Sanchez Considers Himself Franchise Quarterback

The Quarterback situation with the Jets is going to be a headline grabber all the way up to opening day against Tampa Bay. It's just the way it's going to be, with the competition and with the media hawks that circle this team.

So with today being the first time the Jets locker room was opened to the media, we were always going to get some interesting quotes, and with rookies not allowed on the facility until rookie camp starts next week, they were always going to come from Sanchez.

When asked if he thought he was going to win the Quarterback competition he said "Of Course". That's not a story, he should expect to win the job and as he is competing with a veteran who has been out of football for a couple of years, and a rookie who hasn't played a snap in the NFL, I would be worried if he said anything different.

When asked if he saw himself as a "Franchise Quarterback" he replied "Absolutely!". He's obviously taken a leaf out of Joe Flacco's book. Unfortunately for Sanchez he finished the 2012 season 30th in completion percentage (54.3%), interceptions (18) and 31st in interception percentage (4.0). He was dead last in QBR (23.4) and 29th in the league in Bad Decision Rate (2.5) this metric measures how often a Quarterback makes a mental error that leads to a turnovers. Lets not sugarcoat it, Sanchez was one of the very worst Quarterbacks in the league. I like confidence, but there is a fine line between confidence and being delusional.

We have often heard how Mark has turned the corner, how there is just something about him now that means he's going to perform. He worked out with Jeff Garcia on the west coast offence and feels comfortable with Marty. Rex said we are going to see the best we've seen of Mark Sanchez, Nick Mangold said that there is something about him that he can't quite put his finger on. All this doesn't matter, until Mark goes out on the field and outperforms both Garrard and Geno and then wins football games through the season, he can be the most confident man on the planet, it doesn't mean he's a better QB. Right now he is what those 2012 stats say he is.

My suggestion, don't get caught in the hype. Just like any negative publicity, positive publicity is the same. You hear it enough and from enough angles, you start to believe it. However we've been here with Mark before, this will be his 5th season in the league, this is a make or break year.

How's he going to handle questions from the rookie? well Conor Orr had a great quote that I'll leave you with:

"If he’s got a question, of course I’m not going to be a jerk," Sanchez said. "I’ve heard plenty of stories about guys like that. They come ask you a read on a thing and they say, ‘Hey, go look at your book.’ Well, yeah, go look at your book, but if we’re on the field, it’s not like you can run in and look at your book. ‘Hey man, you’re reading the flat defender, high-low him. Curl-flat, whatever.’ So what. I don’t think that’s going to hurt my chances of playing."