The most polarizing quarterback in the NFL, and possibly in NFL history, is now a New York Jet. After committing to Mark Sanchez to the tune of a four year, $40.5 M contract, and to a fairly good back up in Drew Stanton, the New York Jets traded a 4th round and 6th round pick to acquire Tim Tebow from the Denver Broncos. Tebowmania has already shook New York. What does this mean for a franchise looking to make good on their Head Coach's prediction of a Super Bowl championship in his four seasons? In 2012, I see a whole lot of trouble for the New York Jets.
I waited to write this article for three days for a reason. I needed to ask myself a bunch of questions, and it took time to come up with good answers. After a couple of days, I realized it was just one question: Does Mark Sanchez have the ability to win a Super Bowl in this league? The answer I came up with, would surprise many of my Jets fan friends. The answer I came up with was yes. Let's take a look at another New York quarterback who was mediocre at best in his first full three seasons. There are many similarities between Eli Manning (2005-07) and Mark Sanchez in their first three seasons. They both relied on heavy running games. They both boasted good defenses, as evidenced by their season records, and playoff appearances. They both struggled mightily in the throwing game. Both quarterbacks hovered around 20 interceptions on the year, never having a QB rating over 80, yet there were games you could see the potential to break out and become a very good, if not great, quarterback in a pass heavy league. Eli Manning has broken through and delivered two Super Bowls in 8 seasons. Two very unpredictable Super Bowls, but two nonetheless. Both quarterbacks have proven that they can win on the road in pressure situations. Eli Manning has beaten Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau in the playoffs. He's also gone to Dallas, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco to notch wins in the postseason. Mark Sanchez has gone into Cincinnati, San Diego, Indianapolis, and New England to win 4 tough playoff games, three of which most people would say were against elite quarterbacks in Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady. So Sanchez has shown he can win, and win in a hostile, pressurized, and almost impossible situation. Were there other factors in these wins? Absolutely, but you cannot discount a rookie or sophomore quarterback going into New England or San Diego or Indianapolis and pulling off an upset that turned the playoffs upside down. Mark Sanchez is a victim of his surroundings, just like Eli Manning was in 2007 before he brought home the Lombardi trophy. New York is an unforgiving sports town. Mark Sanchez and the Jets succeeded too much in too little time, and the expectations of Jets fans soared. Sanchez overachieved in his rookie and sophomore campaigns, and regressed a bit in his third full year. In my opinion, the jury is still out.
Mike Tannenbaum bringing in Tim Tebow is just another impossible situation for Mark Sanchez. It's not fair to him. Here's a quarterback who leads the Jets in all time playoff wins. He's led them to 2 AFC Championship games, and in comes competition for the starting job. Mike Tannenbaum can say that Mark Sanchez is his starting quarterback all he wants, but can you honestly tell yourself that the first interception Mark Sanchez throws in MetLife Stadium will not be met with boos and chants of Tebow, Tebow, Tebow? I'm not saying it's a definite, but it is a strong possibility. While Tim Tebow will most definitely run a fantastic Wild Cat offense, fans just cannot get enough of him. Organizations can only ignore their fan base so much and for so long, where they will feel the pressure to insert Tebow in the starting job if Sanchez does not succeed. Mark Sanchez has showed he can thrive in pressure situations in the biggest moments, so here's another to add on to the heap. I hope he does overcome this obstacle. I hope he retains his job as starting quarterback. He is the Jets best hope of winning a Super Bowl. Tim Tebow has the heart of a champion, but he doesn't have the skills. Sanchez has the skills. If you go with talent, you go with Sanchez. I hope Jets fans realize that.
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