Tebow-mania touches down in New Jersey; Next stop: New York

Tim Tebow finally arrived in the New York area as either the New York Jets latest experiment or new backup quarterback.  The unannounced flight touched down at Morristown Airport by — what else— private jet at approximately 3:20 this afternoon before he was whisked away.

Tebow exited the jet, shook some hands and was driven off the runway in a black luxury SUV as news choppers circled overhead.

Tebow-mania has already started and he's still 30 miles west of Met Life Stadium.

Last night, Tebow had a chance to address the media in New York via phone after the trade with the Denver Broncos was finalized.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity to to play for such a great organization," he said.

Tebow, who has spent a lot of time in the spotlight in the past year, was asked if he had any trepidation about life in the big city.

"Not really.  I'm excited about it," he said. "I think it's a great market.  It's a great city.  I'm excited to be a Jet now."

 The Jets have made it clear that incumbent quarterback Mark Sanchez was, and will be,  the Jets starter in 2012.  The new guy in town didn't seem bothered.

Tebow said he already talked with Sanchez on the phone after the trade and everything was fine between the two quarterbacks.

"We spoke on the phone yesterday.  Got caught up a little bit," said Tebow.  "Had a great conversation and looking forward to seeing him soon and working with him and, you know, we've been blessed to know each other over the last few years.  "I definitely have a lot of respect for him."

The Jets have not released the day and time of Tebow's official introduction as a Jets player, but expect a media crush.

If news choppers stalking a country airport is any indication— I think Tebow-mania is going to be bigger than ever.

Antonio Cromartie: No room for Tebow on Jets

Antonio Cromartie apparently isn't too keen on the New York Jets taking an interest in Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow in any capacity.  Cromartie tweeted about it after Denver signed Peyton Manning— all but ending Tebow's career with the Broncos.

The outspoken Jets cornerback used Twitter to express his feelings about pursuing Tebow.

"We don't need Tebow," Cromartie tweeted Tuesday.  "We sell out every home game let him go to Jacksonville Tampa or Miami."

Cromartie— one of the leaders of the mayhem in the Jets locker room— wasn't through trying to sway the Jets brass from bringing in the unorthodox quarterback.


"Our Wildcat offense can be run by (Jeremy) Kerley or Joe McKnight,"he tweeted.  "We have Mark_ Sanchez and just signed Drew.  Mark has taken us to 2 AFC championship game.  We need to build on the team we have right now."

Could introducing Tebow's ultra-religious character to the dysfunctional Jets locker room have something to do with Cromartie's rant.

Cromartie has a troublesome background and has fathered nine children with eight women in six states and doesn't exactly adhere to Tebow's beliefs.

The Jets cornerback does make some good points for not getting Tebow, but several people in the Jets organization have told the New York Daily News that he might be a good fit.

Many insiders believe the Jets new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano could put Tebow's abilities to good use in certain Wildcat schemes.  Sparano was the head coach for the Miami Dolphins when he began using the Wildcat offense to pump up the anemic offense.

There are a lot of pros and cons that come with bringing Tebow into the Jets family.

For one thing, Tebow's character could play a big role in bringing the fractured locker room together, but could just as well split the team in two.  The team isn't exactly a group of choirboys.

The media attention surrounding Tebow could distract the press enough to take the cameras away from oft-targeted Sanchez but, on the other side of the coin,  there is also the possibility that Tebow could wilt under the 24/7 New York media spotlight.  'Aw, shucks' only goes so far in New York— unless you win it all.

Just ask Eli Manning.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum hasn't commented on Tebow except to say that "Tim Tebow is a player under contract with another team."

Tannenbaum also avoided dumping any more negativity onto the tattered psyche of Sanchez— after the 'Peyton Manning to the Jets' stories and disappointing 2011 season— by saying he "feels good about" the quarterbacks on the roster, which includes Greg McElroy and Drew Stanton.

Tebow-mania and Linsanity in the same city might be a little too much anyway.

Mayor Bloomberg: We already have a Manning in New York

Mayor Mike Bloomberg showed his love for New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez after a caller pleaded with hizzoner to to help recruit free agent Peyton Manning to Gang Green on the mayor's weekly radio show today.

"We have a Manning playing for the Giants," said Bloomberg, referring to Peyton's younger brother, Eli, who plays for the other New York football team.

The mayor— who has dictated how New Yorkers should live by banning trans fats, salt and once set his sights on curbing liquor outlets to keep us healthy— continues his assault on the things that make life more enjoyable.

Now, the second-richest New Yorker's crusade to make NYC thinner has pulled a Snickers bar from his pocket and wants to keep the Jets looking like big, fat losers.

"I think it's be a great story for the press— Manning vs. Manning, both playing in New York," he said.  "But keep in mind the Jets have a young quarterback in Mark Sanchez and he nearly led his team to the Super Bowl twice.  So let's not dismiss.  He's sitting there."

Don't underestimate how much the Massachusetts-raised Bloomberg influence has.  He got the city to allow him to run for a third term.  Look how good of an idea that was and now he goes from being a nutritionist to NFL general manager.

Bloomberg said he met both Manning brothers when they were playing golf with their father Archie on the same course as the mayor.

"I was very impressed that I shook their hands," said Bloomberg.

Joe Namath says Jets' dysfunction will keep Peyton Manning from joining team

Joe Namath is speaking out again and said Peyton Manning wouldn't be interested in joining the New York Jets with their current roster and locker-room dysfunction.

"The Jets have to get their things together on their own turf before someone with his background would be interested in coming," Namath, 68, who led the Jets to their only Super Bowl title, told Bloomberg News today in a telephone interview from his Florida home.

Namath was probably alluding to the Jets 8-8 finish and verbal altercations between receiver Santonio Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The Hall of Fame quarterback is familiar with Manning's situation.  Namath also changed a team he was associated with late in his career; when he was waived by the Jets in 1977 at the age of 33.  He signed with the Los Angeles Rams and played four games in one season.

Namath started eight games for the Jets in 1976 before he was released by New York.  He said he didn't think he could have regained the starter's spot and wanted finish his career with a contender.

He said the process of leaving the Jets was "excruciating" and that he struggled to adjust to a new team and surroundings in Los Angeles.

"What was difficult for me, that I didn't appreciate, was how much all the newness could get in the way and be a distraction," he said.  "I wasn't prepared for that feeling.  the new faces, new places, new system."

Namath believes Manning's attention to detail and game preparation will allow him to adjust to a new system faster with a new team.

"I think he'll handle it much better than I did," he said.

Namath regrets leaving New York and, if he could do it again, wouldn't  have traded Broadway for Hollywood— even with 80-year-old knees and hamstrings like old rubber bands.

"I didn't know that, when I made the decision to make the move," said Namath.  "Knowing that I wasn't up to par physically, I wouldn't have left the Jets, absolutely not."

Namath has now changed his tune about the current Jets signal-caller Sanchez— whom he publicly knocked last season— and thinks he has the work ethic and skills to be the Jets quarterback for years to come.

Jets spokesman Bruce Speight sounded like someone defending their weird uncle when he responded to Bloomberg News via e-mail.

"We appreciate Joe and he is entitled to share his opinions," he said. 

Namath said that with Manning's injury last season and the availability of Andrew Luck with the No. 1 draft pick, he wasn't surprised that the 35-year-old quarterback was released.

"Your heart might be in one place, but business is business," said Namath.  "The No. 1 questions is, 'Is he going to be satisfied with the strength in his throwing arm?'"

So Broadway Joe, you can remain secure in the knowledge that you are still the best quarterback ever to wear the Jets green and white— except maybe for that Favre transient.

Mark Sanchez gal leads Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover race

Mark Sanchez paramour Kate Upton is the odds-on-favorite to grace the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

The smoking-hot Victoria's Secret model— who has been linked to the New York Jets quarterback— is the front runner for the coveted spot, according to the New York Post.

Sources told the Post's Page Six that Upton's blond, all-American looks made her a top contender even though the magazine crowned Russian lingerie model Irina Shayk, the girlfriend of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, its cover girl last year.

Even when Sanchez's Jets don't make the playoffs, he gets hurt and talk is swirling that the maligned quarterback might be replaced by Peyton Manning next season, he still comes out a winner.

Sanchez was spotted making late night arrivals— incognito— at Upton's Manhattan apartment last season and scooting away before morning.

The Michigan-born Upton, 19, who made her SI Swimsuit debut last year, is apparently no Rex Ryan when it comes to predicting the chances of her landing on the legendary cover.

At a ceremony to kick off the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center yesterday, Upton was humble about the chances of her photo gracing the cover and giving her career a gigantic boost.

"All I can say is that I'm in the issue," she coyly told the Post.  "Fingers crossed!"

Other cover girl candidates include swimsuit veteran Chrissy Teigen, the fiancee of R&B star John Legend and Russian Victoria's Secret model Anne V. who is dating singer Adam Levine.

Pulling up the rear are South African beauty Genevieve Morton and California's Alyssa Miller.  Both beauties made their Swimsuit issue debuts last year.

A source told the Post," There's no clear cut front-runner" for the cover.  "There's a lot of talk about Kate in general.  But the idea of American versus international has never been part of the [debate].  It really comes down to the best picture wins."

The issue is ready to go to press and the cover will be unveiled  Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

The Post said a SI rep declined to comment.

Ex-Jet Damien Woody: Team "Babied" Sanchez

 Former New York Jets tackle Damien Woody said he agrees with the anonymous Jets sources who were quoted in the New York Daily News Wednesday as saying Mark Sanchez has been "babied" by team management and thinks the team should give some thought to getting a veteran quarterback to push the struggling player.

Woody doesn't exactly call Sanchez another Blue Ivy Carter, but says the first-round quarterback is still a work in progress and needs a competitor to light a fire under him.

"I do think he needs to pick it up, needs to pick up his play.  I wouldn't call him lazy, but I do think there are certain things about Mark and the organization that need change," said Woody.  "I think the organization does baby him and they definitely need  to bring in a viable backup— a viable backup to really provide that competition.

"With competition, either you're gonna rise, or you're gonna just crumble.  You bring in a viable backup and let it play out and we'll see which mark Sanchez shows up after that."

Woody— a Jet from 2008-10— joins rookie quarterback Greg McElroy as the only members of the Jets family to criticize the team in public.

While McElroy was criticized for breaking the "locker room code" for speaking out— he's the only active player with enough cojones to put a face with the quote.

Last week, McElroy— in a radio interview— didn't criticize Sanchez personally, but used words like "selfish" and "corrupt mindset" to describe the whole 2011 Jets team.

"It's definitely not a fun place to be.  I can assure you," the seventh-round draft pick said.  "It's the first time I've been around extremely selfish individuals, and I think that's the nature of the NFL."

Woody was more specific in his assessment of the team by criticizing Sanchez but still thinks the quarterback "deserves one more year to see if this guy can be the future, and, if that doesn't happen, it's time to look in another direction."

The former Jets player thinks the team's front office goes out of its way to protect Sanchez from the swarms of New York media.

"You can see if someone's playing well and someone's not," said Woody.  "But the organization really tries to baby him and protect him as far as the media's concerned."

"When you're playing quarterback in New York, you have to have tough skin and be able to stand up to the criticism," said Woody.  "When things are going great, you're going to be  a god in this city.  But when things aren't going well, you have to man up and take it all.  I think the organization can do a better job of letting the man be a man and stand up and take the bullets like all the other players."

Woody had some harder words for the "unnamed sources" who attacked Sanchez with their harsh anonymous quotes.

"You're scared to put you're name on it, that's just speaks badly of your character as a player," he said.

As for head coach Rex Ryan claiming he "didn't have the pulse of the team," Woody said he wasn't surprised by any of the locker room dysfunction this season and how Ryan lost control of his players.

"When you've had success, it's great," he said.  "But when it's not going well, this is what happens and now you're seeing the ugly side to it."

It looks things are going to get real fugly.

Jets Players' Calls For Peyton To Replace Sanchez Getting Louder

The end of a disappointing season for the New York Jets has led players to point their fingers at one player for the epic fail— Mark Sanchez— and started  a rallying call inviting the services of a veteran quarterback to take the reins— namely Peyton Manning.

The consensus among unnamed players, according to a story in the New York Daily News, has been that if  Manning gets a clean bill of health, he would be the ideal solution to the inept Sanchez.

Those calls are getting real loud.

Key members of the Jets organization said Sanchez is a "polarizing" figure in the clubhouse and there are serious doubts he can lead the team to the Super Bowl.

The consensus among players, according to the Daily News, is that— at the least— the team must sign a legitimate veteran backup to push their young quarterback.


"We have to bring in another quarterback that will make him work at practice," said one unnamed player.  "He's lazy and content because he knows he's not going to be benched."

Sanchez has been inconsistent for three seasons and his deficiencies came to a head during the 19-17 loss against the Miami Dolphins. In the final game of the 2011 season, Sanchez's lackluster play helped put the kibosh on any playoff chances and was the final sour note on a season where head coach Rex Ryan was singing the Jets praises.

The inconsistent play of Sanchez over the final three games started his teammates dreaming about another Manning in MetLife Stadium.

The Indianapolis Colts are expected to take Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft and there is speculation that the team will let Manning go.

The future Hall-of-Famer is still recovering from a pre-season surgery to his neck, is 35 years old and still waiting to be medically cleared before he can even suit up again.  That's a lot of ifs.

Whether it's in blue and white or green and white is any one's guess.

Asked if the Jets should make a move for the veteran Indianapolis Colts QB if he becomes available, several players told the Daily News they would welcome him with open arms.

"Come on.  That's a no-brainer," a Jets source said.  "If you have a chance to get a 36-year old Peyton Manning and you don't do it, then you're stupid.  If you get a healthy 36-year old Peyton Manning, then, hell yeah, I would trade Sanchez."

The chances Manning would make the switch from the Colts to the Jets are pretty good.

For one thing, at the core, the Jets are a good team and— if they keep Santonio Holmes— have plenty of targets for Manning to throw to.

Secondly, Ryan adores Manning and with all the problems with play calling from the sidelines, Ryan would relish having a real leader on the field to lead the team.

The trifecta payoff is the presence of Jets consultant Tom Moore who was Manning's offensive coordinator and mentor for over ten years in Indy.

"We already have his coach— Tom Moore," one well-respected player told the News.  "Plus, he's a field general and will get everyone lined up.  He will get his playmakers the ball.  We can win a Super Bowl with Peyton."

Manning already has a Lombardi trophy and the Jets are wondering if they can do it with Sanchez?


"How can we when he's not improving at all?" a Jets player said.  "He thinks he is, but he's not.  He has shown us what he's capable of."

Sanchez is only 25-years old and has two years left on his contract.

Some Jets players still think he needs another shot— god knows he's taken enough both on the field and off.

"When you get hit the way he got hit," another team source said, "there were some quarterbacks that wouldn't have made it through the season."

But others think their QB is being coddled by the organization.

"They see the organization babying him," said the source.  "They see him with a sense of entitlement.  He's been given all this and hasn't done anything.  They call him 'San-chise.'  They make him the face of the organization.  They gave him the captain tag.  He's not a captain.  He should have never been a captain."

Sanchez denies he is a victim being held accountable for failure after going to two AFC Championships and losing both.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard," he said.  "I don't want to feel like I'm a victim or anything like that.  We expect to win... I don't feel like we set the bar too high.  There is no way.  I don't feel like that."

"You go to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, and everyone thinks , 'OK, we'll get a little bit better and you are winning the Super Bowl," he told ESPN Radio.  "I don't want to make excuses at all.  That's not my style.  But we've been a victim of our success."

It all boils down to a lot of circumstances fro the Jets to land Manning.

Do the Colts draft Luck, does Manning heal, retire or does he even want to come to New York?

"I don't think he'll come here," a Jets source told the News.  "We have to change the perception of the Jets organization.  We're not the organization that players said they wanted to play for a year or two ago.  We're starting to come across a little flaky. We talk the talk.  We don't back it up. We're out of control.  There's no discipline.  It's a mess right now."

The NFL's biggest off-season story will be the Peyton Manning saga.

Just imagine though, Peyton and his little brother Eli sharing the biggest bedroom in the world— MetLife Stadium.

Who gets the top bunk?

Victor Cruz's 99-Yard TD Key To Giants Win Over Jets

Paterson, New Jersey's own Victor Cruz tied an NFL record by scoring on a 99 yard catch and run pass from Eli Manning giving the New York Giants a 10-7 half-time lead over the New York Jets in today's crucial game in the Meadowlands.  Playoff hopes and jobs hung in the balance.

After 28 minutes of uninspired Giants football Cruz's catch invigorated the team with 2:12 left in the first half.  It was a second wind which carried over into the following thirty minutes.

The un-drafted Cruz sucked the air out of a pumped up Jets home crowd inside MetLife Stadium with his spectacular score after the Jets just let the inefficient Giants hang around.

Cruz became the 13th player in NFL history to have a 99-yard catch, subsequently, making Manning the 13th player to throw one.  The speedy wide-out is have a Pro-Bowl season and makes the loss of Steve Smith a long lost memory.

The stunned crowd could only watch in awe as Cruz raced down the field— after slipping free of the Jets Antonio Cromartie at the 12-yard line and hopping over safety Eric Smith— and turned what looked like a simple 11-yard gain into an additional 88-yard sprint.

The Jets secondary wasn't talking smack after that play.

Manning hit his new favorite target earlier in the game to get down to the Jets three-yard line where the G-Men settled for a field goal.

Up until Cruz's catch and sprint, the Giants looked flat and gained 83 net yards on the previous 25 plays.

Meanwhile, the Jets Mark Sanchez-led offense was riddling the Giants defense for 185 yards but could only muster a lone TD in first half.

After the break, the Giants came out looking a little more inspired than the Jets and scored a touchdown with :13 left in the third quarter to make it 17-7.

Ahmad Bradshaw scored the TD on a 14-yard run after Brandon Jacobs went outside for 28 yards and Cruz made an unbelievable 36 yard catch.

Cruz's third catch gave him the Giants most receiving yards in a season and eclipsed Amani Toomer's team record.

Sanchez started the fourth quarter by making a foolish throw to mid-field which was picked off by the Giants Kenny Phillips and returned 31 yards to the Jets 13.

The Giants turned the goof into a field goal for a 20-7 lead.

Then the Giants defensive line turned up the pressure on Sanchez.

After Plaxico Burress nullified a TD catch after pushing off a Giants defender, Sanchez looked like he was  sacked and fumbled at the Giants 40-yard line but, after a Rex Ryan challenge, it was ruled an incomplete pass.

Just when the Jets looked like they were going to make a game of it, on third-and-two,  Sanchez didn't get the snap from his center Nick Mangold and the ball rolled into the end zone where the Giants Jacquian Williams pounced on it for a touchback.

Not to make it to easy on themselves—and with only their running game going anywhere—Manning immediately threw a pass which was tipped by Darrelle Revis into the arms of a Jets linebacker David Harris who ran it back to the Giants 10-yard line.

On first-and-goal from the one, Sanchez scored on a naked bootleg to bring the Jets within six, 20-14, with 7:17 remaining in the game.

Giants fans waited for the inevitable collapse but, like a Christmas miracle,  things actually swung the Giants way.

There was a safety on Sanchez and a late score by Ahmad Bradshaw.  The only piece of coal in the stocking was  D.J. Ware being pushed out-of-bounds and into the hip of his head coach Tom Coughlin.

The win keeps the Giants playoff hopes alive and Coughlin might have saved his job as well—at least until next week.

Destiny is now in the Giants own hands.

On New Year's Day, the Dallas Cowboys come to MetLife Stadium.  A Giants Do-or-Die victory would give them the NFC East title and an playoff spot.

Jets Using Bloodied Photo Of Eli Manning As Playbook Cover

Eli Manning is the new cover boy of the New York Jets defensive playbook for this week's crucial game against the New York Giants. The photograph of Manning being sacked by the Jets— right before blood started dripping from a three-inch gash in his forehead— is being used to motivate the Jets defense by putting a subtle bull's-eye on the opposing quarterback's head.

The playbooks were handed out to members of the Jets defense on Tuesday by defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, according to the New York Daily News, and some may think the ploy is just a little short of putting an actual bounty on Manning.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan might slightly remember that his dad Buddy was accused by the Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson in 1989 of putting a $500 bounty on QB Troy Aikman and a $200 bounty on kicker Luis Zendejas before a Thanksgiving Day game.

Manning, who is having the best season of his eight-year career, probably remembers very well the August 2010 preseason-game against the Jets when the gruesome photo was shot.

On a busted play, the Giants signal-caller was cut on his forehead by Jets defensive back Jim Leonhard's face mask after getting crushed by Jets outside-linebacker Calvin Pace from behind which forced Manning's helmet to come flying off.

As Manning kneeled on the ground with blood gushing down his face, Giants fans couldn't help but recall the image of former-Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle in the same bloodied position from an iconic b&w photo.

Manning would not return to that preseason game after doctors used 12 stitches to close up the nasty wound.

Pace was the first player to get the new playbook and said he remembers the hit on Manning.

"It was cool to see it again," he said.

Pace also knows Manning is a much different and better player now.

"You have to make him uncomfortable.  It's like his brother Peyton, man," said Pace.  "If you let him sit back there clean, he's the greatest ever, but if you get your hands in his face, I think it puts a little bit more challenge on him."

The Jets may be using red blood before this game between Big Blue and Gang Green to intimidate and motivate,  but Manning is a lot better quarterback now than he was back when he was knocked out of that game.

The photo of a dazed and bloodied Manning might be a motivational tool for the Jets, but the Giants, themselves, could use it as a reason to go after the Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.

An eye for an eye.

Mark Sanchez Gets Ready For Giants Game With Model Kate Upton

Things just keep getting better for Mark Sanchez—if you don't count last week's 45-19 drubbing by the Philadelphia Eagles.  As the New York Jets quarterback prepares for this Saturday's huge game against same-stadium rivals, the New York Giants, Sanchez has been spotted paying many late-night visits to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton's Manhattan apartment.

The New York Post reports that Sanchez has been spotted several times at the sexy Victoria's Secret model's pad since November— usually after games and before practices—sometimes as late as midnight.

Sanchez was spotted in Upton's lobby bringing gifts gifts up to her from a chauffeur-driven Navigator after a charity event last month.

Maybe Sanchez is pulling a Derek Jeter by gifting his dates— except he personally takes the presents up to his lady friends instead of just leaving a swag bag in the limo after they get the heave-ho.

Call Sanchez the anti-Jeter but, this is Kate Upton we're talking about.  I don't think an autographed football and a Jets wristband will float her boat.

A source told the Post, the quarterback has seen coming into her building with bags a minute or two after the beautiful Upton arrived.

"They almost never come in together.  He's always five steps after her," the source claimed, adding that the QB often pulls a woolly cap over his face as a disguise.

Just last week, it was reported that Sanchez was seen with two different women on the same night at a swanky Manhattan hotel.  First, there was an exotic Spanish-looking woman  at 3 a.m., followed by an unknown blond who sauntered into his room an hour later.

Could it have been Upton?

The model's sister, Christie Upton, is a Jets  manager of client relations and works closely with the team.  Kate has been spotted at some Gang Green's games.

Another source said that Upton and Sanchez are "just friends."

Now where have I heard that one before.  Oh yeah, that was with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Hayden Panettiere.

Sounds like Sanchez has been burning the midnight oil with his black book more than his playbook.

Nick Mangold Photo Bombs Mark Sanchez Once Again

Nick Mangold gave broadcast networks another reason you'll never see an offensive lineman being interviewed in post-game wrap-ups.  The New York Jets center photo bombed his quarterback Mark Sanchez while being interviewed on live TV by an NBC reporter after last night's game against the New York Giants.

It seems like the only way that the 300-pound Mangold can get his Grizzly Adams beard in prime-time is to crash Sanchez's interviews.  He is making a habit of it.  This is the second week in a row Mangold has done it and he is proud of his new-found face-time.

Mangold tweeted about the photo bomb on his Twitter account: "Got another one!  I'm 2 for 2."

The camera-hungry Mangold pulled the same stunt last week after a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

He was joined, for a moment,  by another O-lineman, teammate Wayne Hunter,  in acting like giddy spectators when the Jumbo tron Fan-Cam is turned on them-- lots of hand waving and silly faces.  It's a lot worse when annoying fans do it.

It almost looked like Sanchez was expecting the interruption and didn't break stride in his conversation.

The Jets defeated the Giants, 17-3, in the thrice-scheduled "Battle of  MetLife Stadium" in the Meadowlands, so there was a good reason to goof around.

Afterwards, the prankster Mangold made nice with the reporter Bruce Beck by tweeting him: "All in good humor of course."

Mark Sanchez Was Ready To Lay Down His Own Brand Of Hard Knocks On Rex Ryan

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez admits there was a time last season when he wanted to lay down his own version of Hard Knocks on his coach Rex Ryan-- with his fists.

Last year, after Jets head coach Rex Ryan came close to benching Mark Sanchez, the quarterback said the incident nearly caused him to come to blows with the outspoken Jets coach.

According to the New York Post, Sanchez-- he of movie-star looks and lifestyle-- told GQ magazine, in the new issue featuring the NFL, he wanted to throw down a beating on his mentor and coach.

"I wanted to fight him.  I was really mad," opened up Sanchez in the revealing article.

According to Sanchez, he had not been playing well during consecutive losses to division rivals, the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, causing the never-shy Ryan to openly speculate about sitting down his signal-caller and replace him with back-up quarterback Mark Brunell.

Brunell was instructed by Ryan to start practicing more with the other starters.

Sanchez said he took this as a subtle message that the head coach was considering benching him and it made the Gang Green QB see red.

The scorned Sanchez put down his dukes after offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, intervened.

The article reports that Schottenheimer-- as the messenger-- reminded Sanchez of Ryan's order for Brunell to handle more of the first-team practices which made Sanchez want to call out Ryan.

"I was like [Ryan] can come tell me [himself],' recalled Sanchez.

Schottenheimer threw water on the fired up QB.

The coordinator consoled the unhappy Sanchez.  "And [Schottenheimer] is like, ' Come on, man, don't do that,'" he revealed to GQ.

Ryan and Sanchez have always had a father-son relationship-- albeit one that could blow at any time.  It's pretty easy with a no-nonsense-speaker like Ryan, even with the soft-spoken Sanchez, but the head coach has stood by his QB through all of Sanchez's growing pains in the NFL.

"Rex is super honest," said Sanchez.  "I wish he wasn't that honest at times."

In the article, Sanchez delves into his personal life as a rich single man in New York City and the boundaries he has learned to set for himself outside of the game.  He acknowledges that the rock star life style has its limits.

"You have to be a 24-year-old bachelor with the means to do anything, just about, but with the wherewithal and understanding and life skills of a 45 year-old Supreme Court judge," he said.

Even a 45 year-old Supreme Court judge has probably felt like giving the loud-mouth Jets head coach a pop on the snout at one time or another.

Eli Manning's Silence About Plaxico Burress Spoke Volumes

It looks like Plaxico Burress found a fly in his soup during last night's dinner meeting with Tom Coughlin-- and that fly's name might be Eli Manning.

Burress can cook up every reason in the book to explain why he spurned the New York Giants for their Meadowlands cellmates--I mean stadium-mates--the New York Jets, but the absence of any public support from Manning down the stretch might have swung Burress's decision from Big Blue to Gang Green.

If the Giants quarterback is still blaming Burress, and his arrest for gun possession, for costing the team the 2008 season and Manning's chance to get back-to-back Super Bowl titles, he's barking up the wrong goal post.  Ironically, Manning's lack of vocal support for the return of his one-time favorite target could cost him this season as well.

The Giants team is getting old and, now that the Philadelphia Eagles have buffed up their defensive backfield-- with the signing of DB-extraordinaire, Nnamdi Asomugha-- and the uncertain return of receiver Steve Smith to the Giants, the loss of Burress may have just given a huge advantage to the Eagles in their two division game match-ups.

 Coughlin seemed friendlier than a flair-covered waiter at Bennigan's, leading up to his dinner with Burress, while Manning played the snobby waiter at a French bistro.

All week Roethlisberger openly campaigned for Burress' return to the Pittsburgh Steelers.   Manning only mumbled a few standard comments.

"You just don't want distractions," said Manning.  "Distractions, whatever they may be, can hurt a team.  If you're spending your time concerned about something else, bringing your attention away from the opponent on your preparation, that's considered a distraction."

I tell you what distraction is Eli.  Distraction is being asked 'Why didn't you lobby harder for Burress' about five-thousand times this week and looking for a top-notch wide-out in the fourth quarter this season.

Make no mistake, Manning supports Burress' second chance and even made a call to his former wide-out while he was in prison, but hasn't bothered to jump on the "We Want Plax" bandwagon.

By all accounts, the meeting with Coughlin went swimmingly.  The head coach was smiling yesterday and put it bluntly, "The meeting went well."

Not well enough, as Burress's "fully-guaranteed," one-year deal for $3.017 million with the Jets the next day will attest.

Let's give Manning the benefit of a doubt.  Maybe the silent treatment wasn't such a bad idea.  I don't remember Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez, standing in Times Square singing a tribute to the ex-con and look where Burress ended up.

"I never really lobbied for anybody," said Manning before the meeting.  "So if this is the right spot for Plaxico, if the Giants and Coach Coughlin are pleased with his attitude and after talking to him, then [I'm] happy to have him."

In the end, here's what Manning's silence about signing Burress said.

No distractions.  Burress' return to the Giants will disrupt an already shortened training camp.  It's about the team, not one player.

Why all the fuss over a soon to be (August 12)  34 year-old receiver who hasn't played a down in 2 1/2 years?

How is a guy who was never a fan of Coughlin's discipline and structured system going to feel about  routine after almost two full years in lockup?  Does the prison stint help Burress cope with Coughlin's Captain Bligh act?

Finally, Manning doesn't want to insult his current group of receivers.  After all, he threw for over 4,000 yards last year and has two Pro Bowl-caliber wide-outs in Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks.  Joined by Mario Manningham, Manning believes he has the nucleus of a solid receiving corp.

"I like our receivers here, I think we have a great crew, very talented, they work hard," he said.  "Can you have too many good receivers?  No, I don't think so.  I'm going about my business and preparing for myself.

Hey, everybody wanted little Eli to man up and be more assertive--so there you go.

Maybe Burress would have picked the Giants if Manning took the time to drop a dime or, just maybe, Coughlin put that fly in the soup.

Jets 7th-Round Draft Pick & Sanchez BFF Has "Saw" Screenwriting Credit in Future

The New York Jets, who were already drowned in criticism about drafting a couple of players with violent backgrounds, added a third draftee with a scandalous past. 

According to the New York Post, the team's 7th-round pick and Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez' longtime friend, Scotty McKnight, was suspended for the final eight games of his senior high school football season because he penned threatening and vicious words directed at his High School English teacher.

In a 2005 school assignment McKnight handed in to his teacher, the then-17 year-old wrote " I am planning coming in your room late one night while you are still working," he wrote.  "I will smother you in gasoline and light your head on fire..."

In another entry, according to court records,  McKnight sounded like Freddy Krueger by indicating he would glue the teacher naked to a wall, chop off her feet and kill her family while she watched.

The foot reference must have bothered Jets head coach Rex Ryan just a little.

McKnight, who later played college ball and broke receiving records at Colorado, said he and his high school teammate Sam Smith wrote the gruesome journal as a challenge to see who could write the most bizarre scenarios.

Both students thought the Tesoro (Calif.) English teacher was supposed to keep the journal private and not becoming public.  The teacher, Alyssa Di Somma, took the journal to school officials after feeling threatened by the images it presented.

McKnight and Smith apologized to Di Somma and they were not criminally charged.

"Me and my buddy wrote some crazy stuff, Tarantino-like movie type stuff and we were trying to one-up each other, figuring no one was ever going to read it.  It was for lack of judgment for sure, but we were 17 years-old and not thinking."

Not thinking is putting it mildly.  The one person who would read it was the one you graphically threatened with bodily harm.  Does Columbine ring a bell?

"It was an error in judgment," McKnight said.  " I was 17 years-old and had an assignment to write whatever you want, be creative and no one was ever going to read it."

The "prank" almost cost the honor student and sports star McKnight his football career.  Besides being suspended for the last eight football games of his senior year, McKnight was rebuffed by Boise State, to whom he had committed, and ended up as a walk-on at Colorado.

McKnight doesn't deny writing the vile journal and said the entire event was " a learning experience that ultimately get me to where I am today.  You really see how one small error in judgment can affect your whole life."

The new Jet claims he was forthright about the incident with every team, including the Jets,  who showed interest in drafting him.

"People know that is not me," said McKnight.  "I was 17 years-old and had never been in trouble.  I come from a family of police officers."

Sanchez will now be re-united with Sanchez, his old friend from their football days at Santa Margarita High School in Southern-California.  Sanchez even threw to McKnight at Pro-Day and vouched for his abilities on the field last week.

"He's the best guy who didn't go to the combine," Sanchez said.  "He didn't drop a ball at (Pro-Day).  He'd be a steal for someone."

Is that a little tremble of fear in Sanchez's voice when discussing his new receiver/future slasher-film screenwriter.  McKnight could give the football terms slash, cut and deep threat new meanings in the Jets huddle.

Jets QB Mark Sanchez Gets Cozy With Hayden Panettiere

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez likes his blondes like Rex Ryan likes his feet.  According to the New York Post, Sanchez has been spotted squiring actress and animal-activist Hayden Panetierre around Los Angeles and Las Vegas hot spots.  Sanchez might want to bone up on his fighting skills; Panetierre is currently in a long-distance relationship with heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Never mind "Save the cheerleader, save the world," someone better save the quarterback because the title of Sanchez's next HBO reality show might be called "Hard Knockouts." 

Sanchez and the petite Panetierre were seen on Wednesday night in L.A., where they shared drinks at Beacher's Madhouse.  Customers said the couple were whispering and getting close to each other.

A source told the Post that "They were clearly trying to hide their affection.  They used their friends as a buffer, but it didn't work so well."

The usually low-key Sanchez must like courting trouble.  He was recently linked to a similar-looking 17 year-old high-schooler who alleged that she had a romance with the Jets QB.  The teen, Eliza Kruger even took photos of Sanchez's tossed bed.

This time, Sanchez may have to worry less about having 'dolphin-free tuna' on his plate, while  dining with Panetierre, than getting waled on himself.

Klitschko is the reigning IBF heavyweight champion of the world.  This is no Mark Gastineau or even Tommy Zbikowski in the ring either.  The Ukrainian giant stands 6'6" and tips the scales at a pre-lap-band Ryan-like 240 pounds of muscle.   Klitschko has held the title since 2006 and has a career record of 55-3 with 49 knockouts.

Panetierre seems to fit Sanchez's type--young, blonde and petite.  Besides being spotted in L.A., the couple was seen together with friends in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago.

The actress has been linked to Klitschko since last year and sources say she's "just friends" with Sanchez--who is reportedly a buddy of the heavyweight fighter.

Representatives for Panetierre had no comment and Sanchez's reps couldn't be reached by the source.

Klitschko knocked out Samuel Peter in September and is currently preparing to defend his heavyweight title against David Hyde in July.