Mark Sanchez's Knee Brace: A Good Thing?

by John B on Nov 30, 2009 11:00 AM EST

Mark Sanchez sustained what seemed to be a knee injury in the second half against Carolina which forced him to miss a few snaps. When he came back in during the next series, he had a bulky knee brace that couldn't help but limit his mobility. Obviously we all hope Sanchez is all right. At the same time, I'm not convinced that if he needs the brace it's the worst thing in the world.

I think back to when I was in college at BC. Early in Matt Ryan's career, he didn't have a lot of patience in the pocket. He wouldn't let things develop in front of him if something wasn't open immediately. He would just take off and run. Ryan certainly has good mobility within the pocket, but he's not much of a threat running the ball. During his breakout season in 2006, he played most of the year with a broken foot. Breaking his foot eliminated any ideas he ever had about running the ball. He couldn't scramble. As a result, he had to hang in the pocket and give his receivers a chance to get open when something wasn't there right away. He became much more thorough with his progressions and began to lay the groundwork to become a top five pick.

The same thing applies to Sanchez. I love how tough he is. I love his mobility, but there are times I feel he'd be better off giving his receivers extra time instead of running himself. There are bigger plays to be made on the field. At the very least, he can minimize some of the licks he's taking when he runs it (and not leave his head exposed).

Sanchez's knee brace: blessing in disguise or obstruction? Your thoughts?

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I’m not entirely sure, maybe someone can remember, but didn’t Sanchez wear a knee brace all through mini camps and TC??

Writer/Assistant editor
Eternal optimist
New York Jets
Gang Green Nation
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by David_Wyatt on Nov 30, 2009 11:10 AM EST reply actions

he did

scared the s*** out of me seeing the first pictures of our #1 pick with a brace on already.

i for one don’t see the silver lining here. one of the advantages of the young QB is mobility, i liked seeing him run this past game a bit more than usual. its an added dimension to keep defenses honest. he doesn’t scare anyone yet with his arm (i suspect he will in a year or two) so that added element is nice.

by JetsFan1991 on Nov 30, 2009 1:47 PM EST up reply actions

I don’t mind him looking to run, what I do mind is him going head first and taking hits, he needs to learn to slide.

Writer/Assistant editor
Eternal optimist
New York Jets
Gang Green Nation
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by David_Wyatt on Nov 30, 2009 1:50 PM EST reply actions

totally agree

by JetsFan1991 on Nov 30, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

I could go both ways here

My initial thought was, “F*ck!”— very similar to jetsfan1991’s. Being a jets fan just forces you to be pessimistic, and theres something disheartening about seeing our future, who we’ve put everything into, with a knee brace on. But I digresss.

You make a good point though, John. Maybe having a knee brace will actually make it easier on him, and help limit his decisions? Furthermore, it will help get him a better feel for when and how to effectively throw the ball away (which they worked on in practices last week) since he’s immobile.

If anything, it will make things much simpler for him by limiting his options. With that brace on, in a passing situation, he knows he basically has two decisions. Either get the ball to a receiver, or throw it out of bounds. Doesn’t have to worry about throwing on the run.. who’s going to get open when he scrambles and who he’s going to throw it to…. etc.

Good job putting a “possible” positive spin on this. Still, the pessimistic Jets fan in me is a tad worried… but good points nonetheless.

Fireman Ed is the man!

GGN Staff Writer
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by Matt Birch on Nov 30, 2009 2:10 PM EST reply actions

I disagree...

I think, if anything, his reluctance to run has been to the team’s detriment. He’s forced throws (ie interceptions) when the run option has been there. Any time you can scramble for a 7 yards it puts your team in a better position, even if you don’t pick up the first. And Sanchez is certainly capable of a 7 yrd scramble.

I remember Elway used to kill teams with first down scrambles, especially in clutch drives. So long as he’s going thru his progressions, when the mental clock goes off and nobody is open, run for some positive yards and protect yourself.

by Crackback on Nov 30, 2009 3:22 PM EST reply actions

He shouldn't have to rely on a knee brace

or a color code or whatever to be a better QB.

As far as the knee thing, apparently it’s not new.
The announcers were wrong when they said he didn’t go through stuff like this in college.
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