I don't follow the Panthers enough to know what moves they made compared to last year's D, but last year they were the 24th ranked D against the pass, so how much it meant to complete some passes against them is hard to say. The Jets did not score many points against that D, however, so we can say that without question. A very solid passing attack? Hm. I think that will depend on three things, Holmes being a near certainty to contribute if he is not constanty double teamed. The three are Kerley, Hill and whether the Jets can get any pass production out of their RB's. We shall see.
Back to the OP's question, I think it is clear that so far Sanchez has not shown that he is a franchise Qb. Can he still? Theoretically. But unlikely.
I'm not going to say Sanchez is anything resembling an elite QB but he was a 3rd and 6 stop from having the ball with a minute left, down by 4 in the AFC title game. I'd say that's pretty darn good for a 2nd year QB. He was also the same guy with a halftime lead in the AFC title game the year before, as a rookie. Is he top 10 in the league, absolutely not--but the guy has shown that when he has time and something resembling a receiving corps he can be pretty good.
Why is it unlikely?......through 3 NFL seasons Drew Brees was worse than Sanchez, Eli was worse than Mark through his first four NFL regular seasons (while both had considerably more experience coming out of college)....hell, Tom Brady, didn't post a QB rating over 90 until his 5th NFL season. The single dumbest thing this franchise could do, is lose faith in Mark, before he's even done developing.
Sanchez has shown some flashes, but my gut feeling is that he will not be a long-term, very successful starting QB in the NFL, for the Jets or any other team. He needs too much help from other areas of the team. Instead of him making the team better, my feeling is that the team has done more to make him look better. Just my opinion.
