Jets still recovering from Favre debacle…

It really doesn’t matter who wins this QB battle off the bat, because one this is for sure. There will be a learning curve. Whether Kellen Clemens takes his lumps against the brutal beginning to the shedule, or Mark Sanchez learns on the job for any length of time, the Jets have put themselves behind the 8 ball with a team full of talent.

Let’s be honest. When the Jets decided to sign Brett Favre and let Chad Pennington go, it set off a terrible sequence of events. The locker room was divided because everyone knew Favre was a diva that had no desire to be a Jet while Pennington was the leader who wanted nothing more than to lead these guys. The guys knew Favre was short lived as did most of us. He didn’t want to come to NY and was just using the Jets as one night stand. What an embarrassment!

The Jets gave Favre double the money of Pennington, and traded picks away to do so. So where did that leave us this year?

Favre in a Vikings Jersey as he originally wanted with no compensation whatsoever for the Jets. Pennington in a Dolphin uniform coming off a heroic year leading on of the greatest turnarounds in league history which included a division title at the expense of the Jets who had a QB with 1 foot out the door for most of the year.

The Jets in a panic with no viable QB options had to overpay and mortgage their draft to move up and grab Mark Sanchez, instead of grabbing another playmaker a’ la Percy Harvin.

Here’s another food for thought… Had the Jets not been scorned by the Favre mistake, there would’ve been no reason they wouldn’t have been serious players in taking a chance on Michael Vick for the future. Because of the way the season ended last year, the Jets had to be tentative in any more negative press from that position. Uggg….

So where can they go from here? Can the troops rally around one of these guys while they develop? Who should be the starter day 1?

Due to the man crush the Jets brass seem to have on guys like Sanchez and Favre, I’m sure Mark Sanchez will be the day 1 starter, even though Kellen Clemens is the right pick. There is no downside to starting Kellen Clemens to begin the season.

Think about it, if Clemens succeeds, Mark Sanchez has time to develop and learn while the Jets are successful. Kellen Clemens will increase his value throughout the year and will be a viable trade option at some point.

On the other hand, if Clemens struggles, Mark Sanchez will come in mid-year and have a chance to spark this team and entrench himself as the guy for the future. At that point if Sanchez struggles, the Jets can use the rest of the season as a learning opportunity.

If the Jets start Sanchez to start the season and he struggles, then what do we do? Bench Sanchez and bring in Clemens? What will that do to Sanchez going forward?

The only chance the Jets have of success with starting Sanchez from day 1, is to hope this kid who was a Junior last year in the Pac-10, with 16 games of college experience can open up the season @ Houston, vs. New England, vs. Tennessee, @ New Orleans & @ Miami without raising all sorts of question marks.

Believe me when I say, I really like Mark Sanchez. I want him to succeed and be the QB for this team in the future. (Seriously, my Fantasy Football team this year is the “Dirty Sanchez”) I’m a fan! I just know that the Jets have screwed up so many Quarterbacks in the past and I want them to give this kid every opportunity to succeed. I’d like to see them turn off ESPN and do something smart for a chance. Rex Ryan seems like he can make the tough decision. We know they’ll be concentrating on the running game and defense, which is promising, but this decision could impact this franchise for a long time to come. Hopefully this new regime doesn’t follow in the footsteps of what we all have become accustomed to… Typical F’n Jets.