"Quarterbacks" Archive

NY Jets QB Mark Sanchez Is Getting the 2008 Eli Manning treatment

Rough times for Mark Sanchez this season. He is part of a number of QBs that folks are using the dreaded “R” word on. REGRESSED. Well the one of the Kings of Snidedom Bart Hubbuch, Giants/Jets beat writer for the NY Post, thinks that Sanchez is being piled on:

It comes with the territory when you play quarterback in the world’s biggest media market, of course, but the criticism of Mark Sanchez is over the top and not entirely justified. Sanchez can’t do it by himself, obviously, and not nearly enough scorn is being heaped on his supporting cast – and that includes GM Mike Tannenbaum. The running game that would take pressure off Sanchez and allow him to throw off play-action (one of his strengths) is 29th in the NFL and getting worse by the week, and the latter also could be said about the Jets’ awful offensive line. Consider this: Sanchez already has been sacked 25 times in just 10 games, compared to 27 times in 16 games last year and 26 times in 16 games as a rookie in 2009. Sanchez’s receivers aren’t helping him, either – the Jets rank near the bottom of the league with just 906 combined yards after the catch (YAC), compared to nearly twice that amount by the NFL-leading Saints. Sanchez has been admittedly pedestrian, but there is plenty of blame to go around for that.

I watched the Jets lose to the Broncos and there is no question that the offensive line played terribly. In terms of the running game, there was none and I’ve complained about this for all teams with a QB whose name isn’t Aaron Rodgers. A Jets fan asked me what I thought their biggest need was before the season and I said a running back. I’ve great respect for Tomlinson but I think the last couple years have been a bit of an anomaly given his age.

I also think it’s fair to say that Sanchez probably misses the reliability of Edwards route running and physical style of play. I think letting Edwards go has cost them. Comfort and timing are important to QBs regardless of playcalling (ask Tom Brady why he throws to Wes Welker in coverage even when Ochocinco is wide open).  Hubbuch noted that the Jets YAC is way down which means that even when Sanchez is getting receivers the ball they’re not doing much with it. Sanchez’s attempts are at a paltry 6.90 yards which ranks just below Seattle’s Tavaris Jackson.

As for Sanchez’s Coach Rex Ryan, he has given backup QB Mark Brunell some of the first team snaps in practice presumably to motivate Mark Sanchez whom he admits he has not spoken to this week. Is he doing that with the offensive line too? I don’t know if this is the best time to play mental games with Sanchez or have some Father-son tough love moment. Just seems like a pain in the ass given the way the whole team is playing. I mean…the whole team got beat by the Broncos. The.whole.team.  And how do you get motivated when your reps are taken by a QB WITH NO CHANCE OF EVER STARTING IN THE NFL AGAIN. It’s hard to even be insulted by such a baseless gesture. The last time Brunell was a threat to anyone he could write a check without it bouncing. boo ya.

Washington Redskins Laron Landry in Quasi-Linebacker Form

I live for little bits and pieces of honesty from players I like. Washington Redskins safety Laron Landry is one of my favorite Defensive Backs, and apparently fans have been questioning him on twitter about his progress. Landry expressed frustration about how his injury has been handled by the Redskins in some tweets that have since been deleted. I’m sure he was hacked…but on the off chance he wasn’t, the Washington Post says:

“Uuhhh oo it ain’t my fault…blame the genius circus staff for the rush. wouldve been there 2wks ago. Im [sorry] but saga [continues],” Landry said in atweet that has since been deleted.

On Saturday, Landry tweeted, “Dont u hate when u absolutely know something 200% and dumb. . . still do the opposite of what u tell them!!! Set backs. . . !!!” The message contained three vulgarities.

Landry hasn’t exactly been forthcoming when asked directly about the situation. On Monday, when he was asked about the status of the strained hamstring that forced him to miss the last two preseason games-after rehabbing the strained left Achilles’ tendon that cost him all of training camp and the start of the preseason-Landry said only “every day is progress.” Landry, who last season recorded 85 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble in just nine games, also maintained hope that he would play Sunday in the regular season opener.

Side note: Why do defensive players use so many exclamation points when they type? This is a trend I’m noticing. Maybe it’s just a symptom of having an aggressive personality or something.

Moving right along, I can’t tell from these tweets what exactly is going on on the Redskins but this is a dysfunctional team so really you never know.

Only last week did I confidently predict that John Beck would be starting over Rex Grossman, only to be brutally rebuffed when the Redskins announced Grossman as the starter for week 1 (they keep saying week 1…is he the starter for week 1 or the starter period?). I need to marinate on this. Grossman has taken over 1100 snaps in a regular season games to Beck’s 3 (over the entirety of their careers). He also has a year more in the Redskins “system” (whatever that is). If I see two people with those numbers I’d expect the person with more experience and snaps to easily play better than the guy who has barely had a chance. The fact that Grossman didn’t blow Beck out of the water is a bad sign to me.

For Beck’s comment, he is PISSED. His words, not mine. Another interesting round in Redskins land.

This week Dan Patrick at Sports Illustrated reported that former Charger/Cowboy/Seahawk/Buc Ryan Leaf said he wishes he hadn’t gone # 2 in 1998.

..Ryan Leaf remains the most notorious QB bust in recent NFL history. Looking back, Leaf wishes he hadn’t gone No. 2 in 1998. “I was a very entitled and very spoiled athlete at that time,” Leaf told me. “You don’t want to say the money changes you, but it definitely does. I think getting drafted later would have been a benefit.”

I agree with Leaf and it’s part of the reason I can’t wait to see what happens with my new object-of-football-affection former Arkansas Razorback now New England Patriot Ryan Mallet. Mallet fell down in the draft but was eventually taken by the Patriots in the 3rd round.

I thought this was great for Mallet, especially if he gets to succeed a very successful Tom Brady who, himself, was pushed into starting when Belichick plucked him from fourth string and dumped Drew Bledsoe in his favor.

Leaf’s weirdly protracted stint in the NFL wasn’t just riddled with bad play, it was marred by him being a bad person in general. Mallet has developed a reputation for being a bit of an asshole. Some of that reputation was built up by a bored media and underhanded team staff, but Mallet has admitted to drug use and his personality is definitely rough around the edges. Starting behind someone is a great way to give a kid like that a little perspective on things.

I think Tom Brady, in addition to folks like Aaron Rodgers are proof of how much playing behind a great QB can help in the modern game no matter the draft number. Brady wasn’t even picked up until the 5th round.  If Mallet goes on to be be a great QB and Cam Newton, the #1 pick, fizzles out after a couple seasons with the Carolina Panthers, it doesn’t mean Mallet was always destined to be a better QB. Seems like people tend to look back on busts and say someone else should have been drafted instead when other factors play a role.

To use Leaf as an example,  Matt Hasselback was drafted the same year as Leaf in the sixth round and began his NFL career on Green Bay’s practice squad behind Brett Favre “the quarterback whisperer.” Even Brian Griese, also drafted in 1998 but in the 3rd round stuck around the NFL until the late 2000s despite being injury prone.

After watching some of the tragic QB performances of last year, and quite frankly the year before, I’ve gotten super into QB development. If the current normal is to have at least 50 QBs start and at least 72 take a snap at some point in the season, QB support has got to become a priority in the NFL. Anyway, I’ll be blogging about this more in the coming months as I chat with some people and get some ideas.

I think that also might inspire me to do some QB controversy posts…lots of QB struggle going on across the league.