Why the New York Jets Need To Hope Mark Sanchez is Okay

Okay, I’ll admit it.

Two weeks ago, during Mark Sanchez’s dreadful performance against the Patriots, where he threw four interceptions in a 31-14 Jets loss, I was calling for Sanchez to be benched.  And I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted this done.

Sanchez clearly looked like he needed some time off, just to get his head clear.  After all, the pressure was getting to him so much that he was reading prepared statements during his press conference after a loss.

Sanchez then played a decent game against Carolina, before playing very well against Buffalo.  That is, until he controversially did not slide on a play to pick up a first down, injuring his knee. He did not return to the game. 

Enter Kellen Clemens, a four-year pro with the Jets, who basically is about as much of a failure at the Quarterback position as there is in the NFL.  He lost a four-way Quarterback competition in 2006 as a rookie to Chad Pennington.

Then, in 2007, Clemens was turned to in the middle of the season as Pennington was ineffective. Clemens went 3-5 as a starter that season, but threw 5 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in that time, so it was safe to say that Clemens was very ineffective, but it was mostly blamed on an ineffective offensive line which did not consistently give him time to make throws.

This season, Clemens had the ultimate opportunity to take the Starting job by the reigns, as he went up against a rookie in Mark Sanchez in training camp.  Once again, Clemens couldn’t even beat out a rookie, meaning Clemens should probably consider a new profession, because being an NFL Quarterback just isn’t meant to be for him.

So when Clemens was called upon to take over for an injured Sanchez on Thursday night in Toronto, it was really a chance for Clemens to say to Rex Ryan “Hey, If you need to bench the rookie, I can get it done”, essentially putting more pressure on Sanchez. 

And what did Clemens do? He showed why he isn’t the starter, attempting a total of two passes and completing one. But that wasn’t the story.  The story of Kellen Clemens’ performance cannot be told through statistics, it can only be told with the naked eye. 

Clemens did fumble once, but managed to recover it.  But when you watch Kellen Clemens, when he goes back to pass, he looks afraid.  It seems as if he doesn’t see someone open the second the ball is snapped, then it’s a broken play, and it’s time to run around like a chicken with his head cut off. 

…and Rex Ryan wanted to give him a game ball for his performance Thursday… why?

His pocket awareness has got to be the worst of any Quarterback i’ve ever seen.  He moves around well, but when you see him move around, trouble is in order.  Clemens manages to move around, and essentially move right into the arms of opposing defenders.  He doesn’t trust the pocket.  This may be a product of playing behind a terrible offensive line when he started 8 games in 2007 for the Jets. 

Call it QBPTSD.  Quarterback Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Clemens was traumatized by the Jets offensive line in 2007, and gives up when he sees defenders coming because of it.

This alone, is why Jets fans really need to hope Mark Sanchez is good to go for the rest of the season.  Granted, the Jets are a running team, and will win games because of their running game. 

But it is clear that the Jets best option to win at QB comes from the rookie Sanchez.  Although Sanchez’s ability to get out of the pocket and make plays will likely be limited with two injured knees, it’s better than seeing Clemens move around and inevitably getting sacked.

And if Sanchez is healthy the rest of the way, and is able to play like he has the last two games, who knows what can happen.  Maybe once-dead playoff hopes will be resurrected again.

 

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Brett Favre: Just Go Away!

Here we go again.

Brett Favre is at it again.  He once again fooled America into thinking he was going to stay retired yet again, and as always, he doesn’t go into retirement without a fight. 

He dragged us all through the seemingly never ending drama of whether he would play in 2008 or not, and where he would play.  Out of nowhere, he gets traded to the New York Jets, of all teams. 

At the age of 39, Favre got the Jets off to a hot 8-3 start, and then suddenly he just forgot how to throw the football, spiraling the Jets downward into a 9-7 finish, missing the playoffs.

We went through all of the drama of last summer, only to see him stumble like that, and tarnish his career (in my opinion).

So finally, about a month after the season, he decided that that was it (for real this time). He even went on that big SportsCenter interview where he really made it seem like his career was over this time.

But then Favre asks the Jets for his release.  Then, once the Jets grant him what he wants, all of a sudden he wants to play again. Gee, what do you know.

This further proves that he did all of us Jets fans a major disservice, because it just goes to show that he never wanted to be a Jet in the first place. All he wants is to get back at Green Bay. If Favre wants to keep his legacy intact, he needs to just stay away from football and call it quits.

Sure, he started out great last season. But then he suffers the shoulder injury, and he looked more like Chad Pennington throwing the ball than himself. He was trying to make throws downfield that he plain and simply couldn’t make. He did nothing but embarrass himself late in the season last year.

Now, he’s almost 40, and he’s attempting to play football again after shoulder surgery.  Who knows if we’re even going to see the Brett Favre of old if he does indeed come back and play for Minnesota this season?

If Minnesota wants Favre to play for them, he’s got to get going right at the beginning of training camp. That way, there’s no controversy as to who their quarterback is. If Favre starts in the middle of training camp again, then I’m afraid we have football’s version of Roger Clemens.

Next thing you know, Favre’s going to be signing with teams to play half-seasons, getting ridiculous pro-rated salaries to play eight games. Then, after he finally retires for good, we’ll find out that he was using steroids or HGH or some type of PED.

It’s a story that will never end.  It was fun for awhile, but now it just borders on downright annoying. And it begs the question:

Is this guy ever going to decide, once and for all, when enough is enough?

 

Tantalizingly Close: The Anatomy of a New York Jets Fan

It all started on a Sunday afternoon in September of 1998.

I had just turned eight years old, and I was going through a time in my life when sports became my life. It’s about the age where you start to comprehend sports, and for me, an obsession was born. At that point, I pretty much rooted for whatever teams my parents rooted for.

My Mom occasionally rooted for the Jets, and my dad didn’t really have a team, so the Jets became my favorite after I decided I was going to follow football that year.

If only I had known what I was getting myself into.

The Jets stumbled out of the gate that year, starting out 0-2. But then, an injury to Jets starting quarterback, Glenn Foley, led to the starting job going to journeyman Vinny Testaverde.

Testaverde went on to lead the Jets to a 12-4 record, and their first AFC East championship in over thirty years. He led a team that many refer to as one of the best Jets teams of all-time. 

That year, I had witnessed my Yankees pull off a 114 win regular season, and breeze through the playoffs to win the World Series. So at that age, I was under the impression that the Jets would breeze through and win the Super Bowl.

They furthered that belief by beating Jacksonville in the divisional round. The next stop on the road to the Super Bowl was a date with legendary Quarterback John Elway and the Denver Broncos. 

Sure enough, late in the third quarter, the Jets held a 10-0 lead.  There was no doubt in my little, young mind that the Jets were going to face the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. 

Of course then a barrage of New York turnovers led to 23 unanswered points by the Broncos, and the Jets went on to lose 23-10, breaking my heart.

Little did I know it would be the first heartbreak of many.

The next season, in 1999, I thought for sure, “This is the year.” Sure enough, the first game of the season, Testaverde wnt down with an achilles injury, and was finished for the year. The Jets still played well, though, but an 8-8 record was not enough to do anything. 

In 2000, the Jets tantalized me yet again. The Jets pulled off a miracle comeback against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, turning a 30-point defecit into a victory. New York was cruising along, and then suddenly they collapsed after winning that game.

In 2002, the Jets started out slow, and sure enough, Chad Pennington became the quarterback a few games in. He instantly turned the Jets around, as they finished 9-7, and won the AFC East in the last game of the season by blowing out Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, 42-17. 

The next week, they beat up on Peyton Manning and the Colts in similar fashion, 41-0. But then a trip to Oakland to face the Raiders was yet another tantalizing moment.

It was a tie game—10-10 at halftime. But once again, the Jets collapsed. Turnovers and twenty unanswered points added up to a 30-10 Raiders win—also equaling more heartbreak for me.

But possibly the biggest heartbreak of all came in 2004.

Chad Pennington, yet again, led the Jets to the playoffs and had pulled off an unbelievable playoff victory the week before against San Diego. The Jets were facing the 15-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, and were considered heavy underdogs. Somehow, New York hung with them, and had a shot. 

But a man, that I will only name just this once, ruined it all.

His name was Doug Brien.

Much like Scott Norwood of the Buffalo Bills missing a Super Bowl winning kick in the early 90’s, Doug Brien did something so terrible that we ended up drafting a kicker in the second round of the following draft, because we refused to allow him to choke like that again.

Two potential game-winning field goals, and two misses. The Steelers went on to win in overtime. We would’ve been one game away from the Super Bowl.

Then of course in 2008, we Jets fans were fooled once again. We were all going crazy over the mid-training camp acquisition of legendary quarterback Brett Favre.

A great defense, and a good offense led by Favre, brought the Jets to an 8-3 record, and they were coming off two big wins. First, an overtime thriller against our rival the Patriots, and then a blowout victory over the previously-undefeated Tennessee Titans.

After that, everyone was annointing the Jets as the best AFC team, a sure AFC East champion, and possibly a Super Bowl-bound team.

Sure enough, the Jets stumbled down the stretch once again, going 1-4 in the last five games, and failed to even make the playoffs. 

People often ask me, “How on earth do you do it?” Well, being a Jets fan sure isn’t an easy thing. Things always look good, but then come crashing down in a heartbeat.

It’s a good life lesson—that nothing is ever certain in life, not just as a Jets fan. 

But what fuels me to never give up on my team is that there is always hope. When we blow the game in the end after having a big lead, what matters is that we had the shot.

It’s always my belief, that one day, whether it be next year or thirty years from now, I’ll be at a Super Bowl party with some friends. And at that Super Bowl Party, I’ll be cheering on my Jets for the first time ever.

No matter how bad things go, you can never take the Jets away from me.

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