I haven't really been following the conversation, but Light had probably the best season of his career last year at 33. Mankins at 30 is still playing at a very high level despite suffering a torn ACL at some point last year (we still haven't been told when the injury actually occurred) and obviously still not being back at 100% yet. Tedy Bruschi was still a huge part of our defense in 2007 at the age of 34, as was Junior Seau at 38. Wilfork is still as important to the defense as ever, and he is about to turn 31. Really, running back is the only position where the age of 30 seems to be the kiss of death as far as NFL careers go.
Mark Sanchez gets a pass because he came out so early when he should be a rookie as we speak. The only flaw with that excuse is that he doesnt seem to improve as much as we expected or needed.
And you will continue to be an unabashed homer who refuses to admit anything negative about the Patriots.
Umm... I was just trying to demonstrate that NFL players often enjoy productive NFL careers past the age of 30. I certainly wasn't arguing that the Patriots are unique in this aspect. Or did I say something else that offended you? I'm not sure where that comment is coming from.
This fanbase has been there before and it's a place no one wants to go back to. SO of course this fanbase couldn't handle another rebuilding phase. With that said the team has enough talent to simply re-tool. Add a passrusher on the defense, get a veteran WR that can stretch the field and add a RB and the team should be okay.
Curtis Martin had his best year at 34 and was done after one more season.. The NFL is cruel that way, but once you lose taht half a step your done. Just ask TO and Ocho.
Curtis had his best year at 31, not 34, and was done the next season. Most NFL players are done by 30 or shortly thereafter. We see the few who play out to mid-30's and we do not realize how rare they really are in the overall player population. Almost to a man the guys who play longer than that are either perennial pro bowlers or they're following one guy around. Bill Parcells has made a late career out of keeping early 30's players fresh enough to go one more year for him wherever he goes next. QB's, WR's and CB's also seem to have a much longer shelf-life than most positions. C seems to also have a long lifespan although why is anybody's guess.
Compared to what we're used to, these numbers look amazing, but really only represent a decent quarterback. Only one full season in his career ('03) has Brady completed 60.5% or under. Same for Manning (his rookie year in '08, otherwise never even close) Twice for Ben. Mark Sanchez did enough to hold serve in the postseason. We played conservatively and he didn't fuck up. He was solid. That's it. You cannot say he carried the team in 2010 when he didn't manage a 200 yard passing day in either win. He straight stunk against the Colts, played well against the Pats who had no defense, stunk even worse for one half against the Steelers, got his shit together, but couldn't quite gut it out.
who cares about comp %? it's about making plays to win and he's done tyhat more than Peyton in postseason especialyl since Peyton had MUCH more talent around him and is under .500 as a QB while Mark is 2 games above including outplaying Brady in the '10 div rd on the road and outdueling peyton late on the road in the '10 WC game. His #s are excellent in postseason especially compared to much better #s guys from the reg season.
The Sanchez arguments are basically irrelevant to the team's prospects moving forward at this point. Whether you like the guy, as I do, or hate him as some fans do, the facts are that he is a game manager with some balls when the game is on the line and the Jets talent does not now and will not in the near future support that kind of QB. You put Rich Gannon on the 1996 Jets and he would have been terrible. On the 2002 Raiders he was great (MVP). Context is everything for all but a very small handful of players in NFL history. So Sanchez is a dead end given the talent the Jets have surrounded him with. If the team was really rebuilding there'd be an argument for keeping him around to QB a real talent base in 2015, however the fan base would not accept that so realistically he's toast. If he has a comeback in his career it will likely be elsewhere.
The thing with Sanchez is he has to have everything 90 degrees and sunny for him to win and he makes no one better by his presence. In this age of the good to elite Qb he will never be good enough to win the big one unless they surround him with the 2000 Ravens Defense. His crime is playing at a time when mediocre will not cut it at the QB position.
You're wrong about this. When the game is on the line late he makes everybody better. You're forgetting how depressing it was to be down with Chad at QB because there was little or no chance the Jets were coming back Great accuracy but no ability to complete the tough throws when the defense was laying back to prevent that.
THIS is the salient point about Sanchez. He has already proven that on a talented team he can do enough not to screw it up and be an asset to the team. However it has always been clear that he's not the player who can elevate other around him He is not the player who can "carry" the team. With Edwards, a Holmes playing for a contract, Cotch, Keller, Thomas, Washington,an elite OL, and a top 3 defense. the Jets were good enough overcome Sanchez's inconsistency and inaccuracy. They were good enough to take advantage when he made his good plays.....and don't ever forget that he has made some very big plays. The bottom line is that he was never as good as Jet fans thought or hoped, and never as bad as he's been made out to be. He actually has improved in some ways since his rookie year, but the talent around him has dropped off the cliff in talent since 2010, and he NOT good enough to overcome that. Few QBs are. Sanchez would be successful in Houston, or SF. Still not great, but successful nevertheless To speed the reboot, the Jets need to get a QB who can elevate the talent on their team as they build. I'd stick with him until the end of 2013 when dumping him won't be a cap hit. He's as good as anyone for 2013 when the talent still isn't going to be there to make a real run at a title. 2014 might be another story. That's how fast it can change these days in the NFL with FA
Chad wouldn't throw the ball to the other team like Mark does in critical situations and in key areas of the field (deep in our own end or in the red zone). If you go back through the sad history of NYJ QB's Chad is the one bright spot with respect to TD : INT ratio. Yes he had a noodle arm but he was the smartest QB with the most poise of any we've had (again, its not saying much to be the tallest midget but he's infinitely better than Sanchez imho).
The Sad thing about Chad is once he got hurt his arm was not strong enough to make the throws anymore. I think if he would have stayed healthy it might have turned out better for him. Mark has all the tools to be a good Qb but he has Happy Feet and makes really bad decisions. Qb's like Big Ben etc get chased all over the field but make throws and make others better around them. Sanchez can play well when everything goes right. That rarely happens on the road to a Championship.
Chad's limitations were made very clear by the Oakland Raider's strong aggressive defense in 2002 in the playoffs. He looked rattled back there from the early drives and that was the pattern of his career when facing that kind of team. And he had Curtis Martin behind him to help keep the opposing defense honest and solid receivers for most of his career with the Jets.
Thank you...!!!! You saved me alot of time with this post!!! To me, a rebuild, you get rid of old veterans and bring in young talent and experience a few bad years. My take is Woody and the F.O. have not reached that reality yet nor do they want to. Bad for business. You want a rebuild, get rid of Sanchez, trade Revis for draft choices and then you have your rebuild. Right now this team is in limboland, and we as fans are stuck with it!!!
If the jets are in a position to trade up to get the #1 Qb do you try to do it this year or give Sanchez one more? Do you think Sanchez could make enough plays to take San Francisco or Houston to the Championship? I don't think he could withstand the Giants Chasing him all over the field in that kind of game without folding. Either way whoever the Qb is there has to be a lot of talent added on Offense for this team to win. The problem is Rex does not seem to grasp the concept that Offense matters.
