The loss to the Patriots was hard to swallow, but some fans are being a bit ridiculous. I'm hearing "Sanchez is horrible, draft a new QB." I'm hearing "Tanny is a horrible talent evaluator, and makes poor team decisions... he needs to go." I'm hearing "Now that we can't win the division, the season is over." What I have to say to these fickle fans, is grow up and stop crying when one thing doesn't go the Jets way. It's these feeble minds that bring down the fan base.
More after the jump...
Does Mark Sanchez have his problems? Yes. Do we expect Mark Sanchez to be better now that he is in his 3rd year? Yes. Mark has been up and down during the regular season since he first started for us. He has also been money for us down the home stretch, and into the playoffs. At the end of seasons, Sanchez goes from a mediocre at best QB, to a decent QB that will make the plays to help us win games. These same fans that call for Sanchez' head after a bad game, are the same ones who praise him when he plays well at the end of the last two seasons. Of course we expect Sanchez to continue to grow, and he has. His stats this year are much better than his first two seasons. The only thing that is the same are the bonehead mistakes. Even Eli makes dumb mistakes that cost his team. What year is he in, and does he have any rings? He will probably make bad decisions for his whole career, and it stinks. One thing we can also probably rely on for the rest of his career, is his clutch play late in seasons.
As for Tanny, I think people are very confused to actually what he does. There are some factions of Jets fans that believe Tanny is a horrible judge of talent, and has made two mistakes with Sanchez, Vlad and both of our top picks this year. That got me thinking, "How much talent evaluating does Tanny actually do himself. I would put a lot of money on almost none at all. The Jets have an army of scouts and talent evaluators that do this for him. They bring the Vlads and the Wilkersons to Tanny. The only thing Tanny really does is prioritize our needs, and pulls the trigger. His job also has a lot of responsibility when it comes to contracts and cap maneuvers. Was a starting QB not our top priority when we drafted Sanchez? Was a DE not a top priority when we drafted Wilkerson? Was a future starting O-lineman not a concern when we took Vlad? If anything, Tanny has done a wonderful job prioritizing what we need, and going after them.
Now for the claim that our season is over now that it is unlikely that we get 1st place. This is a bunch of hogwash. It makes things tougher, but not unheard of. We have, after all, been to the AFC Championship game 2 years in a row, being in the same exact position. Does 3 road playoff games take a lot out of a team, yes, but something has to give. We were 1 half away from making it happen 2 years in a row. Two compete halves, is not an insurmountable feat. We will battle back from adversity, like we always do... so turn those bitter faces inside out, and put on a face of hope. There is still a lot of season left, and to throw it in now is preposterous.