FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Julian Stanford was stunned by what he saw between him and the quarterback.
Nothing at all.
The New York Jets linebacker was unblocked and untouched as he bolted up the middle at full speed and flattened Tennessee's Alex Tanney, sending him flat on his back and into the MetLife Stadium turf.
The crowd let out a collective "Whoa!" while Stanford's fired-up teammates mobbed him to celebrate the bone-rattling hit that punctuated the Jets' preseason-opening win last Saturday night.
"I think that's like a linebacker's dream come true," a smiling Stanford recalled after a recent practice.