Maybe you and Phil are the only two people the planet that believe that. Sanchez throws fluttering wobbly balls, tight spiral is not in his vocabulary. Numbers don't lie look at Sanchez stats.
You still have to see the investment through. Cut him in 2014 and get a QB then. Until then no point in bringing in Alex Smith with starting QB money! Alex Smith is hot garbage. Landry Jones? No thank you not with a 2nd rounder. Go with Nassib instead. Buffalo will prob snatch him up though first. No drafted QBs until 2014.
What is the bolded statement based on? The fact that Sanchez was a high draft pick? Your hopes? Your dreams? Secondly, even if we allow the proposition that your bolded statement is 100% correct, why does that, in and of itself, mean that none of the other quarterbacks listed could compete with Sanchez for the starting job? Performance on the field (or in any walk of life) is more than just talent. It's talent, work ethic, persistence, self-confidence, and a little luck. Given the way Sanchez played last season, it's more than reasonable to doubt whether Sanchez has what it takes to consistently outperform any of those guys.
Haha, once again: Vocabulary and context are your friends. I most certainly WAS NOT "saying" (we are writing, btw) that Alex Smith was "playing well" before Harbaugh got there. What I wrote was that Alex Smith showed his first signs of improvement in 2009, two years before Jim Harbough got there. I've always thought he was mediocre, but just to visually convey my point regarding Smith and Harbaugh: http://www.nfl.com/player/alexsmith/2506340/profile (You can clearly see that Smtih's first two decent years were 2009 and 2010, both before Jim Harbaugh - ONCE AGAIN, I'm not saying he was a franchise QB then nor am I saying that he is a franchise QB now, I'm just saying that he started to get better before Harbaugh got there) Also, I don't disagree with your assessment of Alex Smith. I'm not a believer in him, and in point of fact, I have several posts in the last week or so, explaining, in pretty great detail, why I think he is such a mediocre quarterback. My only point is that Sanchez has been anywhere from mediocre to downright awful over the course of his career, and if we aren't going to outright cut him and can't trade him (I wish), then we need to bring someone else in who can compete with him, and hopefully, replace his sorry ass.
Sanchez is routinely criticized for having limited arm strength ( for example see Greg Cosell's anyalsis in paragraph 8 of his arm strength) and its reflected in his inability to throw outside the numbers. Hence why his numbers are much worse outside the hashmarks than over the middle. It is also quite visible that it takes Sanchez's passes quite a long time to reach targets. But I would argue the problem with Sanchez's velocity is not arm strength but footwork caused by playing afraid. When Sanchez steps into throws his passes have a noticeable increase in velocity. He will never be Joe Flacco or Brett Favre in terms of velocity but if he steps into throws he has adequate arm strength. The problem is he rarely sets his feet and steps into throws. Which leads to the underlying problem with Sanchez. He constantly is playing scared and does not appear interested in playing tackle football. Last year for the first time in his career Sanchez showed actual flashes of being a NFL QB. Early in the season there were a few games (particularly the 1st Phins game and Texans game) where Sanchez actually stepped up in the pocket, extended plays with his feet and he stood in the pocket taking hits while throwing the ball. He actually competed. Something we have rarely if ever seen from Sanchez in his 4 years. playing football. When he did this he was playing more natrually and throwing more off his front foot. Sanchez has always been a QB that can only pass the ball with a clean pocket. A QB that will panic, not compete and give up on plays to avoid hits. Playing afraid is his problem and it effects everything else he does including velocity. Until he can control his fear and actual gain some toughness all of his problems including lack of velocity will continue.
Totally agree. The bolded is one of the biggest concerns I have always had (and always voiced) regarding Sanchez's play. And there is a key statistic that backs it up. Sanchez struggles MIGHTILY against the blitz. When teams bring 6 or more rushers, Mark simply panics (particularly on plays where the Jets don't keep enough people in to block and elect, instead, to let Sanchez throw "hot"). When good and, dare I say, great quarterbacks are on their game, they eat up the blitz. They pick it apart. They expose it. When Sanchez gets blitzed, he wets the bed. I sincerely believe this is a direct reflection of Mark's inherent lack of confidence on the field. I personally doubt it's correctable, but I admit that is open to debate
When I see Alex Smith and NYJs in the same sentence, I just get a nasty feeling in my stomach, so if you didn't think I didn't understand where you were coming from I do. I just don't see the positives in signing him to a 2 year 10+ M contract - we aren't going to be a good team next year and we can resolve our issues by getting a QB in the 2014 draft.
Fair point. I agree with your overall plan. But just like you get a nasty feeling in your stomach over the thought of Alex Smith playing under center for the Jets, I get a very similar feeling when I consider the prospect of having to watch Sanchez take one more snap for this team. I can't deal with that bewildered, confounded, and utterly lost expression he gets on his face after he commits an inexcusable, game-changing turnover. I just never want to see that look again.
Sanchez isn't that accurate, but calling his passes wobbly is a little bit over doing it, IMO. His spirals are usually decent, but he over throws and under throws people like it's clockwork. Sometimes he throws it too hard to receivers 5 yards away. His arm strength and spiral ability aren't the issue, it's the accuracy.
