Mark Sanchez: Beneath New York’s Bright Lights

In going from back to back AFC championships to the franchise’s scape goat, Mark Sanchez truly knows what it means to play for a New York franchise. It’s common knowledge that donning any jersey in New York brings added pressure, but I don’t know if anyone could have braced Mark for the rollercoaster he’d experience when the Jets called his name on draft day 3 years ago.

His rookie campaign highlighted taking the Jets to their first AFC Championship game since the ’99 playoffs. Somewhere throughout the playoff run the New York media had coined the nickname “Sanchize” and published it across every major New York media outlet; Sanchez was in the midst of it all. In the following season much of the same occurred as Jets fans paraded around, chest out in euphoria, for all the right reasons. Their beloved football Jets had once again been led to the AFC Championship behind their now second year quarterback, Mark “Sanchize” Sanchez. Even more monumental was the fact the Jets had beat the Patriots in Gillete Stadium to get there, as this marked only the 2nd loss in the last 4 years the Patriots had suffered at home, as well as the 1st time in Jets history they have made back to back AFC Championship appearances. Things simply couldn’t get much better for the quarterback of the Jets. It seemed as though he was on his way to writing a Joe Namath type script.

However, all that seemingly came crashing down around him this year. After failing to reach the playoffs and losing a pivotal game to the Giants in week 16, Jets fans began screaming for a new quarterback. I don’t know if Jets fans simply wanted to win so bad that emotion clouded there vision, or expectations entering this year were so high that anything short of a super bowl appearance was failure; thus leaving missing the playoffs cause for cleaning house. Either way, this past year for the Jets has left fans and “experts” alike claiming the Jets need a change behind helm. The NFL has always held that second meaning of “Not for Long” accompanied with a “what have you done for me lately” feeling. Perhaps Sanchez’s ridicule epitomizes just that. However, you can’t so quickly forget the guy has been to two AFC championships in his first three years.

Now before Jets fans jump down my throat, let’s take a quick step back and look at their cross city rivals, the NY Giants. If you remember before this miraculous super bowl run, they too were claiming for change. In week 15 they dropped a home loss to the division rival Washington Redskins that had all of MetLife pouring “Boo’s” onto the field as their team went to 7-7. Earlier in the year chants of “fire Coughlin” broke out even louder as the Giants dropped another frustrating home loss at the hands of Seattle Seahawks. Let’s face it, they were a 3rd and 5 Tony Romo completion to a wide open streaking Miles Austin in week 16 away from watching the playoffs at home. My point here: How quickly things can change.

Take another step back and assess Joe Flacco, who has faced the same scrutiny as Sanchez far away from the bright lights and media vultures of NY. Flacco this post-season however silenced most critics and showed he is every bit capable of leading a team to the super bowl. If anything, this postseason validated for me I’d rather have Flacco under center than Matty “Ice” Ryan. If not for a Lee Evens end zone drop with just seconds left, super bowl 46 would have been a Ravens vs. Giants matchup. Still, Flacco’s composure and late game plays allowed him to escape blame for the loss. He put his team in position to win, and frankly, outplayed every bit of Tom Brady that Sunday. The very strides that Flacco has shown in his mastering of the system and maturity in execution are obtainable for Sanchez as well. Let us keep in mind it was only his third year.

Perhaps the most convincing argument advocating for Sanchez would lie in the numbers. Let the stats talk. I believe somewhere between all the negative scrutiny Sanchez has faced this year you would be led to believe he did nothing well. Contrary to popular belief, Sanchez had a career year. Look at Sanchez’ stats over his career:

SEASON GP CMP ATT CMP% YDS TD

2009 15 196 364 53.8% 2,444 12

2010 16 278 507 54.8% 3,291 17

2011 16 308 543 56.7% 3,474 26

Information provided by Espn.com

Somewhere between the media portrayed lies stood the truth about Sanchez season. He actually had statistically the best year of his career. He posted career highs in completion percentage, completions, yards, touchdowns, and passer rating. In fact, his 78.2 passer rating is better than that of the 3rd season posted by elite quarterback and 2 time super bowl champ Eli Manning. Manning posted a 73.9 passer rating in his 3rd full year under center. Can you imagine if Giants had quit on him then? In his first 4 full seasons Eli only threw over 3,400 yards once and never threw more than 24 touchdowns. Now I’m not stating Sanchez belongs in the same discussion as Eli, but in Eli’s first 3 seasons he too wasn’t a definitive franchise cornerstone. My point is Mark is young. He has proven to be able to win the big game, and done it more than once. Give him a chance…don’t run him out of town.

Tuck away the pen, and quit linking rumors of Peyton to the Jets. Instead, give your quarterback a bit of faith, stand by his side. I’d be hesitant to count this kid out, after all any rookie who can come into the pressure of New York and lead the Jets to an AFC championship game (let alone twice), has proven he can handle it. His stats have only gotten better over his 3 year career. Re-focus and give Mark the fair shot he deserves. If the Jets are playing in January come next year, you can bet “Sanchize” will be headlined across the morning Times, and this will all be forgotten…