By Joe Schackman
Peyton Manning is a future Hall-of-Famer, but should the Jets cut ties with Mark Sanchez in order to bring in the battered quarterback?
Mark Sanchez represents a significant investment for the New York Jets. The third year quarterback and former fifth overall draft pick came at a fairly steep cost to the organization. The Jets traded up in the draft for his rights and in the process gave up their first and second round pick along with three other players (all currently active in the NFL). They signed him to the most lucrative contract in team history: 5 years, $50 million, with $28 million guaranteed.
On top of that, the Jets gave him every resource he needed to succeed, regardless of cost. They brought in Mark Brunnell to back him up and tutor him. They hired a body language coach to help him maintain his composure and demeanor on the field. They even went out and got LaDainian Tomlinson, one of the best receiving running backs ever, to give him a safety blanket for check down throws.
For the first two years of his career, it all appeared to be worthwhile. The Jets' young quarterback showed poise and leadership beyond his years while taking his team to back-to-back AFC championship games.
But this past season, when the Jets leaned on him to win games and finally lead them to a championship, Sanchez did not perform. He was careless with the ball, he made poor clock management decisions and, perhaps worst of all, simply threw bad passes. In one season, he went from The Sanchise to trade candidate in the eyes of many fans.
The Jets are watching their opportunity to win a Super Bowl slowly slip away. When you are a top team in the league, you have to find whatever short term solution will give you the best chance to win now. In other words, go all-in. And, for the Jets, going all-in would be finding an elite quarterback. They have the defensive unit, special teams and even offensive weapons to be a championship team. They just lack the quarterback to bring it all together. Which is why Peyton Manning is in their sights.
If only it were that simple.
Yes, Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but he is coming off a significant surgery that caused him to miss the entirety of the 2011 season. Rumors are flying that he may never fully regain his arm strength. Even without the surgery, he is a 35-year-old quarterback with a lot of miles on him, and his talent will demand a significant salary. To take on that kind of contract, the Jets would have to cut ties with Sanchez, most likely via a trade, leaving the Jets to watch as a potential rival reaps the benefits of their investment.
On top of that, one must remember that the Jets found themselves in a similar position four years ago when they sacrificed Kellen Clemens' future to obtain an aging Brett Favre.1 For the first 11 games, it appeared be working. New York jumped out to an 8-3 record and were one of the best teams in the AFC. But Favre’s body brokedown and the ol’ gunslinger dragged the Jets down just as fast as he had built them up. After one season, he was gone and the Jets were again without a quarterback.
So this is the question the Jets are left with: Do you sign a potentially hobbled Hall of Fame quarterback and risk a Favre repeat? Or do you stick with the young QB who, while he has shown promise, may mature after the rest of his team has peaked? Either way, the Jets have all their chips at the center of the table. The bet is either that Manning returns healthy and performs at his pre-surgery level, or that Mark Sanchez can take a huge step forward. If Tannenbaum makes the right call, they could be hanging a Super Bowl banner. Make the wrong decision, and everyone is out of a job. For once, I’m glad I’m not responsible. And while I hope for the best, I’ll make sure to have my resume ready.
1) While the Jets kept Clemens on the team they basically told him he was no longer the quarterback of the future. There was no coming back from that.
1 comments:
favre repeat? come on peyton manning is way better than that idiot.... and he hasnt even shown signs of slowing down before the injury.... but i get why ud be hesistant.... if anybody can come back from this injury its peyton manning.. even if his arm strength doesnt fully come back(which no one really knows definitively one way or another cuz its all based of "reports", lets wait for a real game to assess it), he is a game manager to the fullest and he makes the other defense work so much with his shifts and audibles... they should just make an incentive laden contract for peyton manning nothing guaranteed upfront but if he hits all of the requirements then u gotta pay the man but otherwise why not, cut sanchez, restructure his deal and let him learn from the best quarterback mind ever..... all that aside fuck that i never want to see peyton in a jets uniform, go out west jump on the 49ers and ride them to a superbowl
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