The Myth Of Joe Flacco About half way down, the article discusses Mark Sanchez and the Jets. Basically, the Jets would've been good in 2009 and 2010 no matter who was starting at QB. With both their defense and running game ranked in or near the top 5, they won as many games as should be expected regardless of starter. I'm curious what the Sanchez defenders see in him. Yes, he seems quite likable and I feel bad for the kid, but this isn't a popularity contest. I haven't seen enough to be convinced that he's a QB you can build a franchise around. The better franchises are no longer built around game managers. They are built around elite QBs, which is something Sanchez will never be. Aside from a decently strong arm, he lacks the other skills that an upper level NFL QB must possess. He's not heady. He lacks accuracy, which he struggled with in college. It's obvious he is terrified of getting hit, something I'm sure he rarely experienced while starting one year at a very dominant USC. I'm well aware that the talent around him has declined since his arrival in New York, but most of the game's best QBs elevate the play of those around them. We blamed the OC, we blamed the WRs...when is it Sanchez's turn to take the blame? Honestly, how many of you feel he would be an All Pro caliber QB on a better team? I'm not suggesting the Jets turn to Tebow, but Sanchez is not the long term answer and I sincerely hope that the Jets will explore every option after this season, including spending a high draft pick on a QB.
there are so many "better" QBs that haven't been able to do what Sanchez did in postseason. Guys like Philip Rivers, matt Ryan, etc... guys w/ MORE talent around them yet can't get it done when it matters most. Even Flacco, sanchez has been a MUCH better postseason QB than Flacco. I don't care about fantasy #s, right now Sanchez and the O stink but we have seen mark win 4 ROAD playoff games. That's hard to do w/ great teams and we were far from a great team in those years.
Again, I would give McElroy a shot, too, but not without more than a week's practice with the starters, and not facing a killing machine on MNF like the current iteration of the Houston Texans.
Junc, How good was Mark in the playoffs last year? Oh yeah thats right he was busy playing hollywood instead of Qb'ing the Jets. Everyone is always what about the post season, well elts be real if the Falcons, Ravens, or Chargers wanted to trade there starting QB for Mark I would pack his shit for him. If we had even a good QB we would have been playing in the superbowl one of those two years.
Never mind junc. He isn't actually watching the Jets games. BTW - good QBs do more than make a few plays in the postseason. They actually lead their team to the postseason.
The NFL is a team sport. If you don't have a quarterback that makes your team better than you need to stack up on players that make your quarterback better. When equipped properly Sanchez has shown the ability to succeed. Take that away and you have a guy who will struggle just as much as the rest of them. It's very easy to say that the Jets should just go out and get the QB who will make the rest of the offense better but realistically only a handful of them exist in the NFL. You don't simply just get them. So knowing this, the Jets have failed to provide Sanchez with the tools he needs to succeed. When you make the sort of investment the Jets made in Sanchez, you better do everything in your power to make it work or else it will absolutely detonate in your face. Tannenbaum is holding a ticking time bomb right now. I personally think Sanchez can get it done but recognize he needs superior talent around him to do that. Right now he has nothing close to that.
I thought this thread was about someone else, and was going to say "SIGN THIS BEAST!", but never mind.
And were are we going to get that extra money from, to pay the best rb's, oline, and wideouts it costs. But with the way Mark is playing I wonder if he would be willing to hold out on the Jets to get his pay dropped to the NFL minimum sorta like the reverese if he was playing great he would hold out for more.
I don't know if those guys had more talent around him. Like the OP said, the Jets had a dominant run game and defense both years. I've always been a Sanchez defender, and he has NO help on offense this year. He's being coached poorly and he's gotten no help from his skill position players. However, he isn't helping himself out either making some dumb throws, too, and not really making things happen on his own. All quarterbacks need help. Sanchez has none. But Sanchez is making enough bad throws and bad decisions that it's getting tougher to defend him. He has excuses, but for a 4th-year quarterback, he needs more flashes that show that MARK SANCHEZ can lead the Jets to a Super Bowl. Not that he can ride the coattails and not screw up a good team. When has Sanchez made enough plays to show you he would be an elite quarterback? I'm not totally giving up on him, but you seriously have to start wondering if he can ever be the guy, and if he can't, what can you do at quarterback next year?
They don't have to get the best guy at every one of those other positions. I submit to you for example the 49ers. If you were to do a straight up swap Mark Sanchez for Alex Smith I would bet anything that Mark Sanchez plays better for the 49ers and Alex Smith plays worse for the Jets. What the 49ers have done is put the talent around Smith to succeed. That's an example of a team that gets the big picture.
That's a very fair and reasonable post. I have not been a Sanchez fan like many here, but I do recognize how much the team has invested in him, and even more so that the problems on O are not limited to him. Hardly. But it seems more and more clear in a year when I believe it was on him to show whether he belongs or not, that in those situations where you can isolate the variable, focus on him and not let mistakes and lack of talent due to others too much affect the assessment, that he is falling short. Last week his defenders were complaining about dropped passes. Yesterday I didn't see any of those, and most times he made bad plays, the much maligned OL was not doing so badly. Isolating the variable, Mark looked awful. He's not getting it done.
Enough with the road playoff wins. Unfortunately, the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" league. Not to mention, those playoff wins are 4 games. 4 fucking games. Big deal. When Peyton started playing like Peyton, you knew the Jets were fucked. Once a team goes up 10 and the Jets get one dimensional, it's over. Would you say the same thing about the Saints? The Packers? As much as it pains me to say it, the Giants? Hell, most games those teams don't total 60+ yards on the ground. How many wins has Sanchez manufactured when the team rushes for less than 100 yards and the defense gives up over 21 points? My guess is that it's not too many. Yes, football is a team sport, but it's no coincidence that TEAMS with elite QBs win more than TEAMS without. Yes, it's hard to find an elite QB, but does that mean the team should quit looking?
That's pure speculation. Among other things Smith does not turn the ball over like Sanchez. How much should that count for? I think a lot. It's your kind of post that makes it increasingly hard to stomach the sanchez defenders around here. It is based on nothing.
And what is the one thing holding the 49ers back? In my opinion, and I know I'm not alone, it's Alex Smith. If they had a better QB, that team would be fucking dominant. The one difference between Smith and Sanchez is that Smith does not turn the ball over.
Sanchez is clearly not the answer!! Tebow is surely not the answer!!! We need to look at QB in the draft as I think we will be in top 5 picks.
And as those rookie contracts start to expire on the o/d line were is the money gonna come from. Everyone wants to win but they want to get paid first. Before long the niners are gonna be back to shit cause in all reality they dont have a QB either.
The same Peyton Manning that a Mark Sanchez led New York Jets beat right before beating a Tom Brady led Patriots. Please. People give hate when hate is due but absolutely no credit when credit is due. When Holmes has a good game, it has nothing to do with Sanchez. The Jets have big picture problems. Sanchez is a part of that problem. My solution? Draft a new QB. We're stuck with Sanchez for at least two more years anyway. Sanchez has that much time to turn it around. If a rookie QB (who the team legitimately believes can beat Sanchez) can overtake him during that time then we move on. Maybe that ends up being the true push Sanchez needs. Who knows. Best case scenario they both pan out and we get to trade one down the road. The Jets really need to spend more resources developing the offense.
Well said. Sanchez is not helping himself right now though he is far from the problem. The Jets are not built to be a QB driven, high scoring team. That means the defense has to learn how to tackle and get off the field so that we are winning the position battle. That means the offensive line has to start opening up running lanes so that our run game can at least be average. That mean the wildcat should not be the same damn play every time they run it other than whether or not Tebow keeps the ball or not. That means that receivers need to run the right routes and and catch the balls they should catch. And of course it also means that Sanchez has to make better throws and get the receivers the ball when they are open. To me I see a team that has way more issues than the QB, especially a young QB who has proven he can be a winner. Sure he has to be more consistent though it would be nice for the rest of the team to be consistent too.
First, by saying "I would bet" I clearly WAS speculating. It's called giving an opinion. Second, as usual the Sanchez haters miss the big picture. People have zeroed in on Sanchez as "the" problem. He's a problem, not the problem. With better personnel the Jets can win with Sanchez. That has been proven. The Jets haven't addressed Sanchez OR the talent around him. There are bigger problems at play here.
