically wants to run it. It's a big difference between him wanting that to be a part of the offense and Sparano simply coming in with that as part of his playbook. Sparano's going to do what the head coach wants him to do... something Schottenheimer did not. As for the Miami Wild Cat - it's irrelevant to the Jets. Different personnel. The Jets ran the Wild Cat and succeeded. You could argue that Tim Tebow will be even more dangerous out of the Wild Cat than Brad Smith was. The Dolphins drafted Pat White to fill the exact same role Tebow is going to for the Jets however was an utter bust. The difference is Tebow has already shown in Denver exactly what he's capable of - he's no bust.
I think John Elway would disagree with you. You don't unload a first round starting QB for a 4th and a 6th if you don't think the guy is an outright bust waiting to happen.
His performance would say otherwise. He literally lifted a dying team and carried them into the playoffs. The same way Rex wants the power running game and the wildcat, Elway wants anything but that. He never bought into Tebow and never would've wasted a first round pick on Tebow. I think the league in general was shocked that Tebow went first round since he was pegged as a third-fourth rounder.
Tebow wasn't the style of QB that Elway wanted, and Elway's words back that statement up. Also, Orton showed that Denver doesn't keep starters who have been replaced. Lastly, just because the great John Elway might have one view of a player, doesn't mean that he's right nor does it mean that everyone else thinks the same thing.
I can understand his point about football. When I became a Jets fan in the mid 60s you would hear things like "Amateurs" "Why don't you root for a pro/real team?" and these applied not only to the Jets but any AFL team. A lot has changed since that time. In 1969 the Jets legitimized the AFL as a league that was as good as the NFL. We saw positive changes to the NFL concerning rules and play when the merger took place. Players started making enough money that they didn't have to paint houses, sell cars, etc. during the off season. Then in 1985, Joe Theismann's leg was broken. This one event, more than any other, started changes concerning quarterbacks that is still going on to this day. It has caused an imbalance in the game that doesn't sit well with all fans. There have been other rule changes in the supposed name of safety that aren't much more than lip service. Add to this the cost incurred by fans and non-fans concerning televised games. The game is crossing the line between sport and show biz. For some people it has become too much. It wouldn't be the first time someone has felt like they had enough. Baseball fans had the steroid issues. Basketball suffered from the slam dunk and lack of shooters. Hockey suffered from over expansion and a commissioner hell bent on ridding Canada of the sport. Is it always worth the anger, frustration, elevated blood pressure that it brings? Generally the off season only brings one day where people can really get upset and that is day one of the draft. This off season was already on a down note with how last season ended with fingers being pointed in every direction. The past week has brought it to a new level and that's going to upset some people. It doesn't make them non fans because they don't buy into it nor does it make them non fans if they need to get away from it all for a while. I'd rather see someone vent their frustration on a board than go and slap around someone or worse.
Again, I don't have an issue with venting. It's the "take my ball and go home" thing. My favorite football team is the University of Kentucky Wildcats. As I mentioned somewhere else (might have been this board), the Wildcats are kind of like Cicadas in that they seem to come around every 13 years or so. Over the last 20 years, they are 98 -138. They've had 6 winning season during that time frame. Their best record has been 8-5, and that's happened a grand total of twice. Their average record is 5-7. Do I get pissed ? Sure. Do I rant and rave about the lousy assed coaches, their inability to recruit and the overall lack of talent of the team ? Sure. Yet, I have never, ever reached a point where I'd say fark it and stop watching them or stop pulling for them. Why ? Because I'm an actual fan of the team. regardless of how hapless they might be, they are my fucking team and I still want them to win.
I don't know how old you are, but personally my own philosophy is every day we live is one day closer to the day we die. And since we don't really know what day that is, we all should be thinking in terms of limited time. Plus this whole Tebow thing has an End of Days feeling to it. I won't elaborate in order to not get the mods upset. I of course recognize that being a fan of a team is in itself not something that can be considered in rational, or objective, terms, by its very nature. I was merely trying to point out that attempts by optimistic posters here, whether of the reflexive homer sort or of the skewed semi-rational opinion sort, are appealing to false authority in invoking the loyalty card. I may have mistook your earlier post in that regard, but I thought you essentially agreed with that point.
An analysis of Denver's season last year shows a much improved D that came on about the six game point. They had a few close losses while Orton was still Qb, excepting a 49 point shellacking by Green Bay (who after all were the class of the league, regular season division, last year). Meanwhile Denver's O for hte most part tailed off at the end of the regular season. Tebow definitely had a very good game against Pitt in the wild card game, but they lost badly to NE. In the NFL I don't see how you compare the averages of points scored by the Denver O to points allowed by their D and not see that both were below average. It follows that Denver's D deserves most of the credit.
Being a fan is a rollercoaster and in the Jets case its mainly huge downslopes...but I love this team...anyone who talks about stopping watching etc...Man up and watch YOUR team!!!
Thanks guys i needed this thread. I just signed up for this site, spent the past few years at another jets fan website. Like my name says, i've been a fan since 1986, i even had season tickets in 1995 and 1996. I absolutely hate Tim Tebow, even when he was at Florida. Can't explain it, just not a fan. I haven't been thinking of switching teams, but just not watching football anymore. You guys have opened my eyes to what it really means to be a fan. Thank you!!!
Ahhhh, but wait. We no longer have Schotty. That even cancels out retaining Hunter and resigning McKnight( Scotty), not the one who has talent. Cheer up.
Denver's offense finished 23rd and their defense finished 20th. We're not talking about a major swing here. Also, based on statistics to say that Denver's D was "much improved" implies they were a smoking heap of dog shit in the previous year. I think the Broncos came together as a team after the first five weeks - that coincided with Tebow becoming the starter. I don't know how much of that you can directly attribute to Tebow but seeing as how they changed things up from what they were previously doing with Orton I'd say Tebow and the Broncos coaching staff deserve as much credit as the defense. To say it was all the defense is a weak way to attempt to discredit Tebow.
It's a little bit of all of the above. The defense was shit the year before. New Defensive CO was brought in, Dennis Allen. IIRC, they switched defensive schemes. Also, some guys were coming off injury at the beginning of the season. Some of the defensive improvement would have been due to simple "gelling" with the new scheme and players getting back to full health. That said, the coaching staff and Tebow had a part to play in it as well, in my opinion. I think Champ was quoted as talking about how Tebow made him want to play harder/better, so that can't be discounted.
If you are blinded by HATE, nothing will help you over the long haul. I'd say that rooting for the Giants or Patriots might be the best solution for you. Instead of wanting Tebow to do well to help our team become consistent winners, you profess your hate for the man for no apparent reason. That is truly sad!
It was a mixed bag. By week six the Bronco FO basically decided to can the season and see what the young guys could do. The team was 4-14 with Orton starting from the time Tebow got there and that was the good news. They were 1-4 to start the season. The defense started playing great but they traded their arguably best WR Brandon Lloyd. He was gone the week Tebow started. On offense they had key injuries as the season played out - Moreno, Decker, McGahee and Kuper. On defense, Dawkins and Miller had key injuries. It was ugly but they got to 7-4 after the 1-4 start and got to the playoffs.
