I wrote this piece for B/R a few weeks ago. It details how Tebow got to where he is today, from his miraculous birth to being on the back pages of New York tabloids.

I have never been a fan of the attention Tebow gets, but I enjoyed spelling out the complex story of who was the most popular man in American sports.

Click here to give it a read.

The only hope for Sanchez to not be the Jets starter is for either a) he plays badly enough over the next month to start one of the backups or b) Mike Tannenbaum is fired. Even if Mr. T is fired, it still makes more fiscal sense for the Jets to keep no. 6.

Here’s why.

Taking a look at some sleepers that could surprise for the Jets next season. 

I have now heard from three agents, all with Top 10 picks, who don’t want to play for the #Browns.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 21, 2012

It comes as no suprise that Cleveland is a team players want to avoid. They don’t win many games, and a lot of good careers have gone unnoticed.

However, Cleveland has a top-five pick. Whoever is picking in the top 5 is going to be a bad team. You could argue that the Rams have had no more success in the past five years or so than the Browns, but no one is avoiding them.

The answer lies in how much money the Browns are spending. At least the Rams are trying, by signing guys like Cortland Finnegan and hiring a proven coach in Jeff Fisher. The Browns seem more interested in bringing back the west coast offense at all costs than winning games.

He is also a much better fit in a 4-3, and should be an immediate upgrade over anything the Eagles have.

I expect Boston College ILB Luke Kluechly to still be in play in the first round fr the Eagles. He may be a better fit as a WILL backer anyway, and he’s just a damn fine football player to just pass on.

Clearly, the value of veterans is deteriorating, and quickly. The NFL is becoming so much about pure athleticism that age is becoming a bigger factor every year.

The Bucs took a lot of time in making their decision, interviewing everyone from Marty Schottenheimer to Chip Kelly before finally agreeing to terms with Schiano. When you look at some of the guys they brought in for an interview, it was clear that the Bucs had a clear vision for what they wanted in their new head coach: someone with experience as a leader of men.

By the end of Raheem Morris’ tenure, Tampa Bay’s team was far to undisciplined to produce a winning product on the field. The team was exceptionally young at key positions, players were getting into off-field problems, and their coach, who turned 35 in September, could not demand enough respect from players that were often not much younger than he was.

Morris was hired after the 2008 season, which he started as the defensive backs coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in the same year, and was eventually given the head coaching job after Jon Gruden was fired after the season.

That same off-season, the Buccaneers began their purge of veteran leadership to start afresh, showing legends guys like Derrick Brooks the door. They hired a young Morris in hopes that he would grow with his young team and be there for the long haul.

However, it did not play out as smoothly as they hoped. Tampa learned, the hard way, that combining young players with an inexperienced coach is not a recipie for success.

Which is where Greg Schiano comes in.

Schiano took over a Rutgers program that was among the worst in college football. He had a slow start, but finally, the team started to go in the right direction in the 2005 season, finishing 7-5 and making a bowl game for the first time since 1978. In 2006, Rutgers was ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1976, and finished 10-2. Quite a remarkable turnaround for a program that has been dormant for so long.

A man with a defensive background, Schiano favors a “power football” mentality while still generating big plays from his offense. In the 2009 and 2010 drafts, Rutgers has had three players go in the first round: Devin McCourty, Anthony Davis, and Kenny Britt – a defender, offensive lineman, and a big-play wide receiver. He also produced great players like Ray Rice and Gary Brackett.

For a Bucs team that lacks mental toughness and disipline, the move seems like a natural fit.  Jim Harbaugh’s success in his first season as coach of the 49ers and erasing some of the stigma that comes with college coaches making the transition to the NFL, there is more reason to believe that Greg Schiano can have immediate impact.

What does this mean for the Bucs this off-season? You can expect them to get another running back, as Schiano has always used a back-by-committee at Rutgers. Expect them to get bigger on defense and start to get more diverse and multiple on defense and emply more man-coverage schemes.

Still, this is a bit of a gamble by the Bucs, as going from college to the professional ranks is hardly a fluid task. But if there is to be a “second coming” of Jim Harbaugh, Schiano is the man for the job.

Burst: In terms of acceleration, Quick is average coming off the line. He does display quick change of direction when setting up routes, but he is not going to gain separation right away with straight-line explosiveness.

Catch in Traffic: One of Quick’s best attributes. Having to play with poor quarterback play, Quick is not hesitant to extend his hands and expose himself to make a play. His large frame certainly helps him out-muscle defenders. He knows how to shield his body and take a hit. He shows exceptional balance taking hits and staying on his feet.

Leaping Ability: Another strength of Quick’s. Quick is not going to necessarily burn defenders with speed, but he can win a jump ball with defenders around him. Has a knack for attacking the ball at its highest point. His 6’4 frame is certainly helpful in the red zone, where he was often utilized inAppState’s offense. Has the ability to shield defenders and use the sideline to his advantage.

Lateral Quickness: One of Quick’s best attributes is his great balance. He can get in and out of his breaks quickly without wasting motion. His quickness allows him to set up routes and get away from defenders after making a catch.’

Route Running: Brian ran a very simple route tree atAppState, and is a bit raw in this area. He has shown the ability to set up defenders with subtle movements, but it was usually against lesser competition. The transition to an NFL offense may take some extra time, but the ability is there.

Press Coverage: Unfortunately, Quick did not see a ton of press coverage, coming from a IAA school, and this will make the adjustment to the NFL game more difficult for him.

Run After Catch: This is one of Brain’s biggest strength areas. For a man of his size, he shows incredible balance to catch a slant route, shake the defender with his back turned, and turn it into a huge gain. Quick is not the fastest guy, but he gains speed as he goes, and is tough to bring down with just one defensive back.

Size: At 6’4, Quick is great red-zone target and is the kind of big target quarterbacks love to throw to. He can sometimes be a bit reliant on his ability to get jump balls because of his height, as he is not the kind of player that is going to torch a secondary with pure speed.

Overall: Brian Quick has a ton of raw ability that is going to excite scouts. To me, he is like a poor man’s Plaxico Burress: A lot of big-play ability that comes from winning jump balls and shaking defenders after the catch, but he is not going to necessarily scare a defense with pure speed. He is not going to get wide open very often, and quarterbacks are going to have to trust that he will come down with the ball in traffic more often than not.

Still, there is always the worry whether his ability will translate from a smaller school to the NFL level. He ran very simple route trees at Appalachian State and did not face great competition. I expect him to come off the board in the mid to late rounds.

Yes, the Raiders ended their season on a sour note by missing the playoffs in a loss to the Chargers, but that was not the reason for Hue’s departure. McKenzie wants his own guys in the fold, and only a spectacular season from Jackson and the Raiders could have saved his job.

As Jackson said after he learned of his firing:

“He’s going to gut this place,” Jackson told Henry Wofford of CSNBayArea.com. “He [McKenzie] wants to bring in his own guys. No job is safe right now.”

You could argue that the Raiders are a better team now than they were back in August. But it is clear that McKenzie is intent on giving the Raiders a new look and to flush every ounce of Al Davis’ residue from the organization. For the first time in their history, the Raiders are going to go about their business in a “normal” way; in other words, no longer will you see the Raiders make reckless trades and draft selections for the sake of being different.

Hue didn’t exactly help himself when he made proclamations at his end-of-year press conference about how he was going to take more control of the organization. McKenzie has made it clear that this is his show, and had he not fired Jackson, the two were undoubtedly going to bump heads at some point. It is very difficult to take so much power away from someone once they are used to having it.

Bottom line, Reggie had to make this move. If he didn’t, he would be delaying the inevitable and pushed prosperity ever further from the grasp of the Raiders. This is McKenzie’s only chance to make his mark as a GM, and he is not going to waste it because Hue Jackson loves the Raiders so much.

What does this mean for the future of the Raiders? First, expect to see a lot more firings in the near future. Scouts, assistants, anyone who does not fit in McKenzie’s plan is considered to be gone. McKenzie is going to draw the the Packers’ model of sucess, which is the polar opposite of what the Raiders are used to.

A league source tells PFT that the Jets are beginning to realize that Sanchez may not be the answer at the position.  That said, the Jets will not publicly acknowledge even the possibility that Sanchez is falling out of favor.

That is some scary news for a team that has had such big expectations coming into this season. But after watching Sunday’s offensive debacle against the Giants that will likely cost them a playoff berth, even the Jets’ decision makers can no longer ignore the lack of progress Sanchez has made.

Yes, his stats have improved in terms of turnovers and touchdowns, but the bottom line is, Sanchez is not the kind of guy that can elevate the play of everyone around him. When the Jets had success in 2009 and 2010, making it to the AFC title game, Mark was in a role that was more complimentary as opposed to being a focal point of the offense. With a major decline in offensive line play, especially at right tackle, asking Sanchez to take on more of a burden this year was a colossal mistake.

There is plenty of blame to go around. Blame Wayne Hunter for being a terrible replacement for Damien Woody at right tackle. Blame Santonio Holmes for not being the same reciever he was a year or two ago. Blame D’Brickashaw Ferguson for not playing up to his standards, or offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer for his suspect play calling and route concepts. Blame Rex Ryan for loosening the knob on Sanchez’s responsiblities and GM Mike Tannenbuam for the personnel mistakes.

There are a lot of angles to take on this situation, but the Jets need to decide if Sanchez is their guy sooner rather than later. They have enough talent as any team in the league; its the lapses in judgement that have rendered this season lost for New York. Ryan and Tannenbuam need to stop overrating their roster and make a fair evaluation on the most important position.

Bottom line is, Sanchez is not the kind of player that can carry a team like a Brady or Brees. He needs to be in a great situation to be effective. AFter all, he has proven that he can win under the right circumstances.

Its now up to the Jets to decide whether they think it is possible to win a Super Bowl with Sanchez always in his complimentary role, or if the Jets should go and get another guy that can win on his own.

Now, the once-proud Colts organization is facing the very real possibility of making the wrong kind of history. With their easiest games coming against the Panthers and a re-match with the Jaguars, the Colts are set to get Andrew Luck, but at a price of a season that will taint the career of every player, coach, and executive that was involved with the 2011 Colts.

It would be easy to blame Caldwell, but this goes further up the ladder. No one but Bill and Chris Polian are to blame for this debacle.

As outlined in an excellent article by Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star, the Polians have done just about everything possible to deflect blame from themselves while pushing Chris Polian up the executive ladder for no other reason than because he is Bill’s son. Here is an excerpt from Kravitz’s article that outlines the extreme internal issues in Indy:

I’ve spoken to several former Colts people in recent weeks, and while none of them will go on the record — many have non-disclosure agreements and fear public comment will hurt their NFL job prospects — virtually all of them told me Chris Polian has been a toxic force who has brought this franchise to its knees for reasons other than Peyton Manning’s injury.

Kravitz then lists about a dozen coaches and scouts that have helped bring this franchise to prominence that have been let go as scapegoats for poor drafting. Many of these scouts were the only men who would tell Bill Polian things that he needed to hear, not when he wanted to hear. Every organization needs people like that, not just football teams.

Longtime offensive coordinator Tom Moore, now a consultant with the Jets, was forced out without decoration for his invaluable contributions. After the 2009 Super Bowl loss, Bill blamed the offensive line, which resulted in legendary line coach Howard Mudd retiring.

You want to blame Jim Caldwell for this season’s ineptitude? That is certainly fair, but keep in mind that Caldwell is just a “Yes-man” that fills a required position on a football team, and plays that role perfectly to give the Polians as much control over the team as possible.. Even though hes has not won a single game this season and his team has looked like a high school team at times, Bill Polian has gone on record saying that Caldwell is doing even better as a coach this season than during the Super Bowl run in 2009.

Meanwhile, as the Colts draft worse every year, Chris Polian’s role increases every season. How badly have the Colts drafted? Since 2007, the best players the Colts have drafted are Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. They have also gotten themselves two solid linebackers, Pat Angerer and Clint Session. Session is now a Jaguar. Other than those players, everyone else is either a backup, a punter, or no longer on the NFL’s worst team.

Not only are the Colts deflecting blame for their failures that Peyton Manning has hid for so long, but Bill is going out of his way to show how great of a job his son is supposedly doing. From Kravitz’s article:

As Chris’ star rose in recent years, others in the organization bristled at what they viewed as clear nepotism. Bill would stroke his son in staff meetings, remind everybody what a huge impact he made. Meanwhile, scouts and others saw Chris getting raises and promotions without doing what they perceived to be the necessary legwork.

If you’re a Colts fan, this is frightening. Dissension at the top of the totem pole is a recipe for disaster. “Luckily” for the Colts, help might be just around the corner, and maybe the young phenom can hide the Polian’s shortcomings for another ten years.