By 
Last week, Drew Stanton was the collateral damage from a wildly spinning quarterback carousel that saw Peyton Manning replace Tim Tebow in Denver and Tebow replace Stanton (and maybe eventually Mark Sanchez) in New York. Now, the veteran backup has landed in Indianapolis, where he’s happy to be removed from the circus created by Tebow and excited to groom the top pick in the draft (presumably Andrew Luck). Drew Stanton joined John Michael Vincent on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis to discuss the trade that sent him from the Jets to the Colts. Stanton also broke down the situation he left behind in New York, where Mark Sanchez will have to fight to fend off media “darling” Tim Tebow, and expressed how thrilled he is to be in Indy.
On if he knew he had to get out of New York when he heard the Jets were pursuing Tim Tebow:
“I think so, definitely. And as it started picking up steam and gathering more information about it I was trying to get in contact with people at the Jets. And I just didn’t like the whole situation or whatnot, and they were great about it. There was an open line of communication after the trade was going to go through, and trying to help me find a team. And I couldn’t be happier with the result.”
On what he was being told as things developed:
“Well I think there was a little confusion on their part, because the people that I talked to in the morning didn’t really know how it was going to go down. They said there was talks . . . whether or not he was going to come in, but his role wasn’t clearly defined to me at that point. They said, ‘Well, we still want you to be the backup,’ and that’s something I would’ve been alright with. And then it kind of changed later. And I talked to Mike Tannenbaum the next day and he said we want Tim to be the backup and we’re gonna try and trade you. They apologized profusely and said that this wasn’t their intent initially. And I understand circumstances change and whatnot, so it was time for me to move on and they did that very willingly and helped me get to a team that I’m very excited to be on.”
On if Mark Sanchez should be watching his back:
“I think it’s difficult because every move you make is going to be completely judged. As if you’re not under a big enough microscope already out there in New York — you have him, 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. He’s earned a lot of the success that he’s had in this league. And the type of person that he is, he really is that good of a guy. But the whirlwind of media that follows him can be difficult.”
On the notoriously volatile Jets locker room:
“I didn’t even get a chance to see what it was like. I know a couple of guys there that I played with at Michigan State and other Big Ten guys that I’ve crossed paths with. And I think it’s something that you would adapt to, and it’s probably not as bad as everybody thinks that it is. I know there’s comments that have come out of there or whatnot. But like I said, that’s a market where everybody’s looking for things to poke and prod if you weren’t having the success that you should have. And Rex Ryan is a guy that’s gonna put his business out there and make it known that he wants to be the king of the hill. So that whole bravado and everything like that was a big draw for me. … In a roundabout way I think that some of that stuff gets blown out of proportion.”
On what he’s looking forward to the most about coming to Indy:
“I think just everybody you talk to is so down to earth and level-headed. And they’re just good quality people, and I look forward to working with people like that. You come to work every day, you’re excited, you’re fired up. And like I said, you’re around this league long enough, you know what you want and you know the people that are respected and go to work every day and are trying to pull in the same direction and trying to get wins. I think that the support they have in this town is tremendous as well. Being from the Midwest and understanding what those roots are all about. And even being from Detroit, a couple hours away. Just hanging out in this town a couple times, the people are sincere and genuine. And they’ve played a good brand of football around here for a long period of time, so I’m excited to uplift that tradition.”
On what it’s like to know that he’ll almost inevitably be replaced by Andrew Luck in a month:
“I was a part of it with Matthew Stafford and I think that they’re investing a lot of time, money and research into somebody like that, and they feel confident that they can come in and do that. And I take the responsibility of trying to help speed up that process. And I’ll help aid him in any way possible but also be prepared to play. We only get so many opportunities in this league to go out there and perform on Sundays, and it’s the stuff that we’re doing behind the scenes to get prepared. And if I can be an advocate of his and try and help him in any way, shape or form, be an extra set of eyes on the field or just show him how to prepare. It’s a different schedule than you’re used to in college. I think getting acclimated and how to operate. But guys like that, like him and Matthew, they get acclimated easy. Those guys have been given a special ability to play this game at a high level and have all the things that have led them to be a great quarterback in this league for a long period of time.”
Comments