Tim Tebow Takes Latest Criticism Like a Champ

The Tim Tebow Saga took another turn for the worse when the latest comments disparaging the most popular and polarizing player in the league.

According to a story in the New York Daily News that claimed to have talked to several members of the Jets, none of whom had anything good to say about him. One player (that chose to remain anonymous) called Tebow "terrible" effectively sparking yet another controversy for a team that is 3-6.

You would almost think that even a guy like Tebow would get a little riled up after this latest round of criticism. Instead he a handled it like he has every other time—like a champion.

Rather than let it get to him (which would have been completely understandable) he turned it into a positive:

"You can't control a lot of things," Tebow said. "This is something I can't control, but I can control my attitude, my effort and my work ethic. Those are things that never change regardless what anyone says."

No one would have blamed him if he had publicly blasted his critics, but instead he just wants to get better at his craft and build better relationships with the people that keep tearing him down. Rumor has it that he has already talked things out with one of his critics, guard Matt Slauson, and the two are good.

How in the world can so many people hate this guy? He is known as someone who works hard, never says a bad thing about anyone, and has embraced his role on the team without complaint. When asked what he was going to do now he replied with a basic, but truthful response--to a special teams meeting.

Some players have spoken out in support of him, including the guy some people want him to replace:

"You don't have to blast the guy," Sanchez said. "(Tim) works his butt off."

Running back Shonn Greene thinks that Tebow should get a chance:

"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...."

This latest round of criticism might end up having the opposite of its intended affect. Now even some die hard anti-Tebow fans are speaking out in support of him:

"I am not a fan of Tebow and can't stand the media attention he receives but nobody deserves to be bad mouthed by their own teammates…"

"Apparently Tebow's suck is so epic that he has led the Jets to a 3-6 record … from the bench. Maybe Tebow's teammates should spend more time worrying about how terrible they are."

"Seriously what did this guy do to anybody? He shows up and works hard and some coward "team mate" decides to gash him for no reason?..."

Rex Ryan claims that he has addressed the situation with the team, and that the issue has been settled. While that may quiet the calls for the anonymous critic to step forward, until the Jets start winning it will not stop the questions about Tebow's playing time.