SBNation.com User Blog: jet_veteran

Buttocks. Or how an ass defines a player and the year 2041.

jet_veteran — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:37:50 -0000

When Mark Sanchez retires from pro-football he will be remembered for two things.

One, for being scared shitless by a Cowboys CB while lining up as a..receiver in last year's game against Dallas. That scene has been making the YouTube rounds ever since then as a laugher.

Two, the infamous scene last night. Mark, on a broken-up play, takes off with the ball (oh dear...) and goes crashing with intense enthusiasm right into Moore's ass. In doing so, he proceeds to fumble the ball (excuse my shock) and create one of the most hilarious football blunders of all time.

When Mark Sanchez retires he will not be explicitly remembered for being a horrible QB. Why should he be? The NFL has seen a huge share of bad QBs over the decades. Sanchez is one more in that category. In the year 2041 noone will remember him for being inadequate as a professional QB, the list is too big for Mark to stand out, and there have existed (arguably) other QBs that were even worse than him. But, he will be remembered for the aforementioned two plays. People will be still watching them on YouTube in the year 2041, these two plays will still be essential parts of hilarious NFL-blunder compilations. Mark Sanchez has his legacy already ensured.

The already known as "the ass fumble" has made history even if it's just a few hours old as I write this fanpost. Rightfully so. It's very characteristic for what Sanchez has brought to the NY Jets in his tenure. And that is constant game-breaking gaffes that gift the victory to the opposing team. More often than not it's not limited to one per game, Mark's blunders usually come in bunches. It's equal to the consistency and reliability of a Swiss watch but in negative mode. Once the Jets hit the redzone any fan with a clue is biting their lips every time Sanchez drops back with the ball.

Will he again miss wide open receivers begging for the ball in the endzone? Will he try to force the ball in some super-tight (or already closed) window resulting in an interception that gets happily run back for 93 yds and a TD? Will he fail to anticipate or feel the pressure resulting in a sack and fumble that also gets run back for a TD or shifts the momentum dramatically? Or, to add a new weapon in his repertoire, will he seek the nearest ass like a heat-seeking missile and go crashing in it head-first? It's pretty much become a standard and we may yet see further expressions of Sanchez-esque football the longer he plays with the Jets. By now, not much would surprise me really.

Any discussion around that or about that is by now (or should be) pointless. Yes he doesn't have the top-caliber WR corps of the NFL. But even with these receivers he does have he should be doing easily better. Mark Sanchez is costing the Jets games on his own, and that is a fact. Yes, concerning last night, he can't be individually responsible when the Jets give up a whopping 49 points, but he is massively accountable for killing his own team with classic Sanchez-like turnovers in the most critical part of the game, turnovers that shifted the tide, the score, the game itself. Permanently.

Then there is Rex Ryan.

The whole situation with Rex is not as simple as some Jets' fans make it out to be. It's a bit more complicated than that. When Ryan says that Sanchez (yes, that Sanchez, the one I was talking about above) gives us the best chance to win he is accurate. Accurate how? Well, he obviously thinks that Tebow is, unbelievably, worse than Sanchez. Many fans (I, included) believe that too. That leaves only McElroy in the discussion, and obviously Ryan (and the rest of the Jets' coaches) are the only ones that have a detailed opinion on whether he would be an improvement over Sanchez. Apparently, they don't believe that. And we? Well, we may never know, but we can and are debating it constantly.

Ryan can be criticized about a series of things, but we can't seriously debate that he's so dumb that he can't see what every casual Jets' fan is seeing, namely that the Jets offense is a joke. Of course he sees that. Everybody is seeing that. The way the situation is shaped right now, it cannot be fixed. He has (he believes) no viable alternatives plus he is stuck with Sanchez for next year as well since he was given an extension. His plan about grounding and pounding has not worked since Greene can not carry the role of the RB that would give substance to such a plan. His alternatives there? Powel who was used last night, McKNight who contributed yet another critical fumble in last night's disaster. One can say that whoever evaluated these RBs as being adequate for a "ground & pound" scheme was dead wrong. Ryan included.

Fact remains, that, as things stand this offense cannot be fixed. Even next year, assuming we will have to suffer with yet another year with Sanchez as the QB the improvements can only be made at the RB positions, or at the receiver positions. But, when your QB is that bad, the improvement will be minimal.

Lastly, and because of all that, I don't take what Ryan (or any coach for that matter) says at press conferences too seriously. I'm not saying I ignore it. But I take it with a pinch of salt. Certain things cannot be adressed with journalists even if the HC agrees with their premise (i.e the QB sucks) because it's the coach that has to go back to his team and deal with the stir his comments will create. Whether he should publicly call out a player is a matter of philosophy. Some coaches believe that it's beneficial (it creates accountability on a different level), other coaches do not (it creates a rift between the coach and his players because of being embarrased publicly). There are arguments for both sides of the story, and we know which approach Ryan favors.

This is how I view the current Jets debacle at this point. It's not pretty, it's in fact seriously ugly. I'm trying to keep calm and see things with as much composure as I can. After all, I've witnessed the Kotite years, so I'm seriously seasoned If you know what I mean.

When Mark Sanchez retires from pro-football he will be remembered for two things.

One, for being scared shitless by a Cowboys CB while lining up as a..receiver in last year's game against Dallas. That scene has been making the YouTube rounds ever since then as a laugher.

Then there is Rex Ryan.

A case for Rex...

jet_veteran — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 23:12:16 -0000

It's the Jets-bye week, we fans are bored, and emotions continue to run high after the Miami disaster. Quite predictably, there's been a plethora of fan-posts about "what should be done", who "should be fired", whether we should re-build and how radically.

This is all legitimate of course. It hasn't been a rosy season, it might even get uglier and people are looking for the culprits. And while there's certainly a few culprits in the Jets organisation, I've read quite a few opinions that pin a considerable share of the blame on Rex Ryan.

Ryan is accountable for the poor 3-5 record so far this season, as he was accountable for the mediocre record last year. I'm not going to go into the nuances of what he does wrong as there are more than enough commentaries detailing the shortcomings of Rex Ryan. Recently I even saw a post discussing possible replacements. As if there are coaches out there, even the best of them, without shortcomings. Take for example Belichick, a coach considered among the elite of the league. Rightfuly so. Yet this is a coach that can't put together a respectable defense in recent seasons. The Pats' pass defense has been such a mess that...even M. Sanchez could easily pick them apart in the recent game at NE. They are giving up miles of yardage and compensate for it offensively. Sure, Belichick wins division titles and SBs. Yes, but he's also got one of the best QBs of all time, the hated Brady. Take the Cowboys and their well known clock-management issues to name just one issue they have. Take other teams loaded with talent that are underachieving each to their own degree (much like the Cowboys): the Eagles, the Falcons, Houston even. Do they have incompetent coaches by definition? Is it that simple? Every year one sees coaching changes in the NFL. To what they amount? Do these changes actually take teams forward or do they often amount to nothing much? Don't many of them happen just for change's sake? Don't they ruin continuity?

In the recent fanpost I read about possible HC replacements for Ryan, I was wondering this: how many of these coaches that many Jets fans are considering would actually do better than Ryan with a QB like Sanchez? Why am I focusing on the QB? Because without a solid QB, it doesn't matter how good the other aspects of the team are, you're not going to go far. In fact, you might have an otherwise monster-roster, but with a poor QB in place you're still destined to go down in flames. The Jets do not have a monster-roster, I'm not implying that, but they surely have a poor QB.

Still, with one of the worst QBs in the league, Ryan took the Jets to 2 AFC championship games. In a row! This, I believe, was mostly due to the Jets defense those 2 years, the team went to the AFC championship inspite of Sanchez. That's tremendous when one takes into account how erratic and mediocre our QB is. Ryan gave personality to the Jets. Some may not fancy that personality, they may find it too cocky, too this, too that, they may even deem it silly. Nevertheless, Ryan gave this team a face when it had none. He took the Jets out of irrelevancy and put them in the spotlight of big games. Yes, he didn't reach the Superbowl, but surely this is not a criterion to fire a coach especially when he's trying to do it with a roster lacking in quality in the critical postions (QB and RB).

As I wrote in another discussion about Ryan here at GGN, Ryan seems to be reflecting on things he's been doing wrong, he seems to be backpedaling, he seems to be asking for suggestions from the staff around him, even if these suggestions are controversial. In other words, he is trying to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. These apparent changes come in stark contrast with the Ryan we saw in his first 2 years as a Jets HC. And they are changes that are sorely needed too.

At the same time though, he needs to be given the benefit of the doubt, especially when other Jet members have been given it. Sanchez was showered with patience when we all thought that Schotty might have been the root of his problems. Now we know that this was an illusion. Sanchez himself is the root of his problems. But, why should Sanchez be granted such patience when he plays the most important position on the team but yet Ryan should be fired when his job is to a large degree depended on Sanchez? What about the rest of the tools aside of Sanchez, like the RBs. I mean, Greene? Please. The question here is how much say does Rex actually have in the draft picks or even the trades? There are enough indications that he's not on the same page with Tanny (one notable example: WR Hill), there's in fact quite some speculation on whether he wanted Tebow as well. And it goes on.

If Tannenbaum were to be replaced next season why should Ryan be a goner with him? Why should he not be granted the same benefit of doubt that Sanchez was granted? Why should he not be given at least one more year under a new GM? Why, to sum it all up, should the Jets blow up the whole team when in fact some continuity might be extremely important if they are to go in partial-rebuild mode?

I belong in a small minority of Jets fans who think that the roster actually does have talent, more than a lot would be ready to believe. At the same time I also think that the Jets are sorely bad at key positions like the QB and the RB position. And unless these 2 positions are seriously addressed we're not going to see much improvement. But, for the foreseeable future (meaning: at least one more year) I'm all for Ryan staying as HC of the team. With all his mistakes, and I think he's recognising quite a few of them, he deserves that much.

I can see this coming. Again.

jet_veteran — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:53:10 -0000

The title provides contrast with Rex Ryan's comment after yesterday's game that "he never saw this coming". A comment, that, I find quite strange considering that the Jets' flaws are well documented long before the disaster against the Phins kicked off.

The week before, as the Jets lost a nail-biter in New England which they should've won (after having been practically gifted the win in the closing regulation minutes) I'd written a fanpost emphasizing that no, Mark Sanchez's performance was not "encouraging" or even "great" as some had said (the same mantra we'd heard after the Indy game where Sanchez had, what, 90 yrds in the air?). In fact, even in NE Sanchez's performance in the 1st half was horrible, it could've easily cost 3 INTs and only didn't out of sheer luck. It also contributed to the big hole the Jets were in where the same Sanchez helped come out of in the 2nd half. I'd said that Mark Sanchez is a wildly erratic QB and that sadly this doesn't look like it will ever change. What took place against Miami was a catastrophe waiting to happen and certainly not a "...I never saw this coming" surprise.

I doubt there's too many Sanchez apologists left, not after yesterday, and it's quite obvious that the only pertinent question remaining is: what now? When it comes to the QB position, without question the most important in the team and in any team sport for that matter, the issue is what alternatives we have. Sure, there's the obvious case to be made for T. Tebow or even McElroy. These are the QBs that are supposedly better than Sanchez, the ones we can actually place hope on? Sorry, but we are being delusional if we indeed think that. Mark Sanchez deserves to be benched, he's at his 4th year and his game is arguably as bad as it was in his rookie year. Hell, Miami's back-up QB easily outdid Sanchez yesterday. Still, or worryingly, Sanchez is the "best" we got at this given point.

Tebow is a RB who masquerades as a QB. He was shipped out of Denver even though he supposedly "engineered" miracle victories and won a game for Denver in the playoffs. You'd think that someone who understands the position as good as few like Elway would've kept Tebow if he considered him a competent NFL QB. But even with Mr. Erratic himself at starting QB, Tebow isn't better, nor is he the answer. Should he be given the starting role it will only provide some short-lived enthusiasm for parts of the Jets fanbase who are as frustrated as the entire Jets fanbase is with Sanchez. And that's about it. I for one, do not look forward to Tebow starting and I also do not look forward to Sanchez starting. Then, there's McElroy. Ok. What's the sample we have on this kid? A few snaps here and there all in pre-season? I'm so frustrated with the nightmare we are seeing at the QB position that I wouldn't be against seeing McElroy starting against Seattle. But having said that, I don't expect much in that case either.

The biggest problem in all this is the mind-boggling contract-extension that Sanchez was given prior to the season. Followed by the even more puzzling decision to get Tebow. These 2 decisions might cost someone his job and rightfully so. It means that the Jets are stuck with Mr. Erratic for next year as well, unless they want to gobble up a huge amount of contract money. Which I guess they wont. But, the point has been reached, we need to look for a new starting QB as well as a real back-up QB. Speaking of needs we also need to drop the crap about the "round & pound" because we are neither running nor pounding. If the Jets insist on this philosophy (assuming that Rex keeps his job after this season, which has started looking dodgy as hell) then we better find some legitimate solutions at RB. Meaning, we need RBs that have explosiveness and breaking-tackle ability and not a RB that needs holes the size of double-decker buses to go through. And as mentioned a billion times already, that new RB or RBs would need to be combined with a QB that can throw to people in stride, that has pocket awareness, that doesn't stubbornly throw into triple coverages, and one that detects open receivers. Oh, and throw in there taking sacks when needed instead of trying to make acrobatic passes that have about 0.243% chance of success. These are things that when avoided, they do not guarantee that someone is a great QB but that he is at the very minimum solid. Decent. Trust-worthy.

In the meantime, surreal things can happen. This is still a quite weak AFC. This is still a conference where even an 8-8 this year might get a team in the playoffs. And I want the Jets in the playoffs badly. If that happens though my suspicion is that the season will be deemed...succesful. That no drastic correction measures will be taken. And that in turn might be just the worst thing to happen going into next year.

It's what it is, but what is "it"?

jet_veteran — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:39:46 -0000

I happen to be a fan of the...adage "it's what it is". It explains and settles things in life that cannot be changed, things that we have to, need to, find ways to live with for lack of any better choice. But before one can use this adage one has to clearly define the situation at hand and then apply it. One has to define what the "it" is.

The case is Mark Sanchez, and consequently the Jets, being that the QB is the most important position in any team sport. Heartbreaking losses like the one against the Pats last night help put the "it" into perspective. These are games that put the "it" under the microscope and after that it's simply a matter of how one interprets what he sees.

Yes, Sanchez did throw over 300 yards last night. Yes, he did provide come-from-behind heroics to tie the game at 23. Yes, he did deliver some absolutely brilliant throws. Some even go on a limb saying that he played better than Brady, which, if true, would not necessarily indicate that Brady played great or good and Sanchez outplayed him. It could also indicate that Brady had an off-night (to which the Jets D certainly contributed) and by comparison Sanchez played "better". But then it would be a moot point.

To me, after 4 years of watching Mark Sanchez one thing is clear, well, actually 2 things: that he is a infuriatingly erratic QB and that he will more than likely remain an erratic QB. I don't belong by the way to the Sanchez "hater" lobby or the one that...loves him if these 2 lobbies even exist. My only interest is that the Jets win. And whether the Jets win, whether I like it or not, goes also through the play of M. Sanchez. He is the QB, he also happens to be a very high draft pick intended to take the team to the SuperBowl. And by now, he's in his 4th year, in a very lucrative contract, and with the excuses lessening by the week.

It's quite clear that we are not dealing with an untalented QB, if he were untalented we wouldn't be arguing our asses off trying to figure out the problem: we would've agreed by now that he doesn't have it and the matter would be settled. But Sanchez is by all means talented.

Take for example that 92 yard beauty of a drive last night of which Sanchez was a major part. He delivered laser throw after laser throw in windows tighter than a mosquito's behind. He was confident, accurate, used the pocket well, radared the field when needed, didn't betray his targets. Masterful stuff. I was looking at that drive with a slight smile on my face knowing that such moments of brilliance are not a first by Sanchez. He's shown them before.

Yet, and with that drive in mind as well as other segmented parts of the game where he played like a top-flight QB, this was the exact same QB who:

a. in the first half threw at least 3 tip-offs that I counted (might have been 1 or 2 more) which were directly his responsibility. They were passes thrown way too high, under very little or no pressure, forcing receivers to go sky-high to retrieve the ball, resulting in tip-offs. One of them was salvaged by Keller, the others fell mercifully on the ground just barely out of reach of NE defenders.

b. he comically underthrew Hill on the INT when it was obvious that that window had closed. Worse than that, meaning that he insisted on throwing to him when the window was done, was the fact that he never saw him while Hill was more alone than an expeditioner on the North Pole. Further worse, that when he threw to Hill, Greene was standing infront of Sanchez, a mere 6-7 yards away, wide open. Sanchez never even looked at him. It wasn't the only instance in the game that Sanchez never detected receivers being all alone.

c. he continued the trend he's shown for 4 years now of taking needless sacks instead of being able to understand the situation in due time and get rid of the ball.

d. i also credit him (as well as Greene) with part of the responsibility for the fumble as he handed the ball off in an awkward fashion (i.e too high) and that led to the safety.

All this, a coctail of brilliance and mediocrity is Mark Sanchez. This isn't the picture of just yesterday's game, no. It's the picture that he's shown us for 4 years now. Sometimes the mix varies in that he might be below average in 3 games straight and then deliver a great game. If he could at least deliver the mixed bag the way he delivered it last night he might have given his team better chances to win games they lost. But, this is how "erratic" is defined. This is the "it".

And thus it's what "it" is. What it is, is that we have an erratic QB. I for one, have accepted that fact by now. Sure we can sit and argue that this or the other OC or QB-coach would have helped Sanchez more, but when your QB is defined by maddening incosistency that argument becomes empty. No OC can magically solve it. It's primarily a mental problem and some parts of the cerebrum are as unexplored as any planet outside the one we live on.

There is of course the intriguing question: can we win regardless? Can we make the playoffs this year despite the flaws our QB has and all the other flaws the Jets have as a team. I would answer that question with a confident yes, based not only on the strengths we have as a team but also on the weaknesess of the collective opposition.

Speaking of the opposition, i certainly didn't get terrified looking at that Patriots team last night. They are a very beatable team, nothing to do with the Pats of old, and this will get further exposed as the season progresses. Their secondary has already been ripped to shreds so far in the season and it will continue to be. The Jets had them and couldn't drive the knife at the heart when it really mattered. Looking at our division I see no dominant team, in fact, with all our flaws, I will go on a limb myself and say we might actually have the better team in the AFC East.

But even when I consider the entire AFC, i see so many flawed teams that I find it very probable that a 9-7 will suffice to make the playoffs this year.

On top of that I look at our strengths: the D is still our most formidable weapon. It shut down the Pats last night. Giving up 17 defensive points in 4 quarters plus overtime to one of the (supposed) best offenses of the league is no negligible matter. We did pretty much the same to the Texans who according to some are an even better balanced offense. Especially our secondary is frightening and that despite missing Revis, easily the best in his position in the NFL.Our special teams, despite the hiccup last night, continue to be great. And I absolutely love some of our guys on offense who some media "experts" have rushed to call "inexistent weapons": Kerley is a monster, Hill has unbelievable potential, Keller is a no-doubter. This by the way, and I want to emphasize it, is another reason why Sanchez should be doing better. It's NOT true that he has no weapons. He does. It's up to him to exploit them better.

All in all, yes it was bitter last night but nothing is lost, even with all our flaws. It's what "it" is. We might even smile in the end of the season. Keep the faith.

Yet, and with that drive in mind as well as other segmented parts of the game where he played like a top-flight QB, this was the exact same QB who:

c. he continued the trend he's shown for 4 years now of taking needless sacks instead of being able to understand the situation in due time and get rid of the ball.

d. i also credit him (as well as Greene) with part of the responsibility for the fumble as he handed the ball off in an awkward fashion (i.e too high) and that led to the safety.

But even when I consider the entire AFC, i see so many flawed teams that I find it very probable that a 9-7 will suffice to make the playoffs this year.

All in all, yes it was bitter last night but nothing is lost, even with all our flaws. It's what "it" is. We might even smile in the end of the season. Keep the faith.

It's the Pennington ghost...

jet_veteran — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:29:34 -0000

A lot of things have already been said about the Jets dodgy start to the season. Its the offensive line. It's Sanchez. It's Schottenheimer. Or all combined.

To me, so far this season, it's been like watching the Jets in the old Pennington days. And ok, Chad didn't have the arm so we were doomed to short passes forever back then. But is that the case with Sanchez? Why is it that we constantly face 3rd and long? Because the run isn't working? That's part of the reason, sure. But, it's ridiculously obvious that the short passing is designed play-calling. And since it is, this tells me there is no full-hearted trust on the QB.

Now, if that is the case, we have a far more serious problem than "just" the play-calling. If Rex Ryan agrees with the play-calling (assuming Schottenheimer does not have complete autonomy) it means that the mistrust in Sanchez is unanimous among Jet coaches. That's shocking for a QB that has been given a lucrative franchise contract, even more shocking since Ryan has to have played a role in that decision. How else to explain the preposterous play-calling on offense?

Some people are mysteriously convinced that Schottenheimer is calling bad plays. Why would he do that? Why would he not let the QB go long on those 3rd and 8s instead of the meek 5 yard pass? Why be so ridiculously conservative even when facing a rather mediocre defense like that of the Patriots? Schottenheimer is blind? He doesn't want his job? He somehow fails to see what everyone else is seeing? I somehow doubt it and no, I'm not convinced at all by his play-calling but i still suspect this has to do with Sanchez as well. The OC is responsible for the Jets being way too predictable. There's zero surprises, everybody knows what's coming, and if it works it has to be done perfectly otherwise it's yet another 3rd and 8.

Now, Sanchez, to me, he is a mystery. He might be an average QB or he could be still developing. I dont know, because every time he drops back to pass i cringe my teeth. It doesn't look confident, it doesn't feel like it's done with authority. Some Jet fans point out that "yes, but he's been to 2 AFC championship games". I believe that a very good Jets team achieved that and Sanchez was part of the ride but not necessarily a pivotal part. At this point, and 3 years into his career I have no idea if Sanchez is the QB the Jets need and this is worrying because the "inexperience argument" is long gone. I guess a different OC would solve at least part of that mystery. But it seems that may not happen until next year, if it happens at all. And by then the Jets may have missed their window to a Superbowl.

The season is of course not lost yet. The defense is too good for the season to be lost. And since I mentioned the defense, the reason we cash in so many points is because our D is constantly on the field. And on offense, even with the Sanchez looming question marks there's enough talent to take us in the playoffs. I'm not predicting we will make the playoffs. I'm saying we are still very much in it, but there are serious issues.

I'll wait for at least 2-3 games before I reconsider all these thoughts.

P.S.- It's been a long time since I've bothered with the refs, but we were butchered on Sunday. The no-fumble call was murderous. It would have been a massive momentum-shifter and it clearly was a fumble. The pass interference call was atrocious as well. We could have won had we gotten those calls. But it still doesn't change the fact that the Jets have some thorny issues to deal with with their performance.

A lot of things have already been said about the Jets dodgy start to the season. Its the offensive line. It's Sanchez. It's Schottenheimer. Or all combined.

I'll wait for at least 2-3 games before I reconsider all these thoughts.