Mark Sanchez Reportedly Leads Quarterback Competition

Kristian Dyer reports Mark Sanchez has a leg up on Geno Smith in the battle to start at quarterback.

“Right now, Sanchez has a lead. It isn’t a huge lead and internally, I can tell you that the lead has gotten smaller and tighter,” the source told Metro. “But he is ahead right now. He’s shown a command of the offense and is making better decisions. He isn’t as flashy as Smith, he doesn’t make your eyes pop out like the rookie does but he commands things better.

This is not final. The decision will probably not be made until after the second preseason game. We are not even at the first one yet.

I would advise against reading too much into this report. Some of the language does kind of strike me, though, particularly the "command of the offense" line. There are two things that jump out. First, the Jets have fed that line to the media in training camp every year since Sanchez's rookie season trying to talk him up. I also wonder why that's the first thing that came up. Of course Sanchez is going to have a better "command of the offense." He got the playbook three months ahead of Geno. Sanchez also doesn't have to deal with all of the on field and off field adjustments Geno is going through as a rookie. There's no question Sanchez will know more of the playbook. That doesn't mean he's a better option, though. A quarterback with a limited playbook might be more effective than somebody with a bigger playbook who cannot execute.

I would not necessarily say this is extremely significant, but the wording does at least a little bit speak to the fear some have that this competition might be aimed to give Sanchez yet another chance.