I can understand why New York Jets diehards like ESPN’s Mike Greenberg have minds in a perpetual state of disarray. Now, let’s be honest: The Jets have not been to the Super Bowl since 1968, when they shocked the sports world by upsetting the Baltimore Colts, the reigning NFL superpower that was supposed to be able to handle the AFL’s Third World champion in its sleep. But that would be the last time Joe Namath would lead the Jets to the playoffs, and since then the Jets have wavered from hapless to helpless; in 1986 they started 10-1, and then proceeded to lose five in a row. Mostly, they have been losers; they never had more than three consecutive seasons with a winning record; they’ve lost 60 more games than they’ve won. Their current stretch has been the exception, not the rule; four of their 12 playoff victories have come in the last 2 years, which has somehow put the idea in some people’s heads that this team is actually different from previous teams. The reality is that the Jets have overachieved the past two seasons. They have a loud coach who has manages to inflate expectations not just of fans but the players; sometimes this works, sometimes it is just embarrassing, as when Rex Ryan announced that they are the “best” team in the city. Any coach with any sense would be telling his team that they have to prove it on the field.
You have to admit, however, that the current version of the Jets are just the kind of team that can turn a man with a full head of hair bald overnight; that makes them “relevant.” Take this sequence of plays in yesterday’s loss in the New York City Bowl versus the Giants: Sanchez throws a pass to a receiver who never turned around; incomplete pass. Sanchez throws a pass that Brett Favre liked to throw—zinging a low pass that apparently is supposed to go through the defender instead of over him; incomplete pass. Sanchez completes a nine-yard pass to Dustin Keller; doesn’t Keller know where the first down marker is? The Jets go for it on fourth and one; the pass downfield is incomplete, but fortune favors the Jets and a pass interference call is made against the Giants. Run play for 3 yards. Sanchez throws to Plaxico Burress for a 23-yard touchdown! But there is a flag on the play; Burress is called for offensive pass interference, a truly ticky-tack call but still a foolish play by Burress, who apparently thought no one was looking—like a kid trying to swipe a cookie from the cookie jar. Or may he didn’t realize the gun was loaded. Now it’s second and 17. Sanchez drops back and drops the ball; it is initially ruled a fumble, but is reversed on the tuck rule (the rule that the Raiders remember quite well). 15-yard pass to Santonio Holmes, and its fourth down again. Sanchez to Jeremy Kerley; it’s first and goal. Incomplete pass. 7-yard pass to Holmes; third down at the one. Sanchez fumbles the snap into the end zone; Giants recover for a touchback. You give a guy too many chances to mess-up, he eventually will.
It isn’t all Sanchez’s fault here; if he’s “regressed,” he’s had plenty of help. The offensive line isn’t any good on pass protection, and it seems that on many of his throws he’s just trying to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible and hoping for a miracle, like actually being caught by one of his own guys; in the past three seasons, Sanchez’s sack count has gone from 26 to 27 to 37 this year. The play-calling is also head-scratching; Sanchez threw 59 passes in the teeth of the Giants’ ferocious pass rush. Isn’t this supposed a power running team? I suppose if anything this proved that Sanchez has “guts.” But if you do have him throwing all day, it helps to remember that he barely completes half his passes; so how about throwing the ball downfield so you’ll at least have a fifty percent chance at getting a first down? Ok, so what’s this? An on-side kick at your own 19 following a safety? Lot of luck on that. And a defense that allows a 99-yard pass play on third-and-ten is too busy congratulating themselves on the previous two plays. The defense has gone from 1 to 6 to 22nd in points allowed in the past three seasons; this is regression.
I suppose it is only "natural" in a media market like New York that so much attention can be put on one player, both positive and negative, but I can't help but observe that Eli Manning with his hangdog face is like Teflon. Yes, he was on a Super Bowl winning team, but it is useful to remember that this team on offense was 4th in rushing and 21st in passing; we shouldn't--but do--"forget" about the fact that he is 0-2 in his only other playoff appearances. This year he has thrown for a lot of yards, but to questionable purpose. Sanchez, on the other hand, has come under such scrutiny that you wonder if he has any talent at all; sometimes it seems to go beyond even that. We now know why former NFL receiver and current ESPN self-congratulating blowhard Cris Carter always disses Sanchez as if it is personal: Because it is. Carter still isn’t in the Hall of Fame as perhaps as perhaps his career numbers might suggest, but apparently others issues are factored in—such as voters put-off by his arrogance (and perhaps also because he was just a guy who caught a lot of meaningless dink-and-dunk passes on losing teams until Randy Moss showed-up). In any event, Carter feels he has been “dissed,” while Sanchez—who always seems to come off as modest and well-mannered—appears to “fit in” the New York glamour scene without even trying. Does Sanchez deserve that attention? No, but save for one brief shining moment, neither did Joe Namath (Favre, on the other hand, was clearly uncomfortable with the New York scene, and he no doubt regrets his off-field experiences there; he didn’t realize that in New York, being a football icon doesn’t shield your private affairs from becoming embarrassingly public).
Despite all of this, you have to admit that if you are not a Jets fan, you’ll have a lot “fun” trying to figure out what they’re doing (if you are a fan, not so much fun). I suspect that the Jets didn't think they were getting another Peyton Manning when they drafted Sanchez; Pete Carroll wasn’t interested in “elite” quarterbacks, he just wanted a quarterback who could function in his ground and pound offense and defense (which is still his philosophy in Seattle), which apparently is all that Rex Ryan wants out of Sanchez as well. I think Sanchez (and the rest of the Jets) need a Mike Holmgren grab-you-by-the-facemask type, not someone who congratulates you for doing something you haven't accomplished yet. Even now Favre admits that he would not be the quarterback he became without the "tough love" treatment; left to his own vices—as would likely have been the case had he stayed in Atlanta—Favre would have continued to be Sanchez-like throughout a truncated career.
Sanchez has had indications in the past that showed that he can perform under the pressure of last minute comeback drives, while the Seahawk fans are learning what Viking fans already know—Tarvaris Jackson has yet to show he can lead a drive with the game on the line. T-Jack was given not one but two opportunities in the final 2 minutes to put the Seahawks in game-winning goal range against the 49ers; as usual, he failed. In the case of Sanchez, he has shown that the possibilities are present; whether he can fully develop them with the Jets is hardly certain. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has been accused of trying to fit a quarterback to a system rather than fit the system to the quarterback based on his skill set. However it all shakes out, it isn't something that people like Cris Carter should be expected to be able to accurately gauge under the present circumstances.
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