Jets' Ryan angered by anonymous rips of Tebow

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. An angry Rex Ryan addressed his New York Jets players for some anonymous quotes ripping Tim Tebow in a newspaper report, calling the comments "a cowardly thing."

Ryan, whose Jets are 3-6 and have lost three straight, says Wednesday that he has no respect for players who say things to the media without putting their names to their comments.

A report in the Daily News says that more than a dozen players and members of the Jets organization believe there's no chance Tebow could overtake Mark Sanchez for the starting quarterback job — with one saying of the backup: "He's terrible."

Ryan says the Jets never brought Tebow in to be the starter, and adds that he "absolutely wanted Tim here" when New York acquired him from Denver in March.