For every disaster there's a key moment that just crystallizes everything and makes you realize what has happened. Mark Sanchez unforced fumble against the Patriots is one of those moments. It's a clear example of him making things worse than they otherwise needed to be. That he ran into the pit on a broken play is kind of a glaring indicator that he's not processing very well out there. There was no hole there. This wasn't an improvisational QB draw opportunity with all the rushers going outside and the linebackers dropping back to cover. There was no space there. That he gave up the ball in the process of doing that, despite the fact that he has had ball security preached at him for the better part of 4 years now was pretty unforgivable. Yeah, shit happens. You can lose the football randomly in any scrum you wind up in but this was not that kind of situation. Sanchez basically just dropped the ball upon contacting his own man. There was no reach in, there was no helmet on the ball unexpectedly, the fumble was not the fault of the nether regions of Brandon Moore. It was the fault of Mark Sanchez. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and without adequately providing for ball security in the process. What was the upside of his play? 3 yards and a hook slide into a crowd? We saw the downside and unfortunately will be seeing it for years to come. It's time for the Jets to make a change. If not this weekend then certainly as soon as they are mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. Sanchez is salvageable but the question is whether the Jets should be focused on doing that when so many things on the roster need work. Why work so hard to rehabilitate a game manager when the flaws that he has shown are so far off from where you want a game manager to be? It's unfortunate because it is possible that Sanchez would have been a good game manager on good Jets teams for years to come. The problem is that good Jets teams stopped being a reality after 2010. There's no point in having a game manager to help you lose games on a bad team.
I can have all the 20/20 hindsight I want. You know why? Because I'm not getting paid a king's ransom to have foresight and evaluation skills. You know who is? ... our GM and head coach. You know, the self proclaimed best defensive mind in the game. Really? Then produce ONE goddamn guy why can provide consistent pressure on the QB. How hard is it? Every other team seems to have one. Maybe he's too busy loading up our roster with defensive backs and designing exotic blitzes. Just give me a guy who can put his hand on the ground and get in the QB's face! Four years of coming up empty ... Absolutely inexcuseable. Oh yeah ... and Sanchez sucks. More hindsight on my part :wink:
We can also go through a bunch of plays this year that had EVERYTHING to do with protection, dropped balls or bad route running. But yes, Sanchez makes mistakes, I acknowledge that. That's why he's still a bit below average in his stats. Most non top 10 QBs in the league also make mistakes. It happens, we just focus on Sanchez because we're not winning games. I'm not calling Sanchez blameless, but he's only a small part of the overall problem, which is lack of talent. Again, he proved he can win with a strong supporting cast like in 2010, so to me that instantly discredits the idea that any QB in the league could step into this team and do better. A top 10 could, but everyone else would be meh with the talent we have right now. Yes, Holmes being out is a large part of it. In Seattle, having Holmes in could have made the difference on that play and a whole bunch of others because the defense would have to focus on him, rather than Keller or Hill.
Sanchez is not a bit below average in his stats. He's near rock-bottom. #32 in 2009, #27 in 2010, #23 last year and #30 this year. That's not a bit below average. That's bad.
Yeah well it also depends what stat you are keying in on. I should have said quite a bit below average, that's what I mean. Tomato Tomato.
I don't pretend to know our cap inside and out but there are players we can cut to make some room and we have drafted a bunch of good players the last few years, not as many as we need but we haven't had many busts and I still think Sanchez will be a good QB. Is anything more than hope? none of us ever know how things will work out so yeah I am hoping Tannenbaum and Rex can right the ship. Why would I think someone else(what good candidates are out there?) can come in and do any better? at least I KNOW these 2 can succeed. This season isn't even over, as the soft part of our sched is coming up. who knows? maybe we run the table and then folks will sing their praises. I am not a quitter and I don't quit on people until they demonstarte they can't do the job.
That you have to look for stats where he is not bottom says it all. Sanchez is a very expensive alternative to a QB that by your own admission can do ok if the team is great.
this is exactly mark sanchez problem... he is a scared qb. and when he gets scared he either chucks the ball or goes directly down. how many times have you seen him get some pressure and instead of making a play he falls down? he does it ALL THE TIME, i mean its a regular occurence. how many times has he thrown the ball before a guy even turns around because pressure is coming? now he hasnt been hit, he just sees it coming and is scared of it. i am confident the world goes black on him when pressure comes, it happens. i am that way in basketball, i dont see anything and can only make the single move that i am focused on when pressed... but i am not getting paid to play. almost all of marks really bad plays are due to this. his lack of accuracy is something he has trouble with even without pressure but it gets tremendously worse when there is pressure. if i were a dc i would blitz this fucking guy all day long and leave single coverage everywhere all the time. if you press him he is guaranteed to fuck something up.
Name your solid draft picks starting with the 2008 draft through 2012. As for quitting on your QB, if you dont see the totality of the ass fumble and what it represents, nothing will change your mind.
2008: Dustin Keller Dwight Lowery 2009: Mark Sanchez Shonn Greene Matt Slauson 2010: Kyle Wilson 2011: Mo Wilkerson Jeremy Kerley Ellis & Powell have shown flashes 2012: too early to tell
This clearly indicates your inability to be objective. On this list I'l give you 3 guys that are decent. No big time players or playmakers.
all good players, most helped us reach 2 title games. It's hard to call those guys busts. Are there any Revis'? of course not but there are only a handful of revis level players across the league so it's not fair to judge on that scale.
The 3 are Keller, Wilkerson and Kerley. I think I am being generous with Kerley but he looks like he may be a decent #2. There is nothing special about those 3. They are just good players.
No, it's not Tomato Tomato. There's a very big difference between "a bit below average" and "quite a bit below average".
Great post. But I want to respond specifically to the bolded part, although I agree with most of the rest. This is an excellent point. The one place I differ is I am not sure Sanchez is salvageable, but putting that aside for the moment... What I take from your point is the Jets need to look at Sanchez not so much in terms of what is best for Sanchez going forward but to what is best for the Jets. Right now, those are not the same thing. We don't need to really consider how great it might be for him to be somewhere else. Great, to be clear for him. The point is that it is no longer a great idea for the Jets to remain invested in the Mark Sanchez Project. He does not elevate the O, and is not suited to be the Qb in a team that is going to be rebuilding its O. Retooling as opposed to rebuilding is not a realistic option with Mark Sanchez as your Qb. He's not good enough to win enough games to make a difference now and likely next year, either. In the meantime the Jets cannot realistically hope that he will improve during the process that lies before them. His market value will get no better in the foreseeable future as long as he stays with this team. I would have to conclude his market value right now is lower than it was even as recently as Opening Day. So even by that measure, the Jets have no reason to keep him. To be clear, I have been of the opinion that it would be stupid for the Jets to not see what McElroy can do if they put him in there. That does not mean I believe McElroy is the better Qb, or have any great confidence in him. I can even say that the when of Sanchez's departure, but for this McElroy angle, could even be the coming off season. Whether now or then is only important in testing McElroy. But the notion that Sanchez should be the starter on Opening Day next September is, at this point, ridiculous. And don't talk about his contract. Yea it is a factor, but it does not outweigh the downside of an approach which basically means we should flush next year down the toilet because of Mark Sanchez's contract. But again, as you say, he's just a poor fit for this team right now and in the foreseeable future. It's not working, there's no reason to think it is about to work, and time is being wasted. He's gotta go.
Given what you said above, it also makes perfect sense for the coaching staff to put Tebow out there for a game or two to see what he can do as well.
Test McElroy? Really? You need to have a legitimate back up plan before removing a starter. I don't think McElroy can even throw the ball more than 20 yards down the field. Removing Sanchez is ok IMO, but you need to have a viable option to replace him with.
Of all of them I think there is no doubt he is the best and has the potential to be a really big time player.
You obviously did not watch the preseason game where McElroy threw well over 20 yard passes and in fact scored the first offensive td of the pre-season. I think i have noted you dumping on him before, but other than Tebow or Sanchez love, depending on your preference, why not see what McElroy can do?
