FanPost

Sanchez: The Case for Top 10 QB



Yes it is true, Jaws himself is "saying" that our own very own Mark Sanchez is rated top 5 amongst the NFL's QBs. Sounds like I'm talking a little Gibberish? The Implications run a bit deeper than meets the eye. Take a jump and I'll let you in on what Jaws is really saying about about good ol' number 6.

Jaw's decided to take it upon himself to ordain who's the best of the best of the QB's from last year. Starting from the worst to the best, Jaws "analyzed" Each Starting QB and ranked them on a scale that most people would consider to be arbitrary at best. The list is long and of course I could probably argue many points on several different Qb's, but I want to focus on a on the TOP 5 and our own QB.

"TOP 5" (in Order)

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning

The first three I have no argument what so ever. These top three guys are definitely the cream of the crop. As much as I hate Brady, he's an amazing QB. Brees is a monster especially with him taking last years Yardage record. Rodgers has quite possibly achieved the height of what any QB tries to achieve.

Now for the Manning brothers.

Eli manning was considered to be an elite QB. Now here my gripe about that. I did a comparison of both Sanchez and Eli, including the top two QB's mentioned in Jaw's rankings. And the numbers will tell the story.

After analyzing both Eli's and Sanchez' Stats from last year. We see that there is very little difference between the 2 Qb's

In as many Games, Eli's statistics were marginally better than Sanchez.

Here are some of the comparisons of 2011:

1. Sanchez' completion rate was 56.7 percent for 2011 with Eli throwing only 5% higher at 61%. However this number is skewed, because Eli actually had 5% more pass attempts than Sanchez.

2. Sanchez had approximately 1400 passing yards less than Eli. (Sanchez with 3474, Eli with 4933) however with Eli throwing 5% more, this comparison needs to be adjusted, we can assume that if Sanchez had 50 more pass attempts, it is possible that this gap would have been much smaller.

3. In fewer attempts, Sanchez made 3 fewer touchdown passes than Eli (Sanchez 26, Eli 29). In my opinion this number shows that Sanchez is better in this category, seeing how Sanchez had 5% fewer chances to throw.

4. Interceptions were equal, Eli wins this category because he threw more often than Sanchez. However we have to look at the details behind this. He who shall not be named, called plays that made no sense. The former OC was one of the biggest crutches of our offense. That and a 270 pound offensive linemen that cant block is what I say Sanchez was worried about most of the time, which would contribute to his interceptions.

5. At completions for first downs, Sanchez had 30 fewer than Eli. Again 5% fewer pass attempts and a horrid play calling scheme is the culprit of this number. The former OC had a consistency of being inconsistent, generally outsmarting himself into 3 and outs.

6. Sanchez was victim to many sacks, which contributed to Pressure passes, loss for yards, fewer first downs and interceptions (because of pressure). His sacks were one part due to his decision making, one part poor play calling, two parts terrible blocking and one hundred percent ready to fail each time. Eli had 11 fewer sacks, but keep in mind he had 5% more attempts, so in reality Eli actually has less in more attempts. In fact Sanchez was fifth overall in sacks taken. This number still shows that in fewer attempts, Sanchez was getting pummeled time and time again, and to be frank, no matter if it was Aaron Rodgers as our QB, there is no quarterback that can say they can be confident throwing when every other down they are flat on their back.

7. We actually see that Sanchez has some "crazy legs" on him, seeing how he rushed for over 100 yds, had more rushes for first downs and took the rock in for a score 6 times. Eli on the other hand had a grand total of 15 yds and only one touchdown. Now I am by no means claiming that Sanchez is like Vick or Newton, but I am saying that a good QB is a resourceful one and Rushing TDs by a QB shows that he relies on more than just throwing. It shows that despite the bad play calling and poor RT blocking, Sanchez tried his best to make things happen.

The crazy thing about Eli being considered TOP 5, is that his peers of the TOP 5 class are light years ahead of him in stats. In touchdowns passes, yardage, and completion percentage, the TOP 3 are actually statistically in another league all their own. In fact, there are at least 9 other QB's that last year, that had better stats in different categories than Eli. Yet they are not considered to be "Elite."

Don't even get me started on Peyton. All-time speaking he is definitely TOP 5, and a HOFer for sure. But this TOP 30 QB that Jaws came up with, had to do with how QB's last season, and only last season. Peyton didn't even play a single snap! Plus we don't know how well he will do after his surgery. So to be quite frank, he shouldn't have even been in this ranking.

To say that Eli is elite, is to say that Sanchez is on the cusp of greatness. Jaw's QB countdown is either a farce or highly inaccurate, and I am prone to think its the later. The fact is Sanchez has improved greatly over the years, despite having an inept OC, poor blocking and terrible chemistry with his teammates.

Now of course stats don't say it all. Game time isn't about stats, its about producing when need be. Sanchez has shown that he can be great even under pressure, but he cant do it all on his own. The past few years has had Sanchez dragging his feet because he was lacking some essential tools. When he came in the league it was with a moron of an OC that had no clue how to shape a young raw athlete.

This year has Sanchez will be better equipped to win games, and despite the fact that Jaw's has him at number 23 on the list, Sanchez will show the world that he is BETTER than Eli and deserves to be considered as Top Ten material.

This is a FanPost written by a registered member of this site. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and not those of anybody affiliated with Gang Green Nation or SB Nation.