This word "regression" is being thrown around too much with him this year. He had a worse team around him, and that's the reason he regressed. Now, does that mean with a better team he'd be Johnny Unitas? NO, but it does mean you can't blame his regression solely on his lack of skills. The kid has a lot of talent. He was playing scared in the pocket all year long, ESPECIALLY after that Ravens game. That game completely destroyed his psyche. He's gotta work on being more relaxed in his progressions in the pocket (And obviously the line needs to work on making that pocket exist for more than 2.5 seconds).
Exactly right. While he's only been in the league 3 years, Sanchez has had more than 50 starts. You can't make the claim that he's a newbie any more. He should be the offensive leader, but he doesn't appear to have taken on that role. His body language on the sidelines, as some others have noted, seems to suggest that he's a detached sub rather a leader. The fracas in the huddle against Miami also points to Sanchez not being in control on the field -- and possibly having lost the confidence of his teammates. With as many starts under his belt as he has, Sanchez should be making presnap reads, recognizing single and double coverage, finding open receivers, going through his progressions, etc. He should have developed enough rapport with his receivers to be able to regularly throw timing patterns. He should have enough self-confidence to be in command in the huddle. His check-down receivers should be his last option, not his first, and since he's frequently throwing short, then his completion % should be 70% not less than 60%. Sanchez's lack of leadership and his lack of mastery of the fundamental skills a starting QB needs for success are what people mean by "regression", not his stat line. Instead of taking the next step forward this season, Sanchez seems to be stuck in neutral and going nowhere. That's not good enough for a supposed "franchise quarterback".
And how much of that is his newly found happy feet, total inability to find a receiver and basic refusal to ever throw the ball unless it's to an opposing lineman?
i should just put it in my signature.... he does not put the ball in the proper location for the receiver to make a football move when he can actually even get it to the receiver. all 56 percent of the time he completes a pass. he cant even put the ball on the front shoulder of a rb or te 5 to 10 yards from him. constantly behind them. he cannot read a defense to save his LIFE. he does not have a progression he either has a guy wide open from the start or he is screwed. he is scared to death, he shrivels up constantly... this is something he did some the past 2 years but it became what he does this year. say its simple to fix by this and that but we all should know enough to realize that guys who get shell shocked are usually screwed. you can paint it however you want, i can paint it however i want... i dont see people ever agreeing. i have tried in the past year to support those who support him, but i just dont know if i can do it anymore. i have tried to stay positive, but i just dont think i can be positive anymore. not that it makes a shit worth of difference what any of us thinks.
Oh, lets be fair to Sanchez here. If not for the defense choking, the Sanchez would have at least one AFC title under his belt. This was a bad season for Sanchez; most especially the last three games. Still, it is not like the offense was humming along great except that he threw inopportune picks. The offensive line regressed, the receivers regressed, and I wouldn't trust Schotty Jr to call the plays in a pee-wee game. Now, if Schotty Jr. is gone, and Sanchez plays badly, I'll be in agreement with you. In fact, if Schotty Jr stays and Sanchez plays badly, I'll probably be in agreement with you, since Sanchez will have been thoroughly ruined as a QB if Schotty stays on as OC.
This is the first I've heard somebody on this board besides me say this about him. He has the happy feet, which means he's friggin terrified in the pocket. With good reason.
This is exactly it. Its not happy feet when you are honestly running for your life more often than not. a Clean pocket was not something our O line provided often this past year.
His newly found happy feet were a result of his helmet being dented repeatedly during the first few weeks of the season, particularly the Baltimore game. If you are blaming the sacks on Sanchez instead of the poor protection, particularly in the early parts of the year, you aren't looking at the larger picture. I am not defending him totally. His inability to get to his 2nd and 3rd reads are maddening, particularly when he has a knack of throwing an un-catchable ball to his check down routes. How long were long developing routes being called when he was running for his life? It seemed like weeks.
You'd be terrified too if the guys separating you from the most ferocious pass rushers in the NFL were matt slauson, wayne hunter and brandon moore. What a fricking joke those guys turned out to be.
He was the 5th most sacked quarterback in the league. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when Cutler was more protected. In order of most sacked: Alex Smith - 7 fumbles Tarvaris Jackson - 9 fumbles Blaine Gabbert - 14 fumbles Big Ben - 8 fumbles. So there you have it. His numbers are exactly where you would expect them to be with a QB getting sacked that much in a season. Fucking protect Sanchez. Edit: He also threw 5 more TDs than Ben. You guys that are putting this entirely on Sanchez need to get your head checked. Go look at some stats before you open your mouths.
i blame a lot of his turnovers on the shitty o-line, and new crappy receivers. Sanchez is not the problem, he is slowly getting better and will one day be this team's greatest strength.
I don't understand what reasoning people have here criticizing Sanchez when the real root of the problem is there offensive line. Seems to be a fad to forget that when Mangold went down for 2 games, Sanchez was running for his life and the running game went to the crapola. How many freakin times in just about every game, Sanchez literally had to be peeled of the grass after getting clobbered by a LB or Defensive lineman? I swear, I thought when the times he nearly made it back to the side lines it was the end for him for the rest of the game. There'a lot to be said for a QB that's constantly escaping sacks and pressures and still manages to crate some plays and is able to get the team down the field for a chance to score. Give the guy a break and get him some decent OL's, then you'll have a real playmaker.
you can take 5 interceptions out of those stats that were not his fault About the fumbles, yeah, he was like one of the most sacked player, he was under pressure constantly
Not to mention that the only reason he has 50 more passes this year than last is due to Schotty forgetting that running the ball is legal against the Giants.