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Shonn Greene: Jets need a change

NFL, New York Jets

On the same day some New York Jets players anonymously ripped Tim Tebow in a New York Daily News article, the team's starting running back told Yahoo! Sports changes are needed.

"Something's got to change," Shonn Greene told the website. "When you get to the point where you're 3-6, and losing and losing, a couple of guys are like, 'Oh, what would happen?' But guys at the same time have faith in Mark (Sanchez), so it's kind of an up-and-down thing.

"You feel bad for Mark, but at the same time, you want to win games. We're not here to protect people's feelings. If you want to win games, you've got to try something. If somebody's not getting the job done, you see if somebody else can do it. It's the same with coaching, or any position. You don't mean to belittle someone or say 'He sucks.' That's just the harsh reality."

Greene, however, told ESPN.com that his quotes were taken out of context and that he wasn't calling for a quarterback change.

"I said, 'We're 3-6 and something has to change.' At no time did I say we have to change quarterbacks or Tebow is terrible or any of that," he said.

Greene also told ESPN.com of the quarterback situation: "It is what it is. Mark is our starting quarterback, Tebow is our backup and he does the Wildcat."

Sources told ESPN that Jets coach Rex Ryan ripped into the team Wednesday, telling his players it was "cowardly" for some of them to anonymously rip Tebow in the Daily News article.

Ryan listed Tebow's attributes to the entire team, according to sources. At one point during the meeting, Ryan asked for the player who called Tebow "terrible" in the article to identify himself. No one answered.

Linebacker Bart Scott reacted angrily to former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson's opinion that the linebacker and cornerback Antonio Cromartie were some of the anonymous players quoted by the Daily News. Tomlinson had made the accusation on his SiriusXM radio show.

"That can't be farther from the truth," Scott told the New York Post. "One thing about me is I ain't ever hid behind [junk] that I've ever said. I'm not afraid to put my name to it, go to a person and say it to them." 

Scott also told the newspaper that anonymous quotes carry no weight with him.

"I've been here four years. It's always an anonymous source. An anonymous source can be the janitor. An anonymous source can be the cable guy. An anonymous source can be the equipment guy," he told the Post. "Anybody can be an anonymous source. If you don't tell them to put their name to it, what credibility do you have?"

Cromartie, on Thursday, dismissed Tomlinson's comments as well. The cornerback was a teammate of Tomlinson's on both the Jets and Chargers.

"I heard it, but I have no response for a retired player. Y'all know me. If I say something, I put my name on everything I say. I really don't care if I hurt somebody's feelings," he said. "That's not me. For me to sit here and talk about a teammate, nah. If I'm going to talk about a teammate, I'm going to tell him in person. I'm not going to go to the media and say I'm an anonymous-type person. I'm not that kind of cowardly person."

Greene told Yahoo! Sports that, in his eyes, Tebow has sometimes struggled in practices.

"He does (struggle)," Greene said. "I'm not gonna lie. His mechanics, his throwing ... not looking like a normal NFL quarterback. But you know what? He's a football player. He makes stuff happen."

Scott didn't agree with Greene's assessment, telling Yahoo! Sports that Tebow has looked fine in practice.

"I don't think he looks bad in practice," Scott said. "We all have hiccups. Wednesday practice is always sloppy -- we're dealing with new game plans and learning as we go. You get refined by Friday; that's why we call it 'Fast Friday.' I think he's like the rest of us."

Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini was used in this report.

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