Larry Brown Sports

LaDainian Tomlinson knows more than the average person about life in the New York Jets locker room. Many of the current Jets are his former teammates, and L.T. feels confident he knows who was behind the anonymous Tim Tebow bashing that came out on Wednesday.

According to Newsday, L.T. said during his Sirius/XM radio segment on Wednesday that he believes Antonio Cromartie is the player who called Tebow “terrible,” and that Bart Scott is the one who said Tebow running the Wildcat would never work.

“Cromartie has never had a problem putting his name on things,” Tomlinson said. “…Once you start talking to the media about teammates, (coach) Rex (Ryan) is going to address it. He’s not going to let it go. And so, now you have guys that don’t want to put your name on it because, obviously, Rex Ryan has said something about it.”

In other words, Cromartie is not the type to conceal his identity, but L.T. believes he chose to this time so he doesn’t have to hear it from Rex Ryan. God forbid he should just keep quiet and say nothing — assuming Tomlinson is right and the player actually is Cromartie. L.T. also questioned the Jets’ decision to acquire Tebow in the first place.

“They weren’t getting a guy that could really compete for a starting quarterback’s job,” he said. “They were getting a change of pace kind of guy, a Wildcat kind of guy. Why would (general manager) Mike Tannenbaum make that move?”

Tomlinson said New York’s locker room problems last season were the worst he has been around, and after Wednesday’s debacle you have to wonder if this season is just as chaotic. We know Santonio Holmes doesn’t think a two-quarterback system would work in the NFL, but he hasn’t even been around to say anything to the media. Whether it was Cromartie, Scott and/or other players who made the comments about Tebow really doesn’t matter at this point. All that matters is Ryan is once again in danger of losing his locker room — assuming he hasn’t already lost it.

Photo credit: The Star-Ledger-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Jets season is slowly slipping away, and the poor play of Mark Sanchez is one of the many reasons why. New York has scored a total of 16 points in it’s past two games — losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins. Sanchez had a passer rating of 53.2 over those two games, threw for only one touchdown and two interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes.

Despite the fact that the offense is struggling mightily, Rex Ryan insists he will continue to stick with Sanchez. Many Jets fans, on the other hand, feel as though things can’t get much worse offensively and that it’s time their 3-6 team gave Tim Tebow a chance to start. Antonio Cromartie has a message for those fans.

“They can kiss my butt,” Cromartie said according to the NY Post. “Mark is our quarterback. At the end of the day, we could give a damn what anybody on the outside has to say. Mark is our quarterback and he’s going to continue to be our quarterback. There’s not going to be no division, talking about who needs to be our quarterback. Mark is our quarterback and he’s our only quarterback.”

Cromartie also thinks the Jets are going to make the playoffs, so he must have a ton of confidence in Sanchez.

While I’m not a huge believer in Tebow as an NFL starter, he can’t be any worse. Even if Sanchez is a more capable quarterback, there comes a time when it’s worth a shot just to see if he can give the team a spark. The issue is the Jets have invested so much money in Sanchez, but at the moment he isn’t getting the job done. Tebow may not be able to either, but at what point does Sanchez’s poor play force Rex’s hand? I would be surprised if Tebow doesn’t start a game before the end of the season.

Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie is very confident in his team’s immediate future despite their 3-5 record. The AFC East is hardly out of reach in terms of numbers, but many believe the Patriots are poised to run away with the division once they get the ball rolling. Despite having lost Darrelle Revis for the season, Cromartie feels as though the Jets are still very much in the hunt.

“The Jets will make the playoffs this year,” Cromartie told “NFL AM” on Thursday, via Around the League. “We believe in each other, we believe in what coach (Rex) Ryan and his staff is putting us to schemes and stuff, so we definitely are going to make the playoffs this year.”

In defense of the Jets corner, he was asked by the host if he thought the team would be playing in the postseason this year. The season is only halfway finished, so anything can happen the rest of the way. If you start talking about next year like Mike Shanahan did recently the media will rip you apart — and the Redskins have a worse record than the Jets.

Therefore, I’m not going to fault Cromartie for making a playoff guarantee. I will, however, respectfully disagree with his opinion. New York’s defense is merely a fraction of its old self and its offense has been horrible for the better part of the year. Even a switch to the almighty Tim Tebow wouldn’t save the Jets at this point.

Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Unfortunately for us, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets are not likely to play each other again until next season. Over the past week or so the trash talk the two teams have traded has turned into a complete sideshow. That continued after Miami’s dominating 30-9 win on Sunday when Antonio Cromartie had some choice words for Reggie Bush.

Bush broke a 19-yard run in the first quarter and got into it with Cromartie ater the play. Cromartie head-butted Bush and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I didn’t lose my composure, I was just telling him that he’s a punk,” Cromartie told reporters after the game according to ESPNNewYork.com. “That’s exactly what he is.

“I didn’t head-butt him. I pushed him first and then I head-butted him.”

Oh, well in that case…

After hearing that Bush also accused the Jets of laying down and giving up once they dug themselves into a hole, I’m sure Cromartie would think he’s even more of a punk. Antonio’s comments concluded a week in which people were called names and threats were flying all over the place. Roger Goodell is probably breathing a sigh of relief knowing the two teams won’t meet again this year unless a highly unlikely postseason matchup should arise. Everyone’s jaw muscles could use the rest.

Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

Antonio Cromartie thinks very highly of himself. Almost anyone who has watched football for the past several years would not rank the Jets cornerback among the best in the game, but naturally he disagrees. In fact, Cromartie feels that the only corner in the league better than him is his teammate, Darrelle Revis. Now that Revis is out for the season with a torn ACL, that leaves Antonio in a class of his own.

“I have said that I’m the second-best corner in the NFL,” Cromartie told the NY Daily News. “I’m not backing off what I said. I don’t care what anyone else believe. … It’s my confidence in myself. I know what I’m capable of when I’m at the top of my game.”

Cromartie also emphatically said he is better than Nnamdi Asomugha when asked. One of the criticisms against Cro over the years has always been that he completely checks out of games and often times doesn’t show up mentally. He acknowledged that has been an issue.

“You can have the ‘Bad Cro’ if I’m not focused the whole entire game,” Cromartie said. “There’s been times when I’ll lose focus and my technique will be bad. I’ve just got to make sure that I’m focused on what I need to do for 60-65 plays.”

He even loses focus sometimes when trying to remember the names of his children. Low blow? Oh well. Over the offseason, Cromartie said he was the second-best wide receiver on the Jets, so obviously this guy thinks he’s great at everything. Without Revis the rest of the way, Rex Ryan and company desperately need “Bad Cro” to stay at home on Sundays. Otherwise, their defense could find itself in shambles very quickly.

H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Antonio Cromartie is a talented player, but not exactly the smartest. His touchdown against the Bills on Sunday proved that fact.

Cromartie intercepted a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to increase the Jets’ lead to 34-7. As he was cruising into the end zone, he began high-stepping around the 15 and then did a front-flip into the promised land. The Jets probably didn’t mind the celebration since they were up so big, but they should. Although Cromartie was not flagged on the play, such celebrations could draw a penalty — and can cost them in close games.

GIF via CJ Zero

Outside of new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, nobody really knows what the Jets are planning to do with their offense this season. At this point it wouldn’t shock me if that includes Rex Ryan, who we all know is a defensive-minded coach. Tim Tebow is likely going to be used in a number of situations including the red zone and on special teams, but he may not be the only player who will be hopping around on multiple sides of the ball. Antonio Cromartie could reportedly see time on offense as well.

The Jets have given consideration to lining Cromartie up at wide receiver in certain situations, and if you ask Cro he would tell you that is a spectacular idea. In fact, he thinks he is one of the best wide receivers on the team.

“I think I’d put myself as (second-best receiver on the team),” the corner said on “ESPN First Take” Tuesday according to Pro Football Talk. “I haven’t really played it in the past four or five years, but I can put myself as the second just with raw ability and talent going out there, I think, me separating and being a more physical guy out there on the outside.

“(Jeremy) Kerley is a more of a slot receiver, he’s a slot guy. Stephen Hill is a younger guy that can get down the field. I think, for me, I can run every single route in the route tree. I’m not going to take anything away from my ability, so when you ask me that question, I’m going to say, yes, I believe I’m one of the best receivers on the football team, next to Santonio Holmes.”

Not exactly a shocking thing to hear coming from someone who is known for saying dumb things at least once or twice a season. The bottom line is Cromartie has never caught a pass at the NFL level. He may have good hands — as evidenced by the 2007 season when he picked off 10 passes — but to say you’re better than several guys on the roster at their own position sounds like typical Cromartie babbling.

Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE