NYSS - An Abortion of New York Sports Journalism
Why Jet fans should be excited about Mark Sanchez
I need to preface anything I write by first stating that I am a USC football fan, and my opinions might be just a bit biased. But I am not a Jet fan, or a Giant fan for that matter. We don't need to get into my favorite team at the moment, since they didn't do anything in the draft but build a sub par kickoff unit. But that's for another discussion.
I was not at all surprised by what the Jets did. I predicted it about two weeks ago, but I did not think they would trade all the way up to 5. I thought Jacksonville would move their pick at 8, since they wanted a tackle and this draft was extremely deep at that position. But New York did not have to trade that much to get up to Cleveland's spot. The 1st and 2nd round picks, plus three Mangini players. Elam will be good, but that is one position where the Jets have talent. Coleman was a cut by the Cowboys when they were transitioning to a 3-4, he is a career stopgap/backup. And Ratliff is nothing more than a #2 QB, at the most. If any Jet fans can be satisfied with Brett Ratliff as their starting QB, they should check their heads. Cleveland traded the 1st rounder they got from NY to Tampa, who took QB Josh Freeman. Cleveland used the 2nd round pick to get a tweener OLB from Hawaii, David Veikune, who was considered a reach.
So NY got potentially the best QB in this draft, for three backups, David Veikune and Josh Freeman. The gripes about Sanchez are plentiful. He's just a product of a really good program/system. His supporting cast was strong. He doesn't have the a strong enough arm. Bullshit I say.
When you see him play, you see a mobile, fluid athlete with great footwork and a very strong, accurate arm. What some don't see is his leadership ability. Fans really do not appreciate this aspect enough, especially when dealing with QB's. Teammates of Sanchez are drawn to him, they play harder for him. He inspires the entire team to play harder and better. I have watched USC football since Palmer's sophomore year, and there has never been a more charismatic player come through SC than Sanchez.
When it comes to him being a good pro, there are a few things good NFL QB's have to do. One is throw with accuracy. Sanchez completed just under 66% of his passes, in a pro-style offense, not some dink and dunk, light-em-up Texas Tech spread. Another quality is mobility. I'm not talking about being Vick or Mcnabb, but the ability to move around in the pocket and use your feet to set up a throw. Another is TD/INT ratio. He threw 34 TD's compared to 10 picks. 3.4/1 is pretty good. And finally, you have to have a strong arm. He has shown it time after time. The deep out to the sideline, at 20-30 yards, is an essential throw in the NFL. Many QB's still struggle with this throw.
The video I found was the first one that popped up on youtube, and it shows a number of these attributes. I'm not asking you to watch the entire video, but it wouldn't kill you either. Here are a few highlights with time-points:
- 0:14, most impressive play of the highlight. Notice his footwork and how he almost takes a crow hop to get power into the throw. He uses not only his arm, but his hips and legs to throw. I saw Kiper say that his arm strength is like Chad Pennington, but that is laughable. I've never seen Chad make this throw before. It travels 61 yards, and he almost out-throws Ronald Johnson. The one thing that is so impressive is that two weeks before this game, Sanchez suffered from a partially subluxed patella in his knee. I have had this injury before, but I have completely dislocated both of my patellas. Let me tell you first hand, it does not feel good. To get a good picture of this injury, think Jason Campbell 2 years ago, or even better, Shaun Livingston on the Clippers. Or better yet, set down, straighten your leg, and push your kneecap to the outside of your leg. Sanchez' knee cap partially slipped out and popped back in, but it is still very painful and causes a great deal of fluid to build up in the knee. To be able to come back and move like this two weeks after this kind of injury is pretty incredible.
- 0:21, reinforces the footwork and strong arm
- 1:09, 28 yard deep out to his left
- 1:52, just a good play
- 2:10, strong arm
- 2:36, this is an important highlight. I'm not really impressed with the run, but look at how enthusiastic his lineman are after the TD. They immediately go to pick him up and celebrate. This to me, shows just how close he is with his teammates.
- 2:40, this might be the most impressive throw in the highlight. He throws off his back foot, with pressure in his face, 25 yard to the right sideline.
Dave is right in that people should not expect great things this year. But I will say this. He is going to a strong team, one that was contending for a playoff spot until a late season collapse. This isn't the abomination that is the Detroit Lions. The offensive line is strong, and so is the running game. He is going to a team with a defensive minded coach who will stress ball security and accuracy. And I do disagree that it will take three years to see if he will make it or not. With highly drafted QB's, you will know pretty much after two years, look at McNabb, Eli, Peyton, Big Ben, Matt Ryan, Carson. Personally, I think the Jets go 8-8 this year. And this is not an indictment on them, its just that I think the other teams in the division will be better. But now the Jets don't have to worry about their most important position, hopefully, for another 10 years.
I was not at all surprised by what the Jets did. I predicted it about two weeks ago, but I did not think they would trade all the way up to 5. I thought Jacksonville would move their pick at 8, since they wanted a tackle and this draft was extremely deep at that position. But New York did not have to trade that much to get up to Cleveland's spot. The 1st and 2nd round picks, plus three Mangini players. Elam will be good, but that is one position where the Jets have talent. Coleman was a cut by the Cowboys when they were transitioning to a 3-4, he is a career stopgap/backup. And Ratliff is nothing more than a #2 QB, at the most. If any Jet fans can be satisfied with Brett Ratliff as their starting QB, they should check their heads. Cleveland traded the 1st rounder they got from NY to Tampa, who took QB Josh Freeman. Cleveland used the 2nd round pick to get a tweener OLB from Hawaii, David Veikune, who was considered a reach.
So NY got potentially the best QB in this draft, for three backups, David Veikune and Josh Freeman. The gripes about Sanchez are plentiful. He's just a product of a really good program/system. His supporting cast was strong. He doesn't have the a strong enough arm. Bullshit I say.
When you see him play, you see a mobile, fluid athlete with great footwork and a very strong, accurate arm. What some don't see is his leadership ability. Fans really do not appreciate this aspect enough, especially when dealing with QB's. Teammates of Sanchez are drawn to him, they play harder for him. He inspires the entire team to play harder and better. I have watched USC football since Palmer's sophomore year, and there has never been a more charismatic player come through SC than Sanchez.
When it comes to him being a good pro, there are a few things good NFL QB's have to do. One is throw with accuracy. Sanchez completed just under 66% of his passes, in a pro-style offense, not some dink and dunk, light-em-up Texas Tech spread. Another quality is mobility. I'm not talking about being Vick or Mcnabb, but the ability to move around in the pocket and use your feet to set up a throw. Another is TD/INT ratio. He threw 34 TD's compared to 10 picks. 3.4/1 is pretty good. And finally, you have to have a strong arm. He has shown it time after time. The deep out to the sideline, at 20-30 yards, is an essential throw in the NFL. Many QB's still struggle with this throw.
The video I found was the first one that popped up on youtube, and it shows a number of these attributes. I'm not asking you to watch the entire video, but it wouldn't kill you either. Here are a few highlights with time-points:
- 0:14, most impressive play of the highlight. Notice his footwork and how he almost takes a crow hop to get power into the throw. He uses not only his arm, but his hips and legs to throw. I saw Kiper say that his arm strength is like Chad Pennington, but that is laughable. I've never seen Chad make this throw before. It travels 61 yards, and he almost out-throws Ronald Johnson. The one thing that is so impressive is that two weeks before this game, Sanchez suffered from a partially subluxed patella in his knee. I have had this injury before, but I have completely dislocated both of my patellas. Let me tell you first hand, it does not feel good. To get a good picture of this injury, think Jason Campbell 2 years ago, or even better, Shaun Livingston on the Clippers. Or better yet, set down, straighten your leg, and push your kneecap to the outside of your leg. Sanchez' knee cap partially slipped out and popped back in, but it is still very painful and causes a great deal of fluid to build up in the knee. To be able to come back and move like this two weeks after this kind of injury is pretty incredible.
- 0:21, reinforces the footwork and strong arm
- 1:09, 28 yard deep out to his left
- 1:52, just a good play
- 2:10, strong arm
- 2:36, this is an important highlight. I'm not really impressed with the run, but look at how enthusiastic his lineman are after the TD. They immediately go to pick him up and celebrate. This to me, shows just how close he is with his teammates.
- 2:40, this might be the most impressive throw in the highlight. He throws off his back foot, with pressure in his face, 25 yard to the right sideline.
Dave is right in that people should not expect great things this year. But I will say this. He is going to a strong team, one that was contending for a playoff spot until a late season collapse. This isn't the abomination that is the Detroit Lions. The offensive line is strong, and so is the running game. He is going to a team with a defensive minded coach who will stress ball security and accuracy. And I do disagree that it will take three years to see if he will make it or not. With highly drafted QB's, you will know pretty much after two years, look at McNabb, Eli, Peyton, Big Ben, Matt Ryan, Carson. Personally, I think the Jets go 8-8 this year. And this is not an indictment on them, its just that I think the other teams in the division will be better. But now the Jets don't have to worry about their most important position, hopefully, for another 10 years.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by NYsportsGUY on
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Dave is me (NYsportsGUY) by the way people. Great article Wani. There are 2 things that I would comment on.
1) I really liked his footwork in this video and you made a good point differentiating him with that. His arm looks average, nothing special nothing horrible. (not a bit like Chad though Kiper is a presumptive prick sometimes although being overly opinionated is his job) He is being put on to a team that has every position filled for the most part (with the exception of WR) If he beats out Clemens for the starting position, I hope it will be because he showed that he was better not because Woody Johnson put pressure on Rex and Tannenbaum to start his new shiny marketing toy. And that is the reason why I believe this move was made, because of selling tickets and putting a fact to the franchise, not because he was worth the rish we took. Only time will tell i guess. I am willing to give him a shot.
2) Use spaces between each paragraph.
I'm not gonna lie, this moment helped me get on the bandwagon just a lil bit
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Permalink Reply by Wani on
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Yea, my bad about the spaces. I do agree with you in terms of the franchise wanting to sell tickets, more importantly the extremely high priced PSL's (private seal license). Nothing adds more buzz to a team than a new QB, especially a highly drafted rookie. But there is one thing you have to wonder - Are the Jets getting tired of playing second fiddle to the Giants? Nothing pains me more than seeing the Giants do well, but the facts are there. Since the last time the Jets won a Super Bowl, the Giants have been to four, and won three of them. They are clearly the dominant team, just look at the fact that the Jets play in Giants Stadium. Maybe they are getting tired and want to win. And you also gotta remember, that Woody Johnson isn't some self made millionaire. He owns Johnson and Johnson, which he inherited, so it's not like he's hurting for money.
But honestly, I think Sanchez' arm is great. When I watched Leinart play, you could tell he was a finesse passer who relied on his smarts and mechanics more than pure arm strength. I would definitely put Leinart's arm strength on par with Chaddy. Maybe I feel this way about Mark because for 5 years, Booty and Leinart were the starters, and their arm strength is questionable. The second play in the highlight says enough. When are you ever going to have to throw more than 65 yards on a play? I mean shit, Kyle Boller can throw a ball 70 yards while kneeling, but what the good did that ever serve him? I would counter by saying guys with tremendous arm strength might be more prone to throwing picks because they believe in their arms so much. Look at the INT numbers from guys with powerful arms. Cutler threw 18, Favre threw twenty fucking two, Ben threw 15, Romo threw 14, Rodgers threw 13. Chaddy might not have the strongest arm, but he almost put up a TD/INT ratio of 3/1 playing on a team with no real go to receiver. I just think the Jets got a steal because the Rams would have definitely taken Sanchez if they didn't have Bulger's huge cap number to deal with. Out of all the teams that really needed a QB, Sanchez couldn't be in a better situation.
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Permalink Reply by Kandeh Williams on -
Mark Sanchez is inconstitent
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