This part I really don't get when it came to all the people being angry that he took a sack in that situation. That was actually a very good situational awareness play. Let's have a look at the situation. You're tied against your opponent inside two minutes and they have 2 timeouts at their disposal with you on 3rd down at their 15. That's chip shot field goal range for any kicker. I'm willing to bet that the coaches told him that if the throw isn't there on the PA, tuck and and either run or take the sack. That's exactly what he did and instead of the Pats having over a minute and 2 timeouts if he had thrown it away, they only had 1. If they had 2, there is probably a good chance they get a touchdown with that extra time in hand the way the D played on that final regulation time drive. Position-wise he was sacked for a 10 yard loss at the 25 yard line. I'm sorry, but if you're seriously worried about your kicker missing from that position of the field, then his name is Billy Cundiff. Maybe it's the though of the 2011 Nick Folk coming back to haunt people or something. I honestly think this was one of Sanchez's better situational football games. He made the right decisions for the most part (I'll need to rewatch the game sometime and see what the reads look like), even if the execution was pretty poor at times. The handoff turnover was execution (the commentators were saying the ball slipped in his hands as he went to hand it off and it ended up hitting Shonn Greene in the shoulder), and the pass to Hill was execution (open WR, bad throw). The OT fumble is iffy, since even the commentators were saying that you can't take a sack on this drive, and to play solid situational football in that case, i.e. throwing it away if there's nothing there since you have 4 downs to get to the markers, and that's what Mark tried to do as he was being sacked and what resulted in a pretty horrid fumble. I remember reading something that said something silly like 80% of drives are halted if the QB is sacked, though I don't know if that applies to 4 down territory drives since you have the extra play in hand to make up the yardage. Overall I think this and last week were two of his better situational awareness and decision making games compared to the rest of the season prior, where there were some absolute shitfests. I do think Keller has helped in that, being his security blanket, something Cumberland didn't manage as the replacement. I'm loving that Kerley has stepped up as more than just a really good slot guy. I think that if Mark builds chemistry with this receiving corps over the season and continues to build off of the Colts and this game (that's the big if) rather than regressing to what he was like in some of the weeks prior, things could be looking a lot brighter next season with new guards (hopefully one of them being Ducasse so as to not waste even more picks or money on FAs) and a better constructed RB corps. I still think they should push for a wildcard spot this season if they can, but going through the growing pains with all the drops and chemistry issues now will be beneficial in the long term IF Mark steps up.
Overall AFC - average. 3-3 is still the best record outside division leaders Jets - offensive play calling is a disaster. Use of Tebow is horrible. Situational play calling is beyond horrible. Sanchez put the team in a position to win the game multiple time yesterday . 68% comp, TD, 328 yards...hill drops an easy ball and 3rd and 1 from the 2 and Sporano pulls out the non-working slant in traffic. Not Greene, Not Tebow, not a play call to your 6'4" rookie, not your #1 TE, and not Kerley who was having his way. Hill catches the ball or play calling is better all you hear is how Sanchez outplayed Brady, how the Jets control the AFC East, how we are the team to beat. Too much blame for losses, to much credit for wins - the joy of an NFL QB.
Yes, the sack was definitely the right call, I understand that we wanted the patriots to burn that time out. Guess what though? The fumble at the end was his fault, and so was the safety. So was that terrible pick. That's 3 turnovers due to POOR AWARENESS. Not freaky tipped balls, not his guys fumbling, not his guys not getting open. These mental errors are due to a lack of focus, and Sanchez's inability to play calm, cool, and collected. I think people have gotten used to blaming the others around him, but the truth is that our entire team played well yesterday, including our D. A drop by a rookie WR project player? Expected. A few QB pressures? Expected. Sanchez is really struggling to grasp football concepts if he didn't know they were going to blitz him on that last play, but that is moot because I guarantee he had someone in his ear before that play saying the rush is coming. Well, he fumbled it anyway. Tell me again why that's not his fault?
In addition: Congratulations to Mark for playing better than Brady in 1 game, guess that means he has finally overshadowed Brady in the AFC East. Oh, what? Brady is still a future Hall of Famer with 3 rings and seems to have a had a couple bad games but always seems to lead his team to a legitimate Superbowl run? Oh, good thing Sanchez barely had a better completion % than that guy on a bad day, and fumbled, threw a pick, and muffed a handoff! Would have been kind of doom and gloom around here if he hadn't really stepped it up like that. C'mon people, when you call that performance a good day, you have to step back and smell the coffee. I've never been a Sanchez hater, but he's had a longer shot than a lot of guys in this league, and he just plain hasn't shown the leadership or ability to play like a franchise QB which is what you need to win a title, year after year is proof of this. Let me add by saying I'm not calling for him to be benched, but for the FO to return to the drawing board (draft board) and give it another shot with someone else. Putting it off won't help matters.
Geez, Brady's receivers dropped some easy passes, too, like Lloyd. Then there was the muffed catch of the punt. And as usual penalty yardage for defensive holding/PI does not go into the Qb's stats. And Brady did not fumble the ball away at the end of the game, either, or throw an interception when the receiver was totally open. And that TD to Gronkowski was a perfect pass. anyone thinking Sanchez looked as good as Brady did not really watch the game and was only reading the stat line.
Sanchez may have out played Brady statistically, but Brady didn't make any major mistakes and he lead his team to points when it mattered most. Things Sanchez did not do.
he had all day to throw almost all game. no one is on him for getting sacked, just for not holding on to the ball. brady had 0 turnvers and 2 scores. sanchez had 2 turnovers and 1 score. those are much more important then total yardage.
LMFAO Brees was already throwing mid 60's completion % and over 100 rating, numbers Sanchez hasn't dreamed of in his four years over the course of a season. Brees has better physical tools in every facet of the game too. You can't compare Sanchez to Brees with SD.
He didn't do that until season 4 and then only with LaDainian Tomlinson behind him in the backfield and Antonio Gates lined up at TE. It's not like we're talking all-time greats headed for the hall of fame playing with the man, let alone 2 of them now, is it?
Bahahaha. Nice attempt at back peddling. You said "Brady didn't make any major mistakes and he lead his team to points when it mattered most." Yes, he made a major mistake that almost cost him the game. Just because Cro dropped it, doesn't mean the throw wasn't a mistake and we can pretend it didn't happen. My point was that good QBs make mistakes as well. Darksiders crack me up. They apply such ridiculously high scrutiny to every mistake Sanchez makes while ignoring the FACT that even the best make similar (and worse) mistakes.
A mistake is a mistake when damage is done. An almost mistake is not a mistake when damage is not done. Pretty simple concept, really.
No one wants to talk about this. I don't see the media talking about what sanchez did and has done to the pats at all