I don't buy this one bit. The open QB competition was not just about who plays better but 2 factors would determine the starter. One being does Sanchez win the job by playing much better than Geno and show he may have finally stopped making the mistakes that have killed him in the past. Clearly the answer to this is no. When you have been in the league 5 years it's not a lot to ask to significantly outplay a rookie and not make bonehead mistakes so there's nothing unfair about only handing the job to Sanchez if he really lit it up. He has been one of the worst QB's in the league the last two years so he certainly doesn't deserve any benefit of doubt. The second way the competition could have been swung was if Geno came in and just bombed showing he completely wasn't ready. To me that doesn't mean the QB comp was "rigged" or a "farce". All it means is the Jets are taking into account the past performance of Sanchez and the upside of each QB and weighing that into the equation.
This is among the dumbest articles I've ever read. I mean he's taking an obvious fact, twisting it a little, and presenting it as if it's a big deal. Of course the Jets would prefer Geno to win!! Mark Sanchez was god awful last season, and he pissed of every fan we have! So when they drafted Geno, of course they wanted to get away from Mark being the face of the franchise (to most of us fans, guys like Revis and Wilk have been the true faces, and Rex, but to the larger football world and many casual fans, Mark Sanchez=Jets). Mehta is stupid because obviously the Jets made the right decision by having a competition, if the Jets declared Geno starter right away, that could come back so easily to bite them in the ass if he wasn't ready. Better to stay with Mark and not mess up their 2nd round investment's development, and break out Geno if Mark falters. And then Mehta says well basically if Geno plays poorly, Mark will win the job by default, well duh! This is obvious, so if he's saying the QB battle is rigged for Geno, but if Geno plays poorly Mark wins... He's contradicting himself and basically stating that well actually it's not rigged because if Geno plays poorly Mark will win it anyway. He took one of the most common practices in the NFL, a QB battle, described how it was exactly the same as every other QB battle, all the while trying to make it sound as if the Jets are going about it all wrong. This dude is an idiot. The Jets learned why you don't rig a QB battle in favor of an unready rookie when they did exactly that with Sanchez in '09.
I mean if the Jets really are giving the two a fair shake, having Geno start is the right decision. Geno got hurt, and the Jets really saw almost nothing of him in a game situation. They kept Mark in a long time game 2, so they saw that he's clearly better than last year, but he still made a couple turnovers. Now they need to see Geno in-game. What is so god damn unusual about that?
This is dumb- its not like sanchez is getting the rug pulled from under him. He lost the competition on the fourth play of the lions game...
to add, whether the dead money charged this year or next is irrelevant now that teams can carry over unused cap space from year-to-year
I agree over 2 years its the same charge and with 11 million of cap space left this year it does not matter if we cut him this year or next. Although they may wait on cutting him to see if a QB gets injured and a desperate team wants Sanchez.
Manish Mehta Marty: "Mark has had a terrific camp... Geno's had an outstanding camp for a rookie." #nyj 2:30PM EDT
From Rotoworld (and Manish's Twitter): Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg says the team's quarterback competition could extend into the fourth and final preseason game. "I suppose it's possible," he said. "I would much rather have gotten it done earlier." Mornhinweg praised both Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith on Thursday, but neither has really separated himself. Beat writer Manish Mehta gets the sense that Mornhinweg likes Smith's potential, but feels Sanchez might be the "better option right now." Smith will start the all-important third preseason game, but there's a possibility both quarterbacks will play in the exhibition finale. Whoa there Manish! You said it was rigged, but now this? You confused or are you just a miserable scum sucking trashmonger?
