Just two seasons into Mark Sanchez’s career and he already has more playoff road wins (4) than perennial-MVP-favorites Peyton Manning (2) and Tom Brady (3). If you can forget his sub-par quarterback rating of 63.0 in 2009 and 75.3 in 2010, Sanchez could muster enough offense to lead the team deep into the playoffs again—leading no one to care about his regular season numbers.
Unfortunately the 2011 season included no postseason run to wash the aftertaste of another below-average season from their franchise signal-caller. Sanchez, who was taken fifth overall in the 2009 draft, lagged far behind the top pick in that same draft, quarterback Matt Stafford.
While Stafford lit up the NFL with 5,038 passing yards (fifth-most all-time), 41 touchdown passes (third-best in 2011), and a quarterback rating of 97.5, Sanchez was not so hot. The USC alum’s 78.2 quarterback rating was actually a career-best but it ranked a mere 23rd in the now pass-happy NFL.
The final three weeks of the season, in particular, have put into question whether Sanchez is the long-term answer at quarterback. The final three games, all losses, came at a time where the Jets held a one-game lead for the final wild card spot.
Sanchez’s dismal performance was at the heart of the three losses, throwing seven interceptions while completing an unsatisfactory 56 percent of his passes for a combined quarterback rating of 60.3.
General Manager Mike Tannenbaum gave no indication a change at quarterback was in the works at the team’s season-ending press conference. “I think Mark’s body of work speaks for itself. I think it’s more good than bad and it’s far from perfect,” Tannenbaum said. “It has to be more consistent, and I think if Mark was sitting right here, he would be the first one to tell you.”
The news out of Indianapolis is the Colts will draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, and the faint possibility exists that Peyton Manning could be released or traded this offseason. The Jets have been aggressive in acquiring players the last few years—Brett Favre, Santonio Holmes, Braylan Edwards, etc. It would be surprising if they didn’t make a hard push for Manning. After all, Manning’s lack of playoff road wins is because he gets the team home field advantage come postseason time.
