http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/fantasy/06/19/mark.sanchez/index.html When wavy-haired Mark Sanchez took the Jets' call on NFL Draft weekend, fantasy owners began to speculate as to what the former USC superstar might be worth this upcoming season. After all, the Jets do have a solid backfield to keep defenses honest, a proven front line to protect him, and a receiving corps that returns a pair of promising young playmakers -- Jerricho Cotchery and tight end Dustin Keller. Sanchez has little experience under his belt, having started just one full season for the Trojans, but that argument carries little weight as 2008 fantasy star Matt Cassel didn't get to play at all during his time at USC. Dissecting the depth chart: The Jets have a lot of "name" quarterbacks on the depth chart but this is really to be considered a two-horse race. Last year Kellen Clemens was passed over for Brett Favre, and now must prove the team is better off with him in the lineup instead of Sanchez. It will be a hard sell. For one, Clemens has thrown five touchdowns as compared to 11 interceptions in his 14 appearances over the past three seasons. And the sizable investment the Jets made in Sanchez ($28 million guaranteed) will make it difficult for them to leave him to waste on the bench. If it's close in camp, the edge will go to Sanchez. Just the stats: Sanchez had just one season in the sun, having to wait his turn behind John David Booty. In 2008, Sanchez completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,207 yards and 34 touchdowns. By comparison, Booty never reached the 30-touchdown mark, and neither he nor Matt Leinart ever held that high of a completion percentage at USC. Sanchez posted multiple touchdowns in 11 of 13 games last fall, and surpassed the 250-yard mark in six contests. His best game, however, was his last -- a 413-yard, four-touchdown effort in the Trojans' Rose Bowl win over Penn State. That game helped Sanchez make up his mind about leaving Southern Cal early (the first USC quarterback to do so since Todd Marinovich). 2008 rookie comparison: Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (here is Flacco's game by game log. As you can see, he had some growing pains for the first few games. I'd expect Sanchez to struggle for longer due to 16 starts in college. Pheraps 9 games. http://www.nfl.com/players/joeflacco/gamelogs?id=FLA009602 ) For those of you hoping to see Matt Ryan's name, sorry. Sanchez has too many things working against him to make a large splash in his first season (new coaching staff in New York, some new faces on offense, etc). Even so, fantasy owners should be pleased if Sanchez measures up to Flacco, who passed for 2,971 yards and 14 touchdowns (ranking 20th in both categories). Interesting fact that won't help you: Sanchez was the ballboy for Santa Margarita High School, where he got to hang around future quarterback stars Carson Palmer and Chris Rix (Florida State). What he's worth: Sanchez will not be a statistical stud in his first season, but he could very well become a legitimate No. 2 fantasy quarterback. Fantasy owners should pay close attention to Jets camp this summer -- not only to find out if he wins the job, but to see how well he holds up throughout.. Mike Beacom is the publisher for World Fantasy Games, which includes RapidDraft.com, SportsBuff.com and ProFantasySports.com.
Can't find anything to disagree with here. I would definetely take him as a #2 Qb for my fantasy team.
"For those of you hoping to see Matt Ryan's name, sorry. Sanchez has too many things working against him to make a large splash in his first season (new coaching staff in New York, some new faces on offense, etc). " and how is that different from Atlanta? in fact last year the Flacons had a lot more changes in the coaching staff and front office and new faces on offense then the Jets... are this reporters even reading what they are writing before publishing it?
But the Falcons have had a top 5 rushing attack for years. I think that is a very underrated aspect of the Matt Ryan success. Since 2004 the Falcons only finished outside the top 2 rushing attacks in the NFL once. When a team is that good at running the ball, the QB can be much more effective.
The Jets ran the ball well (when the coach actually ran the ball enough) and return the same unit intact. So by that math is should be a decent situation for Sanchez.
Uh, the Falcons had a Top 2 rushing attack every year that Michael Vick was the starter at QB. That was hardly a sign of success for the rushing attack last year. Once Vick went off to prison in 2007, their running game fell to 26th. Nobody knew what to make of the Falcons running game last year before Turner established himself. I'm not sure what the hell those 2004 - 2006 Falcons team had to do with the 2008 Falcons AT ALL.
Yeah, this is just a clear "I didn't watch football last season" gaff. Ryan came into an organization with a new general manager, new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new left tackle and a new starting running back. That's just lazy reporting.
The key to that success is a QB that has the slightest ability to throw the ball. Vick sucked at throwing a football career completion % of a pathetic 53.8. What good is having a QB if he can't throw a football? No team respected the Falcons ability to throw the ball when Vick was the QB, yet they still had the number 1 rushing attack. Say's a lot about how good their Oline is. The Falcons had their first 3000 yard passer with Matt Ryan since Chris Chandler in 98. Ryan had the success he had because no one respected the Falcons passing game and everyone who played the Falcons prepared for the run first. It sure worked out in Ryans favor.
It could be, you're also heading into the season with a rookie HC just like the Falcons last year. But the Jets have not been dominant at running the ball like the Falcons. They have been such a good running team that their passing game was almost ignored. I doubt the Jets will be that good at running the ball.
Yes, that's exactly how it happened. Roughly halfway through the 16th game, some attentive opposing defensive assistant ran up to the head coach and said, "Hey, boss! I don't think that's Michael Vick under center! Damn, if only we'd known, we could have game-planned better!"
I see, so suddenly Rookie QB's garner tons or respect and momentum is just so damn esay to overcome????? You're right, the dominant running game all these years in Atlanta had little effect on Ryans success, get a clue!
Or it says a lot about Michael Vick as a rushing threat. A good deal of their success on the ground came from a gadget attack that relied on teams respecting Michael Vick's ability to run. That's why it's unsurprising that they were unsuccessful rushing the ball in 2003 and 2007. They had success when Vick was starting. Nice try linking it to offensive line play. Yes, their offensive line was great last season. Nobody is arguing that they weren't a great team last season. However, you're suggesting that everyone should have seen that success coming. So far, you haven't given a single cogent reason why. Oh wait, their offensive line. Yeah, you're going to tell me that offensive line play links Vick's team to 2008? You mean because they had ONE starter who carried over between the two units? Or is it the coaching staff that was completely overhauled in 2008? What a joke.
The dominant rushing attack came from a NEW offensive line, NEW running back, and NEW coaching staff. What the fuck is so hard to understand about that? It had NOTHING to do with "all these years".
Vick wasn't the QB last year and the Falcons were the number 2 rushing attack in the NFL, I know that's a joke too right?
