Please Hire Tim Tebow - Week 2

Here we are, almost finished with week two of the NFL season, and Tim Tebow is still unemployed - at least as a quarterback. Absent the Ohio River Rumble that will take place tonight between the Bengals and Steelers, let's look at some of the heroic - or hapless - QB play that begs for teams to pick up the phone today and call Mr. Tebow's agent.

Patriots vs. Jets: This is always a weird game; after Thursday night, no one is kicking Brady to the curb and honestly, he's working with an entirely new group of receivers so we have to say there are no Help Wanted signs in Foxboro. Geno Smith - who NFL.com noted was, "repeatedly sacked when he took too much time to throw," also threw three fourth quarter interceptions. The Pats only scored thirteen points; if you can't beat that, improvements may be called for. In week one, the Jets pulled one out of their, um, helmet, and overcame the Bucs due to the worst defensive error I've seen in Tampa since Warren Sapp was traded. The Jets didn't receive a gift this week, so they lost. You never say never but it is highly doubtful that Tim would go back to the Jets.

How long before you can buy a Geno Smith sandwich in NY?

Actually, there was some pretty solid play across the league this week at the quarterback position, looking at the results from Sunday's match-ups: Ryan vs. Bradford, Rivers vs. Vick, Peyton vs. himself...but there were also a few stinkers.

Ravens vs. Browns: What in the world is going on with the Ravens? Did these guys really win the Super Bowl last year? Did Joe Flacco really get stratosphere money in a new contract? Did that jinx him?

The mighty Ravens may have held the Browns to two measly field goals in the first half but there was a big old goose egg on the other side of the scoreboard. Divisional game or not, the Super Bowl champions should not be playing their home opener and be down 6-0 at the half. Flacco and Browns QB Brandon Weeden put up relatively respectable numbers with completions rates close to 60% and over 200 yards through the air. Joe even added a consolation TD toss midway through the fourth quarter but still.

As bad as the Ravens were, they still beat the Browns. That tells me Cleveland needs to be hitting the phones soon. Mr. Tebow? We have a collect call from Rob Chudzinski; will you accept the charges?

We are the champions, my friend...

Vikings vs. Bears: It galls me that there is an FSU quarterback starting in the NFL and Tebow is unemployed. If you're from Florida, you'll understand that. Christian Ponder has had an iffy tenure in Minnesota and were it not for the reigning NFL MVP in the backfield, I'd warrant that Ponder's job security would be much shakier than it is. But even with all-world running back Adrian Peterson hitting the 100-yard mark, Jay Cutler and da Bears were able to beat the Vikes in spite of Cutler's two picks and a fumble that Minnesota returned for a score. Sure, Ponder is a relatively steady pocket passer...but Tebow just wins, baby!

Raiders vs. Jaguars: In reality, for the second week in a row, there is only one Job Opening Waiting to Happen:

Starting QB for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Last week's goat, Blaine Gabbert, was out injured so ex-Jets and Dolphins castaway Chad Henne (no relation to Sonja) got the start. Honestly, there is so much low hanging fruit here it's nearly too numerous to mention. The Jags were beat by a team whose kicker (another Free Shoes University product) scored over 60% of their points. The Raiders QB from the Big Ten (or twelve or something) school that must not be named was an underwhelming 15/24 for 126 yards. So Tebow could definitely be a good fit in Oakland, but we talked about that last week as well. The Jags #2 put up much prettier numbers than Pryor, completing 25 of 38 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. Not bad. But Chad, your team scored 9 points and lost to the Raiders. You are now 0-2 with no relief in sight.

Tebow constantly gets ripped for poor stats - except in the win-loss column. Henne may be a more prototypical passer but is he really the guy who's going to take the Jags to the playoffs?

It's so bad, that the local Orlando television station that carries the Jags away games actually apologized for doing so yesterday. How desperate does a team have to be when the television networks that carry your games IN FLORIDA apologize for having to show them?

Let me re-quote a short section of Please Hire Tim Tebow - Week 1:

Back in January,  [Jaguar's GM] Caldwell told reporters, "I can't imagine a scenario in which he'll be a Jacksonville Jaguar—even if he's released."

That was in January; it's now the business end of the NFL season in September and the Jags are 0-2 with not a lot of love coming from the fans and not a lot of wins taking place on the field.

Is Tim Tebow the answer for Jacksonville? Fox Sports reported on Saturday that a Russian - yes, you read that correctly - a Russian football team has offered $1 million for Tebow to come over and help them win a playoff semi-final game. So what do the Moscow Black Storm know that Dave Caldwell and the Jaguars don't?

They got a light-up scoreboard and eh'thing!

Maybe they know that if you put fans in the seats and those fans by jerseys and stuff, your team becomes popular and makes money. I don't think anyone can argue the fact that a growing number of Jaguars fans would like to see Tebow given a shot. ESPN just reported a story indicating there is a Sign Tim Tebow Rally scheduled for 3:16 today in Jacksonville.

If I didn't know better, I'd think it was almost Tebow-Time in his hometown of Jacksonville.

What do you think?

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Eli and the Beanstalk

I'm a sports fan and a writer. I sit at home or at work after a big game and want a recap of the action on the Internet right after the game. Trying to do something like that gives me a whole new respect for journalists who have to put out a meaningful, accurate article immediately after an event.

The Super Bowl is over. Eli Manning and the Giants beat Tom Brady and the Patriots...again. I have to say that this is one of the best Super Bowls I've watched in years - the game was literally a nail-biter. Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback scored a nice trophy and an even nicer looking centennial edition Corvette convertible as the MVP.

New England led for most of the second half after taking the lead 10-9 at the end of the first half on a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez (which was cool, because Hernandez played his college ball at Florida).

But the Giants hung in there and played their hearts out. With 3:45 left and 88 yards to go for a touchdown, the Giants got the ball back, needing at least a field goal to take the lead. On the first play of the drive, Manningham made a stupendous catch down the sideline as Manning dropped a beautiful ball in over his shoulder for a 38 yard gain. Honestly? I think that was the play of the game.

Building off of that, the Giants completed two more passes – one each to Manningham and Nicks to get inside the Patriots 30 yard line.

With 1^st and goal at the Patriots 7, New England called time-out with a minute and twenty-four seconds left. Trying to run out the clock, Manning handed off to Bradshaw, who had a hole big enough to drive a (Chevy) truck through and was so surprised, he couldn't kneel before he crossed the goal line – thus running out the clock. As a result, the Patriots got the ball back with 57 seconds left and the Giants leading 21-17; to win the game was simple - New England needed a touchdown.

It didn't happen.

I think we'll see more of the Patriots in the future but for now, the Giants and Eli Manning, who won this Super Bowl in what is called the House That Peyton Built (in reference to Eli's brother Peyton and the stellar career he's had at the Indianapolis Colts and their home: Lucas Oil Stadium), are champions.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Super Bowl without the commercials.

I know I missed a few of them, but I counted roughly eighty (80) commercials. A thirty-second slot on this year's Super Bowl cost in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. If I'm doing the math right, that's a whopping $280 million in commercial revenue alone. But enough about that, let's get to the ads.

My votes for the top three 2012 Super Bowl commercials:

1. Matthew Broderick's Day Off: A clever play off of Broderick's iconic role in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Matthew (and the viewer) would really rather call in sick and drive their Honda CRV.



2. Doritos - There were a couple of very good commercials from Doritos - the snack my doctor says I can't eat anymore (high sodium, don't you know). But I picked this one because, well, I'm a dog person.



3. With over eighty commercials to choose from, it's hard to pick just three but the one that really stood out for the number three spot was an ad that Chevrolet called, "Joy." Basically, the owner of a new Chevy Sonic is going for a drive and the local insect population wants to go for a (joy) ride, too. this one got me, ahem, right in the thorax...


Of course, there were a lot of terrible commercials, too. And a lot of commercials that were good, but would never get me to buy their products...if I could figure out what they were selling. With my top three picks, it's crystal clear what each company is selling; the ads are very creative and well produced. And of course, they're all funny...at least to me.

But that's the beauty of this thing we call Super Bowl commercials: everyone has their own opinions. I'd love to hear yours!

What do you think?

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