Does This Sound Familiar?

Here's what an extremely well-respected defensive player had to say post-game about a certain QB:

“I think [the QB] was kind of rattled a little bit by that defense. They had a lot of guys in the box on him. And, I mean, they were getting to him. I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. I don’t know how much of the play calling, he could have made audibles or anything like that, checks or whatnot, man, but it just didn’t look like he had a hold on the offense, you know, of times past. You know, it was just kind of like they was telling him to do, throw the ball or get it here, you know, get it to certain guys. And he can’t play like that.

You know, one particular play that sticks out to me is when [our RB] came out of the backfield, he got pushed down and [the QB] still threw him the ball and you got a missed one-on-one with [one of the WRs] on the outside. But it’s hearsay for me. I can say that sitting on the sidelines, you know, or sitting in the stands. You just never know what somebody else is seeing.

And the offensive line gotta block better. You know, they gotta communicate better, gotta pick up blocks, [the QB]'s gotta get the ball out of his hand. We gotta do a good job of using our weapons. I think [our RB2] should have had the ball a little bit more yesterday. You know, I mean, [our RB1] was running it, too, but you gotta be able to mix those guys in back and forth. It’s a lot of things that we all need to correct going into next week because our opponent does such a great job of making adjustments, you know, in-game adjustments. It’s not just coming up with a scheme and playing the game. You gotta be able to make adjustments while the game is in the flow.”

No. That's not another "anonymous" Jets source. It's Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens. Talking about Joe Flacco.

I found eerie the parallels between what we've been seeing on the Jets sites and that quote. Yes, NY media coverage is a bit explosive - those guys find a story and cling to it for dear life - but it sometimes it makes me wonder if we aren't having a bit of tunnel vision here.

QBs aren't always going to be what you want them to be. When you have a defense that expects to be elite, the defense's players can get impatient. Maybe Reed thinks he's being a motivator here, but Sanchez is not the only QB shoved under the magnifying glass by his fellow teammates. There are no "lazy" comments coming out of Baltimore - most people seem to refute that comment about Sanchez as ridiculous anyway - but complaints about performance are nothing new. And this quote came out after the Ravens made it to the AFC Championship Game. Internal QB criticisms won't end until a QB finds a Rodgers/Brees/Brady-like rhythm, or fades into the sunset.

We'll just have to wait and see if next year brings a newer, shinier, and faster Mark Sanchez.