Between the pundits, the writers, the fans, etc etc, enough people were saying Sanchez had an opportunity to win the job tonight that I tend to think there was something to it. If he had come out and played well, theres a pretty good chance that Ryan could have given him the job as early as postgame interviews. That being said, I don't think, by any metric, he had that kind of day. The first pass, the interception to Ngata, wasnt actually as troubling to me as the next throw, that Lewis should have had for the runback. Lineman tend to sneak out of nowhere, and I think thats a lesson that you can learn fast, but you need to see that LB, especially when its Ray Lewis. Like last week, he had one good throw, the difference is he played a heck of a lot more ball tonight. The bulk of his yards were manufactured by Leon Washington after the catch on the one screen pass, the rest of the night he looked antsy and rushed. I like him a lot as a prospect, but he isn't showing that he's ready to start for a playoff-hungry team. The one miscommunication on the quick hit to Cotchery, and the multiple (2?) delay of game penalties also stood out. They're rookie mistakes, but that was the whole point with guys like Flacco and Ryan last year, they kept the rookie stuff to a minimum and allowed the team to win. Sanchez looks very much like a rookie to me, a talented one, but not one whos ahead of the curve. Like Sanchez, Clemens had one complete bonehead interception. Unlike Sanchez, I thought he played pretty dang well in the rest of his limited play. Certainly not enough to win a job either, especially since he wasn't dealing with as many Ravens starters as Sanchez had. He looked much better standing in the pocket, fewer miscues on offense as a whole, and if Brad Smith hangs onto that second touchdown, his statline ends up looking pretty dang good. In my humble opinion, the right move has to be to give Clemens the same opportunity next week that Sanchez had this week. Give him the start, and give him a chance to separate himself in live action. The Giants are hardly the same as the Ravens, but its a good pressure defense, well above average in this league. Give Clemens that first nod and the path to the starting job, because Sanchez didn't earn another shot tonight, and Clemens hasn't had his yet. Put it this way, if Sanchez starts next week and stinks it up again, you can't give him the job and feel good about it, and you also don't want to give Clemens the job by default. He has to earn it just like Sanchez does. Other thoughts. I was beyond thrilled with the running game, coming against one of the top defensive squads in the league. The line was giving solid running room, Jones picked up good tough yards, and Washington continues to look like the most talented player on this team. Bryan Thomas actually looks like a standout defensive player suddenly, not just a mediocre sack artist but a complete player who can contribute a lot to this team. Howard Green stood out a couple times, giving me some real faith that we might have the kind of depth on the line that we haven't had in who knows how long. And the guy who stood out most may not have even been in the stadium, as the void left by Darrelle Revis is disturbingly noticeable, the way that Jenkins was clearly missed last year in Mangini's scheme (he wasn't as obviously missed tonight, which gives me hope that it won't be necessary to wear him down as much this season). I'll be excited to hopefully see them both back on the field against the Giants next week. Oh, and I don't know what they did to Dustin Keller to night, but I didn't like it, he has to be a reliable target this year for this team to have a functional passing game.
I'm still not a fan of our OC. I think both of these guys are thinking way to much before the ball is snapped.
It won't get any easier with the Giants and Eagles coming up, each on 4 days rest. The good thing is they are facing some of the best. It can only get easier after that.
Clemens has had 3+ seasons to win the job and Sanchex only 3+ months. If they are so close then that means Sanchez is the clear winner.
2 quick series is not the same as sanchez basically having a half to move the football. I agree with the OP if anything was proved tonight, its that Sanchez is a true rookie, who will benefit by holding the clipboard until at least our bye week (week 9). So I would agree, give Clemens the oppurtunity to win the job next week, and if he cannot win it with a great game against the Giants, then give the ball to Sanchez. It's that simple. After tonights game the Jets should want KC to win the job outright if only to give Sanchez some extra time to learn and get his full defense back before sending him out there to play one of the toughest first 8 games in the NFL.
I think that's not a bad way to look at it. Barring the overnight addition of superpowers, there was just no way on earth Clemens was getting the job.
It's only Sanchez's 2nd time playing... in a preseason game. He showed some poised and bounced back from a bad start. I'd take the whole thing with a grain of salt. There is still a lot more ball to be played.
What exactly did people expect? Did they think Sanchez would be perfect his entire career? There will be plenty more moments like he had last night, last night was a great learning experience and I'm glad it happened. he showed guts last night and took a positive step forward.
I agree Junc, it was a good learning experience, he needed to have some controversy, it ended on a positive note, which is good. Clemens still does nothing for me...
Its a waste of a season if Sanchez doesn't start....Let the kid get in there and play....let him make mistakes and learn from them...This team will be no better with Sanchez or KC in there, so give it to Sanchez and next year he will have a year under his belt and he will be that much better off.
I'm just amazed at some. Because Sanchez didn't lite up a legendary defense in his second start, he should grab a clipboard? Junc is right. If people expected Dan Marino, they got Mark Sanchez. Ryan has his job cut out for him. He can start a "barely serviceable" QB in Clemens or a rookie in Sanchez. I think the kid did alright against the Ravens. Even if you start Clemens against the Giants, its not the same thing as starting on the road against a defense playing against it's old coach.
I'm sure that is exactly how the thought process is going in the Jets FO too..not to mention that Sanchez will sell a hell of a lot more PSLs than Clemens will.
He looked like a rookie... But, Also Rex fed him to the wolves - If this was game 1 of the regular season, I think the Jets hand off all day.... The Ravens also. These are going to be two of the top rushing attempt teams in the NFL... Last night both teams tried stuff they aren't as good at. If this were a regular season game I think these teams feel eachother out with rushing attempts for quite a while.. And IMO given Jenkins and Revis were out, The Jets running game looked every bit as good as the Ravens... That said, I'd start Clemens for the 1st few games and take the spotlight off Sanchez - Let Clemens sink or swim and then give Sanchez the opportunity to be the hero off the bench. And heck, If Clemens lights it up you have another chip - either a backup or a trading chip at QB which is always good.
I do have to say though - SHEESH, Flacco looks GREAT. If the Jets drafted Flacco over Gholston and used the picks this year to get WR's we would be talking about being a top team right now. I think QB's are the hardest to analyze but, damn Flacco is a presence and I'm on record as being very leery of Gholston.
I think flacco is a bit overhyped. last yr he didn't have to do too much. if they let him throw more this season he will throw more INTs.
Flacco didn't even complete 50% of his passes last night and that wasn't even against our starting D.
