In the days leading up to the game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets in September, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi created a buzz when he called Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez a “front-runner.” Jets coach Rex Ryan jumped to the defense of Sanchez in a story that made headlines in New York. After watching Sanchez lead the Jets to a 9-2 record, bringing them back for some impressive late-game victories, Bruschi says he was off the mark. His remarks came during his weekly podcast on ESPNBoston.com. “I called him a front-runner and said that when things got a little bit tough, you could see the look on his face and it looked like he tanked it a little bit. Rex Ryan came out and reacted to my comments and said ‘If Tedy was here and saw how hard Mark Sanchez worked, he would see how much of a leader Mark Sanchez is.’ “Rex was right. I really have watched Mark Sanchez closely from that point on, and I was wrong about calling him a front-runner. I was wrong to put that label on him. I’ve watched him and the leader he’s become, and the plays he’s made for this 9-2 first-place Jets team. “Early in the season, I thought this team would do well based on its running game and solid defense. But there is another aspect of this team that has developed – and that’s the leadership and play they’ve received from the quarterback position and Mark Sanchez. I think he is a legitimate leader on that team. My front-runner label was wrong.” I hated him when he played but I think he's an excellent analyst and I was surprised when he made these comments a few months back. I'm glad his opinion changed
Awesome to see someone in the media, be it a reporter or an analyst, actually man up to the mistakes they've made and take responsibility EDIT: Haha WSW and I think the same way...
I agreed with his analysis when he made it. You could see Sanchez getting whinny and pouty in his face at times. I think Sanchez has grown since then and improved his leadership.
i would think given his history, that wouldn't be the case. particularly since a lot of former players turned analysts have generally nothing positive to say on the nyj.
its very odd, I just assumed Bruschi would have been very partial in his analysis (see harrison, rodney) and rip the jets (and phins) whenever possible, while at the same time fellating tom terrific and the infallible bellicheck. Yet Bruschi has done exactly the opposite. He has provided excellent relatively unbiased analysis in all parts of the AFCE. Kudos to him for admitting to being wrong on air.
I remember that story well. I read about it here, and I was disgusted at how just about ALL the responses from the Jets fans here was that as much as they disliked Bruschi, HE WAS RIGHT. This blew my mind so much that I talked about it with another couple of long-suffering Jets fan friends of mine. Why all the "Jet fan" hate for Sanchez? Sure, he wasn't a Pro Bowl QB yet, but he looked pretty damn good to me for a 2nd year QB who left college early and only started a year and a half at USC!! His footwork is great, his arm is strong enough to make all the throws, he can run a little, he works hard off the field, HE WANTED to come to NY (unlike friggin' Peyton Manning), he won two playoff games for us in his rookie season, ... What the hell did you guys want from him? Well, now here we are a month and a half later, and Bruschi admits he was WRONG. So where are all the loser-ass "fans" who agreed with his analysis? You guys make me sick... Suck it the f&@$ up and admit you were candy-assed blowhards who wouldn't know a franchise quarterback if he bit you in the balls you don't have!!! You don't deserve Sanchez! We can probably get Pennington back now for really cheap - wouldn't that be great? This is one happy Jets fan, who's been ecstatic since we made the move to get the kid, and then heard Phil Simms' report on him.
Bruschi definitely manned up. Good for him. If you're wrong, you're wrong. We can't all be RaiderJoes making outlandish predictions or offering poor conclusions without holding yourself accountable.
i can sit here right now and say that i feel confident in mark sanchez leading this team. that i was wrong about him. i commend tedy bruschi for saying it as most would not. i also dont blame him one bit for saying what he said earlier in the year, i felt the same way and dont see how anyone could have not felt that way at that point. i for one am glad i am telling you all i was wrong, if i was right we wouldnt be 9-2 and have shown the tremendous resiliency we have the past month. we would instead be wondering who was coming out in the draft this year at qb. i give the kid credit he has shown more resiliency than i thought he had in him.
The kid posted the best QB rating for a rookie in the playoffs. I brushed it off as a bad game and was more infuriated with the coaching staff for calling the game like a bunch of pussies (which they admitted to doing).
I still feel Sanchez needs to scramble more and have better finesse on short over the middle passes. Other than that he really hasn't frustrated me like last season.
Problem is Bruschi painted himself into a corner with his earlier Sanchez bashing. Bruschi knows Sanchez is just days away from destroying his beloved Pats so he's eating his crow now instead of after the game when it will really taste bad.
