Not that this means anything but until Brady the Jets QB's were better as a group than the Pats. Joe Willie, O'Brien and Vinny beat out Plunkett, Grogan and Bledsoe pretty easily and had more SB wins too.
I think its reasonable to assume a QB can make progress in his 4th year. I've seen progress in Sanchez' play this year, even if he doesn't have a TD. My point is, Ken didn't show progress. He actually regressed if anything. I agree about the passing era. I would like to add that as time goes by, defenses also get bigger and stronger. The QBs of this era now have to be much more smarter than the ones 2-3 decades ago. And his best season was his third in the NFL (2nd as a starter). The fact that he never lived up to his expectation, or even come close to those two good years he had tells me he either peaked early in his career, or it was just that - couple of good years sandwiched between several average years. Nothing to write home about. You are trying to compare Sanchez' 2nd year in the league against Ken's 3rd. Yes, Ken didn't start his first year, but he was still on the team, learning the offense, getting acclimated to the NFL speed and improving, just like Chad Pennington. His THIRD season was better than Sanchez' 3rd season. Ken's 4th and 5th season can not be compared to anything with Sanchez just yet. Completion % is the biggest knock on Sanchez right now. YPA is a direct result of not having a deep threat. Wesley averaged over 20 yards per reception. There is no comparison between Wesley and an ex-con Burress. Sanchez averaged 6.4 YPA in 2011. He averaged 6.5 YPA his 2nd year in 2010 with Braylon. Ken had better YPA and thats why he was sacked more often than not as well, waiting for the play to develop. Ben Roethlisberger is one of the most sacked QB in the league in the last several years. However, that doesn't mean his OL is shit. It just means he takes his time back there to let the play develop. Why would we assume he would have handed it off? What was the ratio of rushing TDs to passing TDs last year? The fact Sanchez took it in means the play called for either Sanchez to pass it in the EZ, or a designed naked boot leg. In both cases, the play called for Sanchez to score the TD. Again, Ken had a better 3rd year than Sanchez. But if I had the choice to pick one between Ken (at age 25) and Sanchez, I'd pick Sanchez knowing Ken would regress in the future years.
I think you have to factor in rushing TDs at least a little bit. There are plays where an O'Brien has to throw a ball away on 3rd down and take the 3 points, where a Sanchez can run it in for a TD. This is where you get back to the discussion of wins and losses on a QB's resume, they make those decisions. A bad QB will throw a pick or take a sack, too. Decisions and execution by the QB in certain spots account for a difference in points on the board, which wins and loses games.
you remember LT was at the very end of his career, a man that struggled in the potent SD offenses the previous couple of years.
I'm not suggesting he got extreme yardage per catch, but the ball stuck to his hands like glue when it was thrown to him.
OMG! there are stats, then there is impact. that makes broadway joe #1. o'brien , then todd follow. noodle arm and sanchez are much farther down. sanchez is like big ben in his first two years with the steelers. the team won, and he was along for the ride. they ran the ball often, and the defense won most of the games while the running game ate the clock and put points on the board.
unlike namath, todd, and even vinny, those other guys do not have the arm to make all the throws. that alone makes it so much easier for the steelers, pats, eagles, giants, packers to defend against us.
when ur done with all the nonsense you'll realize that not only was sanchez more in the right place at the right time than anything else in 09 and 10 playoffs but with o'brien, testaverde or possibly pennington you win the whole thing one of those years...
