JETSerious: Need for Excitement

Mark Sanchez is a good quarterback. Say what you want about him… but remember this: his arm was responsible for 4 playoff victories. Not to mention, they were all on the road. The most exciting of all was his victory against Tom Brady in New England. I remember this game like it was yesterday. We had a great offensive line and weapons for Mark to get the ball to. Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, and Jerricho Cotchery were arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the league.

Key word here… WERE.

Notice I left out key players.

Brad Smith, Thomas Jones, and Leon Washington are just to name a few. Others like Alan Faneca, Damien Woody, LaDanian Tomlinson, etc. Tannenbaum should be blamed for. He was too arrogant to find replacements for, prior to parting ways. A lot of this, if not all of it, falls on our General Manager. Not many fans would argue with that. But the past is history. So how is this all relevant?

Take a look at the Jets current offense.

Instead of Holmes/Edwards/Cotchery as the wideouts… it’s Kerley/Schilens/Hill. That puts a ridiculous amount of pressure on Sanchez, as he tries to grow.

And that’s just the wide receivers.

The running backs and offensive line are not even close to the AFC Championship team. The only players still standing are Mangold, Ferguson, and Moore. I suppose you can throw Shonn Greene in the mix… but the point is….

This is NOT the offense that Mark Sanchez had success with. You can argue that Sanchez was along for the ride during those appearances, but I’d disagree. With an effective run game and a dominant offensive line, Mark Sanchez is an above average QB.

However, right now, he doesn’t have that going for him.

So what’s the answer?

Take the jump to page 2, where JETSerious will provide the answer and show you what’s good.

Well it’s week 10, meaning It’s a little late for roster changes. There’s not much to be done this deep into the season. We do, however, owe it to Mark Sanchez to let him do his job. Some believe that the Jets are a good example of how NOT to groom a franchise quarterback… but what’s done is done. What can we do moving forward?

Well the least we can do is stick with Mark, until he proves that he can’t get the job done. That might only be one game—this week @ Seattle. But we owe him that, at the absolute least.

Rex has stood by Mark through the good and bad, so we’d be foolish to say that Rex didn’t have his back after the Jets traded for Tim Tebow. The Jets will either improve to 4-5 or drop to 3-6. If the Jets fall this week, the fans know what’s coming.

I know what you’re thinking… “You’re implying that Tim Tebow will be the starting quarterback”. But before that, what’s something that every Jets fan has heard for years? I’ll give you a hint… it’s a phrase.

That’s right…”Same old Jets”.

Personally, I cannot stand it. I’m sure Jets Nation feels me when I say that. We brought Rex Ryan in here to change that. He helped create a new culture for our team, and I have a ton of respect for him doing just that. But the results are no longer there. The excitement is no longer there.

Bring in Tim Tebow.

If Mark cannot give the Jets a spark after week 10, then we need to give this kid a shot. I’m not saying he’s the answer… but I am saying that he’s an inspiration to the team. Mark Sanchez is not.

This offseason, Tebow’s peers voted him into the Top 100 Players of the NFL of 2012. They voted him in for a reason. Something happens when he is in the game. Don’t ask me what, but something happens.

Now, this all goes back to the beginning of this article. With the weapons, or lack there of, that Mark Sanchez is surrounded by… it’s hard to expect much from #6. He is simply a drop back quarterback that thrives off the run game and play-action pass.

With an average offensive line and a less-than-average run game, we’re asking Mark Sanchez to do something that simply doesn’t fit his skillset. When pressured in the pocket, Mark is only capable of doing three things:

Thread the needle to one of his progressions.
Throw the ball away.
Take a sack.

Now, what does Tebow have to offer that’s any different than Mark?

He can scramble… and he can extend the play.

Yeah, Mark is a far better passer. But what good is that when he has no time in the pocket? He’s forced to get the ball out quickly. Defenses know this, and allow their defensive backs to jump our short routes. This makes Mark look even worse, because these situations often turn into a pick-6. This kills Mark’s confidence and the team’s confidence in him. It quickly puts the defense in a difficult position, where they’re pressured to make a play in order to keep us in the game.

On the contrary, when you think about how the team has to play with Tebow at QB, the defense just has to keep the offense in the game. Sooner or later, it becomes Tebow Time. He lifts the team like nobody else.

He believes.

Tebow builds off determination and momentum. We saw it first hand last year in Denver. This backs up my point, that defenses often jump our routes. Remember the interception that Mark threw late in the Denver Game? It gave Tebow a shot, and that’s all he needs.

I remember thinking to myself, “They need 95 yards to win… we’re OK.”

I was dead wrong.

Denver rallied around Tebow as he led the Broncos to another 4^th quarter comeback, putting a dagger in all of our Jet hearts.

So what’s the point of all of this?

If Mark Sanchez fails to lead the Jets to a win, and we drop to 3-6, something has to give.

Tebow is on the bench, and rightfully so… until Mark proves that he can’t get the job done. That could be the case after this game @ Seattle.

Jets fans deserve some excitement. If that means starting Tim Tebow and providing a spark for this team, then I’m all for it.

I realize that most fans want to ride or die with Mark, but we could be dead after week 10… so what do we have to lose?

Regardless if you’re a Sanchez supporter or a Tebow supporter, you better support your team… The New York Jets.

Win first, sympathize second.

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