Name That Rookie

by John B on Nov 24, 2009 9:30 AM EST Comment 22 comments

This is a special feature for those of you who think Mark Sanchez's recent struggles mean he's a total bust.

Our featured rookie today started 7 games. He completed only 48.2% of his passes. He had a 6 to 9 touchdown to interception ratio, a 5.3 yard average per pass, and a 55.4 quarterback rating. He won only one start even with a strong running game. His top back went for 1,518 yards and a 4.7 average.

See who the rookie was after the jump.

Eli Manning

A year later, Manning had overcome his rookie growing pains and led his team to a division title ending the run of a bitter rival that had dominated the division in recent seasons. Three years later, he won a championship. Manning won three Playoff games on the road and led a 2:00 drive in the Super Bowl to beat an undefeated opponent, taking the Super Bowl MVP in the process. He learned some painful lessons by making rookie mistakes and became better as a result of being so overwhelmed early. His experience helped him catch up to the speed of the game

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One thing Manning had

was veteran Kurt Warner.
Also, Eli didn’t start until around Week 7.

Another thing was that his coach went from a very strict guy to someone who can lighten up a bit.
Conversely, maybe Rex can be a little less player-friendly (and coach-friendly).

But it’s still a good point.
I don’t think he’s a total bust.

and the home of the... JETS!!!

Go, Pac, Go!!! Manny Pacquiao!!!

by dvdvil on Nov 24, 2009 9:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

You could have another 15-20 of these

Take a look back at McNabb’s passer rating or Aikman’s or Elways. Worst thing that could of happened was us going 3-0 and Ryan and Flacco having immediate success last year.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 9:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

In fact, here is the segment from the NY Times article

Between Flacco and Matt Ryan in Atlanta, the expectations for rookie signal-callers were raised to an unrealistic level. Both of those players had immediate success, but before them, there was a long line filled with solid quarterbacks, even Hall of Famers, who stumbled from the starting gate. In fact, although Sanchez’s passer rating of 61.1 is strikingly low, it compares favorably to those of other rookie quarterbacks, like Donovan McNabb (60.1), Troy Aikman (55.7), John Elway (54.9) and Dan Fouts (46.0).

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 9:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

He should still be subject to a benching...

Other all-time great QBs have been benched during games when having terrible outings. Aikman for one.

Theres nothing wrong with sitting him after his 3rd or 4th pick and saying “Hey, today’s not ur day, we’ll try again next week.”

A lot of people seem to think he won’t recover if he’s benched during a game. I think getting left out to throw a 5th pick after you’ve already single-handedly lost the game is far more damaging to his psyche.

by Crackback on Nov 24, 2009 11:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it would do a great deal of damage

As long as it is done correctly. Sometimes it’s the right decision to leave your rookie in the fire, others it’s beneficial to get him out of their and cool him off. That’s the coaches decision and it’s not an easy one, I see the benefits of both.

Erik Manassy, a great guy and top Jets fan actually had a graph comparing the first 10 games of Peyton’s and Mark’s career, I know some people are sick of reading about the comparison, but personally I find it interesting, so take a look and see what you think.

http://jetstwit.com/2009/11/23/peyton-manning-vs-mark-sanchez-1st-ten-games-of-career/

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rex likes throwing them out there.

Take Shonn Greene’s fumble, for instance, where the other team scored.
The next play was a run with Shonn Green again.

I guess he likes the player to be out there to erase the mistake with a good play.

and the home of the... JETS!!!

Go, Pac, Go!!! Manny Pacquiao!!!

by dvdvil on Nov 24, 2009 11:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think it's a case

of trying to get players to move on as quickly as possible.

Greene hasn’t been used as much as I thought he would be to be honest.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Point taken, but...

I highly doubt Shonn would be getting any carries if he lost 3 or 4 fumbles in a game.

by Crackback on Nov 24, 2009 3:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It’s like back in the day when you were a kid playing sports and you make that huge mistake and all you can think about is “Man, just give me one more chance and ill take that play back”, you know what i mean? Like when you miss that shot or that tackle and you dont want your coach to take you out cuz you know in your head that if he gave you a second chance that you will not make that mistake again or you will make that shot or that tackle or whatever. After 4 picks i think it’s time to come out of the game. IMO.

by FlyNYJ on Nov 24, 2009 7:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Some differences

Manning started for about 3-4 years at Ole Miss in the SEC, so he could be expected to get better faster. Sanchez only played about 12 games at SC, where he was hardly ever touched in the pocket.

Manning is a good deal bigger than Sanchez, too, and as a result will always have an advantage over him in seeing the field. I really worry about Sanchez’s size, not to mention his accuracy. I’m not saying he can’t or won’t get better, because I sure hope he can’t possibly play worse. His numbers are just so incredibly ugly right now.

A benching was definitely in order, but now that the season is over, it’s like why bother? However, you still have a responsibility to the rest of the team. You can’t keep putting a QB out there if he’s throwing 3 picks a game, it’s demoralizing.

by Mackey Sasser on Nov 24, 2009 11:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely

I think the lack of experience from college is really starting to come through now. Pete Carroll is a smart guy, as much as I dislike him, and he had a point when he said that Mark should of stayed in college for another year. He is behind in development thanks to that, but it is a work in progress.

Like you say the season is over, and I think the best thing for the rest of the team is to develop the QB that is most likely going to be taking them to the SB, or at least into the post season. I think everyone on the team understands where we are in terms of team development, and they sympathise with the decision Rex has to make. Take the lumps now.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 11:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lets be fair, given USC’s struggles this year, Carroll might have had more motivation for Sanchez to stay around then just Sanchez’s improvement.

by WebBard on Nov 24, 2009 1:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

also you forgot manning comes form a family of QB's

At worst he can ask big bro peyton for help and advice. Sanchez does not have that luxury of having a HoF bro and a nfl qb father who can give him tips and pointers when he is in trouble.

by lololol on Nov 24, 2009 12:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

pedigree is overrated

see Simms, Chris; Griese, Brian

and those are the ones that made the NFL

by JetsFan1991 on Nov 24, 2009 2:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Give the guy a break

He makes some solid throws and his receivers seem to disappear on some of them. The onus shouldn’t be all on him…Sure he makes his mistakes, but when he does something right it seems like somebody else screws up…

by J-e-t-s Jets on Nov 24, 2009 7:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Can't remember where I found it

but there was an article about the Jets route running, anyone see it? can’t for the life of me remember where it was, should of saved it.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 11:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sanchez's problem

This is what’s wrong. He is not a bust. The guy is color blind. It’s obvious. All his passes to the other team are perfectly on target. Forget “Sanchize” let’s get him a big ole pair of glasses like Charlie Sheen had in Major League and nick name him “Wild Thing”. They could crank the song every time the Jets brake huddle. It would pump up the crowd too.

by cheater hater on Nov 24, 2009 7:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I like this game

What QB began his career with a 71 QB Rating, 26 TDs to 28 INTs, a 56% Completion percentage and 3,700 yards

Here’s a hint, since that season he’s only been under an 85 QB Rating once (A 84.1) and under a 90 QB Rating twice (84.1 and 88.8) he’s only thrown less then 4,000 yards in a season 1 more time.

"So basically, the Stats make no sense whatsoever."

by WebBard on Nov 24, 2009 11:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Peyton?

by Crackback on Nov 24, 2009 11:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yer that's most definitely Peyton

Sanchez has shown that he can come back from a bad game, let’s see what he does this Sunday, and see if he is learning from his mistakes.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 24, 2009 11:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yep Peyton.

"So basically, the Stats make no sense whatsoever."

by WebBard on Nov 25, 2009 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Eli still has his off days

but ever since that late regular season loss to the Patriots before they went on to win the superbowl, Eli has been a much better and much more consistent quarterback.

by Bro Namath on Nov 25, 2009 10:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs