Sanchez Has His Faults, But Jets' Coaching Has Many More

By The Lantern

If patience is a virtue for most everyone, then impatience is a rite of passage for fans of the New York Jets.

This season  has taken the form of countless others. Hope and optimism has been smacked in the face by pessimism and despair. The usual old sayings about this team have once again been proven true.

So nothing has really changed and the most jaded among us, myself included, aren't terribly surprised. The Jets are that one part of our lives that takes away from all that is good. It is what it is. Many of us watch and we don't really even flinch anymore. I mean, sure, some younger fans have the gall to sound shocked by what they see on any given Sunday. And others like to pretend they are these wise souls who know pessimism and waiting for the other shoe to drop just defeats the purpose. But I believe those people are either living in a fantasy world or really aren't the true diehards they profess to be.

Because no one -- and I mean no one -- should be sitting there countless Sunday after countless Sunday saying, "Aw shucks. We'll get 'em next week."

That's as phony as it gets.

All that aside, what was supposed to make the 2009 season different in Jets circles was the fact that they finally listened to the fans and chose to rebuild at the most important position on the field. There were some who said Mark Sanchez was more hype than substance when the Jets shocked the league and their fanbase by trading way up to draft him No. 5 overall. But for the most part, the fans were largely behind the move.

I say they should remain behind it, because if you didn't think the kid would struggle at points during his rookie campaign you simply are an unrealistic fan. The troublesome part of all this isn't necessarily the interceptions; it's the people setting the stage for the interceptions.

We all want this team to win, want this team to shed its label as not even loveable losers, but facts are facts. Because they are the Jets, as opposed to any other team not accustomed to winning, they would have needed one of the greatest seasons from a rookie quarterback in NFL history to get them to a place not even Brett Favre was capable of taking them.

I truly believe Sanchez will one day be a fine NFL quarterback. I just worry that his football IQ is being retarded by the coaching staff. Skills-wise he's the goods, but his head has been called into question more times than expected this season because even the least talented of quarterbacks, regardless of age, knows when to throw the ball away.

Sanchez, it appears, does not. But you can sort of live with it because he will grow up eventually.

Or will he?

The blame for many of 16 interceptions and countless fumbles in 10 games falls on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

Of course Sanchez is also to blame because he's the one who ultimately makes the decision when and where to throw the ball, but to me the more alarming problem is the play-calling sequences and the fact that the types of patterns the Jets receivers run tend to cause congestion in areas Sanchez chooses to target.

The New England game this past Sunday is the perfect example. Schottenheimer's play-calling, or the "run-run-pass" mantra I read a million people on Twitter go off the deep end over, left a lot to be desired. It's as if he's really confusing his own players more than the opposition. The Jets came into the game leading the NFL in rushing, but the Patriots knew when and where they would run all afternoon.

No adjustments were made. None.

So, naturally, since the Pats knew how to defend the run, they opted to send the house and be overly aggressive in the secondary when Sanchez dropped back to pass.

And Schottenheimer was powerless to stop it.

He is being singled out here because Mike Pettine made adjustments at halftime to slow down the Patriots offense. The Jets made several defensive stops in the second half that allowed them to be in position to cut into New England's big lead.

But this offense, even with talented players like Thomas Jones, Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery, even with an offensive line that everyone seems to agree is one of the best in the NFL, was stagnant and at times simply embarrassing.

Does anyone really think the Patriots are a premier defensive team? Put your hands down because they aren't. They are a shell of the type of defensive team that balanced out any of that franchise's previous Super Bowl runs. But the Jets play-calling and subsequent execution -- mostly because Bill Belichick and his players knew exactly what was coming and when -- made the Pats look like world beaters.

Seriously, Leigh Bodden? C'mon.

And Sunday's gameplan, play-calling and execution wasn't a one-time failure. It was a microcosm of what the Jets' offense has seemingly been like since Ken O'Brien, Wesley Walker and later Al Toon became ex-Jets.

Even the 1998 Jets, the team that came within failing to recover a kickoff in Denver from possibly playing in the Super Bowl, had moments where they simply showed no creativity on offense. I realize that's awfully harsh to say considering that team went 12-4, but what balanced out Vinny Testaverde's countless mistakes and the oft-ultra conservative play-calling was the fact that those Jets made things happen on defense. Think Otis Smith. Sure, he was often called "Toast" and rightfully so, but that guy also had a nose for the football and the end zone.

As for Sanchez, look, even the best quarterbacks in NFL history, guys with names like Aikman and Manning, were horrendous to start their careers. I think so many people looked at Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan from last year and automatically assumed because Sanchez had the pedigree from USC he'd just step in and become the next great thing.

The school of thought here goes three ways. Either Flacco and Ryan were exceptions to the rule, Sanchez isn't that good or the Jets as an organization simply isn't putting him in a position to be successful. I think it's the latter more than anything else. Why is Mathew Stafford throwing for 5 TDs in a game while Sanchez is committing 5 turnovers? Is it because the Lions have better personnel than the Jets?

Please.

Troy Aikman in his rookie season threw 9 TDs and 18 picks and lost all 11 games he started. Peyton Manning threw 28 INTs and went 3-13 in his first season.

Sanchez has 10 TD passes and 16 picks for a team that is 4-6. I certainly believe the 2009 Jets have better personnel than either the 1988 Cowboys, who finished 1-15, or the 1998 Colts. So, to me, it comes down to coaching. Even with all his faults and youth, Sanchez should be putting up better numbers and the Jets should be winning more games.

So while our first impulse is to say the player is overrated, maybe it's really time for the Jets hierarchy to hire a killer offensive coordinator. It's obvious the Jets will not win by being a run-first team because the defense isn't what head coach Rex Ryan envisioned, even though I do have faith once he gets more of "his guys" in there it will be.

In the interim, would it kill the Jets to put together the type of offense that the rest of the league fears?

Because, believe me, it doesn't.

Ultimately, Mike Tannenbaum needs to find an offensive coordinator who, if nothing else, knows how to groom a young quarterback. With the growth of the QB comes the imagination on offense because when you have more faith in a guy to do more things, you do more things.

It's that simple.