{"id":11166,"date":"2012-03-01T01:34:25","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T05:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=11166"},"modified":"2012-03-01T01:34:25","modified_gmt":"2012-03-01T05:34:25","slug":"what-is-sanchez-really-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2012\/03\/01\/what-is-sanchez-really-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Sanchez Really Missing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am not sure I can remember a team in recent NFL history that has the quandary at quarterback facing the New York Jets.\u00a0\u00a0 One may look at certain numbers and assume the Jets have their franchise quarterback for the next 10 years.\u00a0 Frankly, some of the positives are startling and historically impressive.\u00a0 Two AFC Championship games in his first two seasons,\u00a0 in the process becoming only the 4th<\/sup> rookie quarterback to win his first playoff start and one of only two to win their first two playoff games.\u00a0 Sanchez has won 31 games as a 3-year starter for the Jet\u2019s, compare that to Brett Favre, the NFL record holder for wins, who won 28 games in his first three years starting for the Green Bay Packers.\u00a0 Sanchez has compiled a 4-2 record as a playoff starter, all on the road.\u00a0 In his first three years he has orchestrated eleven 4th<\/sup> quarter game winning drives, matching the numbers of Peyton Manning in his first three years with the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

So where\u2019s the quandary, right?\u00a0 Sanchez has never completed 60% of his passes, a benchmark for success when considering a quarterback\u2019s accuracy.\u00a0 He has thrown 55 touchdowns and 51 interceptions, not great numbers especially when you consider the run support he enjoys.\u00a0 Those numbers improve moderately as a play action passer and Sanchez is at his best when out of the pocket.\u00a0 I think what surprises me most are his horrific numbers when the Jets attempt to stretch the field.\u00a0 As the 2011 season was winding down Sanchez had completed less than 20% of his passes 15 yards or longer, and that trend did not improve much in the 2012 season.\u00a0 His short passing game isn\u2019t much better. \u00a0He has the arm strength to make all the throws, but often forces the receiver to slow or adjust to his pass reducing the yards after catch statistic.<\/p>\n

Even his intangibles are confusing.\u00a0 He seems to have the support of his teammates.\u00a0 He organizes the Jets West camp in the off season, and by most accounts has the work ethic.\u00a0 But many question his leadership skills.\u00a0 His poor body language as things are going badly is clearly evident.\u00a0 Recent rumors have surfaced since he became a Jet that maybe that work ethic is not really where it needs to be.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t immersing himself in game films as he should be. For a team that is starving for leadership, it would have been an ideal year for Sanchez to offer some, even if just by example.<\/p>\n

I am certain most Jets fans would agree that Sanchez\u2019s lack of growth, perhaps even deterioration, can be attributed to several factors.\u00a0 First and foremost the inability of Brian Schottenheimer\u00a0 to give this offense an identity.\u00a0 \u00a0There were games I wished Rex Ryan\u2019s Dad Buddy Ryan were there to take a poke at Schottenheimer.\u00a0 \u00a0I was very concerned going into this year that the wholesale changes to the receiving corps while a fragile third year quarterback was still finding his way, was\u00a0 questionable at best.\u00a0 Finally, the offensive line has become increasingly worse with each passing season.\u00a0 Sanchez clearly looked uncomfortable in the pocket this year, more so than in previous seasons.<\/p>\n

If you believe everything you hear from Jets camp, Sanchez is their man.\u00a0 He is entering the 4th<\/sup> year of a 5-year contract.\u00a0 I suspect if they go into the 2012 season with Sanchez at the helm, chances are he will eventually sign an extension and he will be the Jets quarterback, for better or worse, for the foreseeable future.\u00a0 The question is, do the powers that be believe what they say?\u00a0 If they make a serious play for Peyton Manning, they should be very certain they can sign him.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0I doubt it will play out in a similar fashion to the failed courting of Nnamdi Asomugha that lead to the re- signing of Antonio Cromartie.\u00a0\u00a0 I cannot envision a rosy relationship between the Jets and Sanchez after a failed run at Manning.\u00a0 Let\u2019s assume for the sake of discussion that they land Manning.\u00a0 Is the current Jets personnel good enough to ride an aging yet talented quarterback to the promise land?\u00a0 Where would that leave the Jets 3 years from now?\u00a0 No Manning, no Sanchez, and no long term solution at quarterback.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s really missing?\u00a0 It\u2019s simple, another quarterback to come to New York and proclaim \u201cI am better\u201d.\u00a0 Since the day Sanchez was handed control of this franchise he has never looked over his shoulder.\u00a0 He has never known the fear of losing his job.\u00a0 He never had a competitor show up for work at 5AM to study that week\u2019s opponent.\u00a0 To me, it\u2019s almost irrelevant if he has a good or even questionable work ethic; competition will always make you work harder.\u00a0 Perhaps keeping aging veteran Mark Brunell was good for the early development of Sanchez, but it is time to light a fire in his belly. It\u2019s time to find out if he is our long term solution or just another Browning Nagle; but because he wins, hasn\u2019t been exposed as a fraud. \u00a0The Jets don\u2019t need Manning.\u00a0 What they need is an affordable but crafty quarterback that can start in the NFL.\u00a0 Somebody that puts Sanchez on notice, but doesn\u2019t send him packing just yet.<\/p>\n

So if we all know competition makes you better, why doesn\u2019t management make this move?\u00a0\u00a0 I am not sure Tannenbaum is quite ready to face the truth.\u00a0 The idea of being so close only to find out it was all smoke and mirrors may be more than he is ready to discover.\u00a0 \u00a0Could you imagine Kyle Orton strolling into camp and thumping Sanchez?\u00a0\u00a0 While that may not be the best news for Tannenbaum or Jets fans, neither is extending Sanchez\u2019s contract only to learn this is as good as it gets.\u00a0\u00a0 General Managers are paid to get those answers. \u00a0We need this answer right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not sure I can remember a team in recent NFL history that has the quandary at quarterback facing the New York Jets.\u00a0\u00a0 One may look at certain numbers and assume the Jets have their franchise quarterback for the next 10 years.\u00a0 Frankly, some of the positives are startling and historically impressive.\u00a0 Two AFC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-featured-editorials"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-2U6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11167,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11166\/revisions\/11167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}