The infamous Butt Fumble of 2012 remains, to this very day, the most overrated blooper in New York Jets history (if not sports history).
Cris Collinsworth is the main culprit. The way he approached the so-called Butt Fumble on Thanksgiving night 2012 serves as the main reason the world exploded over Mark Sanchez running into Brandon Moore‘s backside.
Adding to the fire was the dawn of sports Twitter—one of the cesspools of life today. Throw in a little New York Jets tomfoolery and the perfect formula was created to project the most overrated blooper in organization history.
Not the real deal
Remember, this was a 4-6 Jets team. This was the year of Tony Sparano, a man so far out of his league as a play-caller that it was painful to watch.
This was the year of Tim Tebow. While it was a decent “shot” by Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan, the Tebow move was a disaster from the start. Sanchez was coming off a 26-touchdown (to 18 interceptions), 3,474-yard season. The last thing in the world he needed was a backup quarterback who brought a semi-legit media circus with him.
No matter the argument, that 4-6 Jets team was headed nowhere. The fact they played the Pats tough earlier in the season means very little.
Fallacies
Collinsworth’s gushing over Vince Wilfork on the play made absolutely no sense. He did not “forklift” Moore. Look at the tape. Moore actually pushed Wilfork back a couple of yards.