Sanchez redux

I have to admit that I was forced to step back and re-evaluate after Brock Huard had the moxie to dive into shark-infested airwaves, daring the listening audience to imagine Mark Sanchez in a Seahawks uniform—especially after the locals had a chance to observe him on national television Christmas morning. It takes a certain amount of guts to stick your nose out there to get whacked by the local provincials, and not even when news that Tarvaris Jackson had been signed were people so willing to expose their small-minded prejudice in so loathsome a manner.

Now, I’m not going to tell you I think that Mark Sanchez is the answer to the Seahawk’s quarterback issues, even if the Jets decide to move him (which seems unlikely at this juncture). I’m still pushing for Matt Flynn, because I’m a Packer guy and I think he’s been properly coached, a lot of people think he has a tremendous upside, and because I think he deserves a chance to get out from under the shadow of Aaron Rodgers and prove to the John Claytons of the world he can play.

Still, I can’t help but think that with only one full year of college play behind him, Sanchez should not have been just tossed out there. I have this idea that the perception of the Jets as a top tier team was largely a myth created by Rex Ryan and the media. The Sporting News’ J.P. Pelzman recently had some observations to make about the Jets and what he perceived were their weaknesses on offense. He thought that while Sanchez—contrary to what his bashers say—has had a leaky offensive line to contend with, he was still making too many one-read passes. “He's staring down guys, and that's why opposing teams are jumping routes on him. They'll look at the film, and he'll eyeball the same guy for four, five seconds. You can't do that in the NFL. You need to look around, at least give the appearance you're looking somewhere else. He definitely needs to correct that."

Anyone who watched the Jets-Giants game could also see that Sanchez had trouble extending plays because of the pass rush; if he took less than seven-step drops, defensive linemen were on his back almost immediately. Yes, he made some throws that really made you wince. He often seemed to be getting rid of the ball too quickly on occasion, before he was hit and before a receiver even thought to turn around. But earlier in the season the problem was that he was holding the ball too long. What is going on now? Some have placed the blame on Brian Schottenheimer—who, believe it or not, was retained as offensive coordinator after Eric Mangini was fired, and he has held that position since 2006. Time for a change, maybe? Sanchez isn’t the only quarterback he has coached. How about this as a “teaching” method that one Jets observer noted: During practice sessions after the loss to the Ravens in week four, Sanchez was forced to throw the ball before a buzzer on the field sounded. In subsequent games, Sanchez has played like he’s trying to get rid of the ball before an imaginary “buzzer” goes off in his head.

Offenses should be tailored to a quarterback’s skill set, and Sanchez has shown that he is functional in play action, moving in the pocket and in two-minute drills; Schottenheimer is too enamored with his “system” to allow any such compromise. Sometimes offensive coordinators really don’t know how to coordinate; Sherman Lewis was the Packers titular offensive coordinator during the Mike Holmgren years, but everyone knew Holmgren was calling the shots. After Holmgren left, new coach Ray Rhodes—who had a defensive background—left Lewis to handle the offensive play-calling on his own. What we saw that year was what happens when the player who wears Number 4 on his jersey is released from his leash, and both Rhodes and Lewis were dismissed from their jobs upon the season's end.

Are we also to blame Sanchez for the inconsistency of the running game, which ranks 22nd in the NFL? Last year, the Jets averaged nearly 150 yards rushing a game; this year, it’s barely 100 yards. The team’s 3.8 yards per attempt is 30th in the NFL; last year, its 4.4 average ranked 8th. Pelzman also found fault with the receiving corp. "Not sure about the wisdom in signing Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason—along with Santonio Holmes, those are three guys who are used to being a No. 1 receiver. It sounds great on paper, but it can be a headache for the quarterback because everyone's clamoring for the ball. ... Holmes' catches will go up, almost by default, because right now, there's not much chemistry between Sanchez and Plaxico. With the passes to Burress, he always seems to be in a different ZIP code." This certainly was not helped by the lockout, or the fact that Burress has clearly lost a step after two years out of the league. And Sanchez is not to blame for a defense that has gone from 1st to 22nd in points allowed. The Green Bay Packers’ defense is the kind that frequently gives-up big plays, but minimizes the damage; the Jets defense is the opposite: it plays stout on occasion, but then gives-up the big plays with maximum damage. We saw this against the Giants, when on third-and-ten at the one yard line and the outcome still in flux, Eli Manning deflated the arrogant Jets defense and the team with a 99-yard touchdown strike to Victor Cruz.

The criticism of Sanchez has only been magnified because of the New York media market, which tends to overshadow the problems that other teams have over their quarterbacking issues. Take for example the Atlanta Falcons. Over the past four seasons, Matt Ryan has a respectable 42-19 record as a starter, a 2-1 TD pass to INT ratio, and an 88.0 rating. His record in the playoffs? 0-2, 3 TDs and 4 INTs and a 71.2 rating. Joe Flacco has been marginally better, with a 4-3 playoff record; but he has thrown only 4 TDs and had 7 INTs, with a rating of only 61.6. In his four wins, the defense allowed only 40 points. Sanchez, on the other hand, has a QB rating 20 points higher than his regular season rating, 9 TDs to 3 INTs, and a 4-2 record.