Brady Quinn was only brought onboard after Sanchez was hurt and even then the Jets waited a bit to make the call.
The problem with Brad's analysis, which otherwise is good, is that Garrard should have been seen, as many did at the time, as an unsuitable choice, given his fragility.
I think you're giving the front office way too much credit. If they had any plan at all it was based almost entirely on hope. That's no way to run an organisation.
I don't have a problem with and frankly wouldn't expect a rookie QB to be proficient at reading NFL defenses, eye manipulation and being able to quickly go through their progressions. Those are the things you expect them to get better at with more experience. At the same time, you expect your coaching staff to coach them up on these skills. However, to have to coach up a QB drafted just outside the first round on the aforementioned items plus footwork, anticipation, pocket awareness, stepping up in the pocket, throwing a consistent ball inclement weather, ball security and so and so on, is asking a lot. Being a rookie QB in the NFL is hard enough, but when you have this many deficiencies in your game, it becomes impossible.
Oh where to start. What you think happened seems to be heavily influenced by your feelings on Sanchez which you are inadvertently, or maybe purposely, projecting on to the FO. Like so many of these types of analysis, there is always the underlying theme that the FO, more specifically Idzik, is so eager to "turn the page" from Sanchez. If Idzik did not want Sanchez on the roster for 2013, he had a really funny way of showing it. First, he brings in a QB that has been sitting on a couch for the better part of 2 years. Makes no attempt at bringing in a veteran QB that has actually been on a roster the prior year. Then, passes on drafting in the first round until Geno unexpectedly was there for him at 39. IMO it's logical for Rex to harbor certain opinions, good or bad, on Sanchez, but why would Idzik? He needed to get rid of Sanchez immediately for what? To appease the fan base? A smart GM, which I would think Idzik is, would wait to get into the building, gather all the information from the coaches about the player and survey what's available currently and in the future (e.g., 2014 draft). Then, said GM would combine this data along with his own assessment from the outside looking in was, make an evaluation followed by a decision. Apparently that decision was to keep Sanchez at least for another year. Maybe, we should take him at his word in that he really just wanted to create competition at the position and not that he was desperately trying to rid the team of the ever so "toxic' Sanchez.
Legs- BWay hates Sanchez and is infatuated with Geno. The rest of it is just fluff based on those two pillars. Take it for what it is. _
I think he was a very questionable choice. I think a lot of the moves made this year were about getting warm bodies in for one year only and in the case of Garrard the Jets just didn't understand that he didn't fit in that category. I also really think that the Jets were not looking specifically at Geno Smith as a probable choice in the draft. I think they were very surprised when he dropped to them. Whether that benefits us or not at this point is unclear. It's easy to say that Geno has had very little help and be right about that but also miss the bigger picture which is that he hasn't played well even taking that into account. The late season deterioration in his increasingly shaky play is very much a concern at this point. The fact that in order to better evaluate him he has to be put back in the game in that circumstance is also a concern. For what it's worth rookie QB's often have terrible games in December. They often have a strong of terrible games in their rookie season. Having a guy who is on both lists is kind of alarming though when you are living through the events in question.
My feelings about Mark Sanchez are pretty clear at this point. I think he's not good enough to play QB for the Jets and they should do whatever they have to do to turn the page and move on. Having a bad QB sit on the roster for 5 or 6 years mucking things up is not the QB's fault, it's the fault of the FO and coaching staff. I've moved from supporting Sanchez through his rookie struggles and early inconsistency to hoping that we can move on from him. I haven't done this because I dislike Mark Sanchez. I've done it because I know what a good 26 year old QB looks like and Sanchez is not in that realm at this point. Projecting him to suddenly become much better than he has ever been before is a fool's errand. So it's time to cut the losses and move on. That just is what it is.
Yet there are folks in this very thread that will swear to you that the Jets were seriously thinking about taking him--specifically about taking Geno--at 13. Posters who would have you believe that were actually IN the Jets war room on draft day. I think the word was "torn" about taking him at 13, but couldn't get a "satisfactory" deal to move up. For a "franchise" QB. Not only couldn't they get a satisfactory deal at 13, they couldn't get one at 15 or 17 or 18 or 22 or 23 or 27 or 30 or 31 or 33 or 34 or 35 or 365 or 37. Not one. For a franchise QB. _
What you "thought" happened said exactly this; that's my point. It was your opinion, true, but not really "logical" analysis; more like what you "hoped" happened.
I think it's a logical analysis of what happened. The Jets wouldn't have had room for a real 3 QB competition in the off-season and camp. There just aren't enough reps to do that, so if Garrard had worked out through the off-season time frame I think there would have been real pressure on the Jets to resolve the Sanchez question long before camp opened. That Garrard couldn't get them to June 1st is what began the long chain of events that we're sitting near the end of at the moment.
If Garrard was part of any real QB competition, he would get consideration to play now and in the past few weeks that we have desperately needed some effectiveness at the position. He can barely make it to the game day roster. I believe that Garrard was brought to compete for the starting job in the same fashion that Tebow was brought in last year to be the "back-up" in addition to being the Wildcat QB. You know some strange sequence of events could allow it to manifest so technically it's true. However, in reality it's a lie. No matter how bad Sanchez faltered, at no point did they ever consider putting in the "back-up". Instead, when the opportunity came, they completely bypassed the "back-up" and went to the 3rd string QB. I don't blame them; I would have done the same. I bet if both McElroy and Sanchez went down last year, they would probably try to find a guy off the street to come in. Garrard was training camp fodder masquerading as competition for the starting job. Now he is a glorified player coach protected by a glass case that reads "BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY".
Now is a whole different can of worms compared to when the Jets signed Garrard on March 11th. That's my point. I think when Garrard "retired" it threw a major monkey wrench into the works and the 2013 Jets have never quite regained their equilibrium after that. I think they planned to ditch Sanchez and then sign another vet if necessary if somebody got hurt in camp. With Garrard gone they had to double-clutch on the Sanchez cut and the opportunity never really arose to revisit the issue at that point. Nobody they signed in May or June would have been credible competition the way they thought Garrard was going to be. So they were stuck with Plan B which was keeping Sanchez as the credible competition for Geno. The problem was they wouldn't have minded Garrard beating Geno out, in fact they probably wanted that. But they didn't want Sanchez to go out that tunnel as the opening day starter unless there was no doubt he was going to turn things around. And nothing he showed in camp screamed turn-around.
If Idzik thought Garrard was "credible competition" for the starting job, then I am scared for our future. I really hope you are wrong. What's next year's credible vet comp, Donovan McNabb?
As long as everybody here is chasing rainbows, here's my take: The organization conceded this season from the get go. Nobody wants to admit their team is so bad that they must face a "rebuilding year" but that's exactly what happened. Smith became the great hope when he fell into their laps on draft day but they knew he'd never be ready so Sanchez was going to keep the job for a while. How long was up to both of them, but I could make a case for getting Sanchez out by week 6 to week 12 based on how much he sucked or injury, but more importantly by Smith's progress. Garrard, Simms or a dozen other guys who could have been plugged in never really mattered, they were only good enough to be around for emergencies or that hit-by-lightning Kurt Warner type of phenomenon. So maybe training camp showed there were going to be no Hallelujah moments, Smith's progress was as slow or slower than expected and Sanchez had not bought his soul back from whatever devil had claimed it. Full confirmation that this was indeed the dreaded rebuilding year, but at least Smith showed that there might be a spark of life behind that dull sitting-on-the-bench-by-himself look. BANG! Sanchez out for the season! Oops! Whose plan was this anyway? Those guys milling around in the wings weren't the answer so just go with the plan all along, but start it on week one. Smith plays like a rookie but the Jets grab a couple of lucky breaks and all of a sudden they're 4-4. Guys like me who didn't think they'd be as bad as the 2-14's and 3-13's the "experts" predicted, started changing their own 6-10 predictions to things like 9-7 and the word PLAYOFFS popped up like whack-a-moles. Then reality reared its ugly head. Same. Old. Jets. Casey Stengel asked it - "Can't anyone here play this game?" Well there's a few guys on the defensive line and a kicker, but they won't help Geno much. There may be a soon-to-be over the hill center, possibly a receiver if they weren't hurt, an acceptable but not heroic running back but they won't help Geno much either especially if the other team is throwing balls all over the field unmolested and their scores are running like cash registers on Black Friday. That's why we see Smith this month. The short playoff possibility leash is no longer relevant so why not see if he has anything in the tank? There will be a draft and there will be some free (nothing of value is free) agents around and maybe the same game will be repeated next year except it will be Smith being chased by a rookie and a small pack of probable has beens. Did anyone see Matt Schaub tonight?
Other than the INT I thought he played well. Off the top of my head probably a top 3 game for him this season. Having Kerley back was huge for the kid.
against the raiders whose defense this season set the record for most td passes allowed and highest passer rating ever. yea, good job.
