At 5-5, the New York Jets are still in the playoff race, but they’re struggling to find wins, and their current predicament stems from the offense’s inability to move the ball into that 10 yard stretch of turf that results in 7 points. Instead, the Jets and Mark Sanchez are becoming experts of the good old run, run, pass, punt offense. All of the Jets’ woes can’t be attributed to Mark Sanchez, but he certainly isn’t winning them any games either.
This season, Mark Sanchez has completed 193 of 338 attempted passes (57.1%) for 2,333 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Let me be perfectly clear on this point. Those aren’t bad numbers, but then again, they’re not good numbers either, and they certainly aren’t numbers that take teams to Super Bowls. Simply put, Sanchez won’t be leading the Jets back to the promise land any time soon.
Mark Sanchez has all the measurable attributes to be a great NFL quarterbacks. He can make all the throws, he’s mobile within the pocket, and his mechanics are, by and large, sound. Everything that is necessary to be great seems to be there, except one intangible attribute that has thrown monkey wrenches in many quarterbacks’ careers since the invention of the forward pass.
The “it” factor.
You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that thing that Tim Tebow does when you hand him the ball with a 3 point deficit with 5 minutes left in the game. It’s the little gene in a quarterbacks’ DNA that makes them either great or average. It’s the ability to make the big plays in crunch time. Tim Tebow, as we saw last night, has the “it” gene. Mark Sanchez does not.
I don’t know if we can blame Sanchez for giving away points while failing in every way to mount meaningful drives against the opposition. Is it his fault that the Jets’ defense allows 21.7 points per game?
The simple fact of the matter is Mark Sanchez has weapons to work with, and he’s just not getting the production out of those weapons that should be expected. He has receivers that run good routes and catch the ball when it’s within arms reach, he has a solid running game that opens up play action passes, and his line, while not the best in the league, tends to give him time in the pocket to deliver good passes. Oh, I almost forgot. Mark Sanchez has one of the best defenses in the league to protect any leads he might actually produce. In not so many words, there are no excuses left for Mark Sanchez.
I commend Rex Ryan for standing by his quarterback in his post-game press conference, but the Jets need to start thinking about life after Sanchez. I’ve heard the idea floating around that the Jets could trade for Peyton Manning, but that’s not the way to achieve long term stability at that position. They simply need to draft a quarterback to take the reigns. Perhaps they already have Sanchez’s successor in Greg McElroy. He’s currently on IR; so, his season is over, but the way Sanchez is performing, I have to wonder if they’ll give McElroy the opportunity to compete for the starting job.
The Jets are in an uncomfortable and unique position with Sanchez. He’s a serviceable starting quarterback, but he won’t be winning any Lombardi Trophies for the Jets any time soon. On the other hand, there’s no guarantee that they can replace him with an effective starter, especially since it’s likely they’ll be drafting between picks 15 and 20 in the upcoming draft. Sanchez hasn’t developed as the Jets had hoped, and the time for making a final decision on Sanchez’s fate is looming. It’s up to Sanchez to show the progression that will force the Jets to keep him as their starter.
