The Case For Mark Sanchez At QB

There has been a consistent theme among a majority of Jets fans since the beginning of last season: Mark Sanchez is not the QB of the future. There is no doubt that Sanchez has regressed the last two seasons. He looks uncomfortable in the pocket, is indecisive, and displays an overall poor attitude when things go wrong. These are all things that you aren't looking for in a franchise QB. As a wise man once said, there are two sides to every story. Yes Sanchez has looked bad the last two seasons, but what about his first two seasons as a Jet? I mean they weren't flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but they weren't horrendous either. This is a QB who won four road playoff games in his first two years in the league! Sanchez has won as many postseason road games in his first two seasons in the NFL as Dan Marino (1-6 on the road) and Brett Favre (3-7) combined for in their entire careers.Let’s not get crazy here and think that Sanchez is Brett Favre or Dan Marino. Those passers make average players into stars. Sanchez needs to have quality weapons around him in order to be successful. With John Idzik now running the front office and a competent offensive coordinator in Marty Mornhinweg, the Jets can return those weapons to Sanchez. So here are some reasons why the Jets should not give up on Mark Sanchez.

The following statement is a fact, Mark Sanchez is a playoff winning QB. How many QB’s who are considered better than Sanchez can make that same statement? Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Josh Freeman, Carson Palmer, and Kevin Kolb are some players that come to mind. Sanchez may be a below average regular season QB but he is a phenomenal playoff QB, the statistics support it. He threw for 1,155 yds., 9 TD’s, 3 INT, 60.5 completion percentage, and a 94.3 QB rating. I’m not saying the regular season doesn't count. You have to do well during the regular season in order to get to the playoffs. Just know that Sanchez has a ton of playoff experience, more than the other QB’s on the Jet roster. As a fan, I want the guy who has been there and excelled in the playoffs, leading my team. Part of being a good leader is surrounding yourself with excellence. Is Mark Sanchez surrounded by excellence??

Chaz Schilens, Stephen Hill, Jason Hill, Braylon Edwards, Jeremy Kerley, Jeff Cumberland, and Konrad Reuland. These are the names of the receivers and tight ends Sanchez had to play with for a majority of last season. Besides Kerley, none of the other receivers can be considered explosive or game changers. Edwards was a good player back in 2009 and 2010 but is definitely in the twilight of his career. Steven Hill was a rookie who’s inexperience catching the ball showed. Jason Hill is known more for his calling out of Darrelle Revis than his receiving skills. You see what I am getting out here. In 2009 and 2010 Sanchez had players like Jerricho Cotchery, a healthy Dustin Keller, Edwards, Brad Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson, Thomas Jones(2009), and Santonio Holmes(2010). The only two players that remained on the roster the last two seasons were Keller and Holmes. I’m not saying that the players Sanchez last were Pro Bowl players, but Sanchez was comfortable with them. When you are comfortable with something you tend to be more relaxed and don’t rush anything. The bottom line is John Idzik has to retool the Jets roster and surround Sanchez with better players. If he can do this I guarantee the winning Sanchez will return.

I have never met Mark Sanchez so I can’t really say how he feels about his current situation. The fact that he is spending time with former Eagle QB Jeff Garcia, learning OC Marty Mornhinweg’s system is telling. It tells me he actually cares about doing well and being the starting QB of the New York Jets. Let’s face he is going to make 8.25 million whether he plays, rides the bench, or watches the games from his house. There has been no official word about this year, but in year’s past he has organized his "Jets West" Camp. Sanchez makes every effort to be the best QB he can be. He is going to be learning a new offense for the 3^rd time in the last three years. Remember this is the same player who took the Jets to two AFC Championship’s.

All of these reasons are why the Jets should not give up on Mark Sanchez.