NFL.com: Mark Sanchez, New York Jets doomed by lack of planning

[jxc]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...ck-of-planning

In his attempt to explain the unexplainable -- a three-way quarterback competition during Week 14 of a 17-week season -- New York Jets coach Rex Ryan dug deep into his near-empty bag Monday to pull out the only line left in a season of failed rhetoric.

This decision, he said, would be based on "what gives us the best opportunity to beat Jacksonville." A pretty innocent quote, sure. Nobody should have expected Ryan to say anything else, not given the precedent that has already been set.

But now that Ryan has put Sanchez back in the big-boy seat, just three days after he sent him to timeout, we can conclusively view this situation as what it is: This is the Jets' way. No plan beyond today. No future beyond the moment. Carpe diem, everybody! Man, Henry David Thoreau would be so proud.

Indeed, as Ryan said, it's all about finding a way to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Just like the decision to give Sanchez a significant extension was all about that moment, with no consideration for the future. Just like the decision to trade for Tim Tebow was all about that moment, with no regard for his actual ability, both good and bad.

Case in point: The decision to extend Sanchez's deal by three years, even while the rest of the NFL community could clearly see his vulnerabilities, created some nice salary-cap space for the time being. It would have been a savvy front-office move, if not for the fact that Sanchez had yet to finish a season with a QB rating above 80.

But wait, don't forget about all of the other reasons that the team decided to extend Sanchez. You know, like the failed flirtations with Peyton Manning, another mismanaged effort that saw the Jets neglect to consider the long-term repercussions of Manning predictably deciding to pass on joining a circus like the one in New York.

Everyone will say the Jets made the right decision to start Sanchez on Sunday, and that's fine. But making the "right" decision shouldn't be confused with making a "good" decision. So if Sanchez beats the Jaguars (ranked 28th against the pass) this week, and if he beats the Tennessee Titans (ranked 26th against the pass) next week, are the Jets going to assume they escaped this quandary in better shape? Please.

Of course, they will. After all, for the moment, the problem will have been solved. And it's all about the moment. It's all about squinting your eyes so tightly that anything in the distance is too blurry to worry about.

Man, if only the Jets could have quietly benched Sanchez last week, while Tebow was inactive with broken ribs, only to have Greg McElroy provide Ryan with his very own Colin Kaepernick moment. Then he'd never have to look back. He could justify keeping Tebow on the sideline. He could justify paying Sanchez $8.25 million next year to hold a clipboard. Alas, it didn't happen.

No Kaepernick here. No Russell Wilson. No "hot hand" to get the Jets out of another jam. And it should be no surprise, either.

The Jets are left to start a quarterback whose body of work is extensive enough to conclusively show exactly what he is. Since 1980, there have been just three other quarterbacks selected with a top-five draft pick who have played four seasons without a passer rating above 80. The names? Rick Mirer. Tim Couch. And Joey Harrington. That's the company we're talking about here -- a handful of quarterbacks who were given every chance to succeed and never really did.

Amazingly, the Jets have managed at least one situation with the future in mind: They've left Tebow on the bench. After all, if they played Tebow, they'd have to alter the entire offense. And that would require -- gulp -- planning beyond one week!

We don't even need to begin diving into everything wrong with the way this team has managed the Tebow situation, from beginning to end. It's rather easy to summarize in just one quick sentence: The Jets traded for a player who was notoriously bad in practice but a notorious winner in games, only to decide not to play him much in games because he's bad in practice. Brilliant, indeed.

Rather than enter into the dark world of unknowns, the Jets will simply continue to live in their failed present. They will keep living without a good plan for the future, making decisions with a one-week-at-a-time mentality that only really works when it's a cliché coming from the likes of Tom Brady or Bill Belichick.

So go ahead, Jets. Seize that day. Enjoy the moment. At this point, it's probably the smart thing to do. Especially when your job tomorrow is far from guaranteed.

[Joe W. Namath]

The Jets traded for a player who was notoriously bad in practice but a notorious winner in games, only to decide not to play him much in games because he's bad in practice. Brilliant, indeed.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA

We are such a joke its embarassing.

[augustiniak]

tim couch, rick mirer and joey harrington. didn't the announcer last week say that sanchez reminds him of harrington? that's who sanchez is. nobody in the jets org. can admit he stinks. now they're losing the younger fans to the giants and the older ones have nearly had it as well.

[Ruby2]

Originally Posted by augustiniak

tim couch, rick mirer and joey harrington. didn't the announcer last week say that sanchez reminds him of harrington? that's who sanchez is. nobody in the jets org. can admit he stinks. now they're losing the younger fans to the giants and the older ones have nearly had it as well.

He is actually way more Rex Grossman.

[jxc]

Originally Posted by Joe W. Namath

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA

We are such a joke its embarassing.

I'll never understand how a quarterback who failed to put any points on the board in two separate games and through three quarters of a third game gives the Jets "the best chance to win."

Would the other quarterbacks on the roster somehow score negative points?

[augustiniak]

Originally Posted by Ruby2

He is actually way more Rex Grossman.

ok, i was quoting the article. the point is, the only reason those qbs along with sanchez got as many starts as they did was b/c they were drafted high and there was money tied up in the decision. qbs who are consistently among the lowest in completion %, turnovers and qb rating 4 years in a row don't suddenly figure it out, especially on a team with zero commitment to a passing game.

[augustiniak]

Originally Posted by jxc

I'll never understand how a quarterback who failed to put any points on the board in two separate games and through three quarters of a third game gives the Jets "the best chance to win."

Would the other quarterbacks on the roster somehow score negative points?

i know. it's hilarious. the wheels are falling off the bus.

[Untouchable]

Originally Posted by augustiniak

tim couch, rick mirer and joey harrington. didn't the announcer last week say that sanchez reminds him of harrington? that's who sanchez is. nobody in the jets org. can admit he stinks. now they're losing the younger fans to the giants and the older ones have nearly had it as well.

I was saying the same thing 9 months ago.

Sanchez's numbers are just as comparable to Harrington's as they are to Eli's.

Not to mention that Harrington played with a dogsh*t offense every year that he was in Detroit. He was never for not even a single season surrounded by a Top 5 defense, Top 5 running game or arguably the best OL in football.

[augustiniak]

Originally Posted by Untouchable

I was saying the same thing 9 months ago.

Sanchez's numbers are just as comparable to Harrington's as they are to Eli's.

Not to mention that Harrington played with a dogsh*t offense every year that he was in Detroit. He was never for not even a single season surrounded by a Top 5 defense, Top 5 running game or arguably the best OL in football.

it's really simple as i see it. rex, tanny and sanchez either succeed or fail together. they either all stay or all go. rex doesn't care what mcelroy can and can't do b/c he won't be here to coach him. if sanchez does ok, they may stay but at this point, it's tough to see more than 1 of them here next year, and sanchez would stay only b/c of his contract.

[Ruby2]

Originally Posted by augustiniak

ok, i was quoting the article. the point is, the only reason those qbs along with sanchez got as many starts as they did was b/c they were drafted high and there was money tied up in the decision. qbs who are consistently among the lowest in completion %, turnovers and qb rating 4 years in a row don't suddenly figure it out, especially on a team with zero commitment to a passing game.

Yeah I got ya. Wasn't really disagreeing with you, more disagreeing with Brian Billick who was clearly drunk or on drugs last week, probably both.

[Demosthenes9]

There's a bit of a fudge factor going on here. If you count Eli's 1st season with 7 starts as a "year", then he'd be the 5th guy on the list.

[Joe W. Namath]

rex doesn't care what mcelroy can and can't do b/c he won't be here to coach him.

This guy gets it.

[augustiniak]

Originally Posted by Joe W. Namath

This guy gets it.

thanks joe. and all the time rex talks about being in the win business, etc. sure he wants to win, but with sanchez as the qb. b/c if sanchez sucks, tanny gets canned and then rex will leave one way or the other too. i can't remember a time where the fates of the gm, hc and qb were so intertwined. you have 3 high profile, controversial guys whose careers are all dependent on what happens this week.

[Charlie Brown]

When I said that the Jets had no plan going back two years ago I was pillared by the yahoos out here who said that because the Jets management made a lot of money they must have known what they are doing?

Well guess what? They DON’T!!!!!

The Jets are clueless to a fault and the fact that their so called coaching is actually ruining players and their development the longer they are with the team, in general, tells you all you need to know about these clowns!!!!

Quite frankly the Jets from the top down are a JOKE!!!!!

And as a lifelong Jets fan since 1968; I can say the incompetence of the current Jets' management has never been WORSE!!!! NEVER!!!!

Indeed in the past Jets management was poor, but they realized they were bad. These clowns actually think they know what they are doing and refuse to change!! The hubris evidenced form the Jets FO to the coaching staff is sickening and is a DISGRACE!!!

Good Grief.....

[TheMo]

What do people think of Bruce Arians at HC? How about a Mike Zimmer/Norv Turner combo deal?

[JerseyJet80]

Originally Posted by Ruby2

He is actually way more Rex Grossman.

thats offensive







to grossman

[sg3]

Originally Posted by TheMo

What do people think of Bruce Arians at HC? How about a Mike Zimmer/Norv Turner combo deal?

I think all three are currently employed.

What do people think of Bill Belichick at HC? How about a Jim Harbaugh/John Harbaugh combo deal?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[Joe W. Namath]

What do people think of Bruce Arians at HC? How about a Mike Zimmer/Norv Turner combo deal?

It would be a promotion for arians and zimmer and norv is getting canned real soon so all 3 will be a possibility this offseason.

Id like Jay Gruden but Arians and Zimmer would both be upgrades over rex.

[Stillafan]

Stupid me. I thought he was doomed by having no football skills, no brains and no guts.

[Ray Ray19]

LOL @ the media piling on, they have all the answers.

Sanchez is saved only because the Jets are on the road, they have the #28 and #26 defenses, so the built in excuses already being made if Sanchez dares to recover.

It's not like he hasn't been in the league for 4 years, has 4 playoff game victories, multiple come-from-behind victories, and a body of work that he HAS proved in the past he CAN do it.

Nevermind the injuries the fact that the Jets have no playmaker on offense right now.

Ask yourselves, who on this team is Sanchez' go to target? Who is that safety valve? With Holmes out most of the year, Keller out most of the year, who has been that player? Do the same with the rest of the league, look at the successful teams who are the playmakers, the go to player? When Holmes went down, when Keller went out, those two were the players, the rest were supposed to be pieces. Hill is a piece right now, he's too young. Kerley, a piece. Schilens, a veteran player, a piece. Sanchez has new players in and out of the line-up every week it seems. Who can he trust? Who can he trust to be where they need to be on the football field?

Why are so many blinded by all of this, all year long, and only revel in hating on the player that has less than a half a deck to play with? And I don't want to hear **** about Tannenbaum, these injuries weren't part of the plan, at WR, at TE, at RB, up and down the depth chart, all year long. It started with Baker, then Keller before the season started. All 3 of his top WR's all missed most of training camp to injuries, Holmes, Kerley, Schilens, Hill too for a portion, but he's a rookie.

Too many are piling on Sanchez, now the media has a genius response, the Jets had no plan.

No, they had a plan, they all got hurt. The plan was to get younger, i.e. Hill and Kerley. With Holmes as the #1, Hill and Kerley were supposed to fall in line. Holmes goes down, that was a huge loss. The plan was to drop the deadweight and cancer, i.e. Burress. Take a flier on a young veteran with potential, i.e. Schilens to help fill the gap left by Burress last year, and Edwards the year before. The team has a cap to contend with, they tried to get young, rebuild through the draft, while trying to say competitive. Hill has a lot of potential, but he isn't ready yet, not for primetime. But everybody wants to pile on Sanchez.

You all want McElroy in there? Really? Sure, he'll provide a spark, then what? You all saw how the passing game came to a halt because McElroy can't stretch the field. Defenses will catch up real quick on that. Tebow? LOL.

Sanchez is still just 26 years old. His confidence is shot, sure, he has no chemistry and nobody to trust. He's trying to make plays, but he's trying too hard, and he's making bad decisions.

Now we get to see what he's made of, we get to see how he responds. IMO, that is a big test, a good test, for him, for the team, for the fans.