Drew Stanton didn't have to think twice about hightailing it out of Gotham City.
No plus-and-minus list. No advice from a wise parent or guardian. No wringing of hands.
As the Tim Tebow-to-the-Jets whispers grew, Stanton -- with the team less than a week -- wasted no time asking for a trade out of New York, which was granted. Now a member of the rebuilding Colts, Stanton believes Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez is in for problems with, in his words, "media darling" Tebow breathing down his neck.
"I think it's difficult because every move you make is going to be completely judged," Stanton told WFNI-AM in Indianapolis, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "As if you're not under a big enough microscope already out there in New York -- you have (Tebow), who is probably the biggest sports media darling out there right now that people look at, and it's just hard.
"You saw the effects that it had on Kyle Orton, who is a great quarterback in this league, has won a lot of football games in this league. But the overwhelming cry for Tim Tebow when things start heading south, it can be difficult to deal with at times. And it's nothing against Tim, because Tim's a great guy. ... But the whirlwind of media that follows him can be difficult."
Don't ask Stanton for a read on the Jets' locker room, previously characterized as falling somewhere between a lost episode of "Degrassi Junior High" and an all-out helter skelter of varying interests. He barely unpacked his suitcase, escaping just as the circus rolled into town, saying: "I just didn't like the whole situation or whatnot," but acknowledging the Jets were gracious in shipping him.
The result: Stanton finds himself wandering a post-Peyton Manning landscape in Indianapolis, where he will compete with the likes of Trevor Vittatoe for relevancy behind -- barring epic calamity -- another massively hyped young gun, Stanford's Andrew Luck.
