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During the great Jets quarterback debate this week, a popular theory has been if coach Rex Ryan sends Mark Sanchez to the bench, then the QB’s time as the Jets starter is over. People believe Sanchez will be shot mentally and unable to ever regain his confidence.
Hogwash.
Somewhere along the line Sanchez has been painted as mentally weak, and it has stuck. You can say a lot about Sanchez — he makes awful decisions, terrible throws and sometimes looks like a tourist staring at a subway map when trying to read a defense — but weak is one thing Sanchez has not been in his four years with the Jets.
Sanchez has endured a ton of criticism, and he has handled it well. This is not the first time there have been cries for his job. It’s just the first time there is another viable option.
I think Sanchez would benefit from watching from the sideline this week in Jacksonville. Give Greg McElroy a shot and see what he can do. If he struggles, I think Ryan can go back to Sanchez, and he will be better after having sat down and caught his breath.
The Thanksgiving night debacle had to take a lot out of Sanchez. He became America’s punch line after the “Butt Fumble,” and he saw the Jets’ season spiraling out of control.
Sanchez looked like a shot quarterback Sunday against the Cardinals. All you had to do was watch his first throw, into the hands of Arizona’s Kerry Rhodes, to know this was not going to be his day.
Ryan spent Monday and yesterday talking to various people in the Jets organization, trying to get a feel for what everyone thinks about the quarterback situation. Forget about Tim Tebow. Though the Jets have treated him unfairly, it would be tough to prepare the offense for a Tebow takeover in two days. The time to do that was during the bye week, and Ryan stuck with Sanchez.
Now, his choice is between Sanchez and McElroy, and as of last night, no one around the Jets was saying if Ryan had decided.
You can imagine heated debates in Florham Park, as there really is no easy answer to this question. McElroy seems to have something about him. You listen to the players in the locker room talk about him and they are not putting clichés together just to say the right thing. They have watched him in practice this season against Ryan’s defense, and by all accounts he has handled himself well.
It is tough for fans or media members to make any true judgments on McElroy because we have seen so little. There was the preseason game in Houston last year when he showed his toughness and the preseason game in Philadelphia this year when he led to the Jets offense to its only preseason touchdown. Seven passes on Sunday told us nothing other than he didn’t mess it up.
We know what Sanchez is. Through 65 career games, he has proven to be good on the rare occasion, good enough on many occasions and downright awful way too often. There is no doubt the Jets did him no favors this year with whom they lined up next to him, but the fifth pick in the draft, who is making $20 million guaranteed over two years, should make those players better. He can’t.
Now, McElroy could be even worse. We don’t know. But Ryan should find out. If McElroy stinks, he can go back to Sanchez. Something tells me he won’t be curled up in the fetal position under the bench.
Sanchez never has been the backup. It’s time to let him feel like what it’s like to be the most popular guy on the team.
Keller future unclear
The Jets have several difficult free-agent decisions to make this winter, but none will be more interesting to watch than that of tight end Dustin Keller.
Keller has been a good Jet for five years, but the team would not give him a contract extension before the season, choosing instead to let him become a free agent after the year. The season has not gone well for Keller, who missed four games with a hamstring injury and now has a sprained ankle.
The Jets seemed to want to see how Keller played in Tony Sparano’s offense before making a long-term commitment. There also is the issue of the Jets having locked up several of their core players to long-term deals. Can they afford to do the same with Keller?
Keller has 28 catches for 317 yards and two touchdowns this year. How much will the down year hurt him in free agency? It’s going to be interesting to see how the Jets handle Keller, who is well-liked and respected in the locker room. Keller deserves to come back. He’s been a good Jet. But that doesn’t always guarantee your return.