As reported by ESPN today, New York Jets' starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, was supposedly surprised by the team acquiring then Denver Broncos' starting quarterback, Tim Tebow.
When reading the report, Sanchez didn't even sound angry - just surprised, asking, "Wow, how did this happen?"
Now I'll be the first to admit that New York Jets' head coach, Rex Ryan, is none too coy about prompting drama, however I think, as is often times the case, the media is blowing this story way out of proportion.
Really - what did ESPN expect Sanchez to say when he discovered the team acquired one of the most popular players in the NFL and a starting quarterback no less? How did they think he'd react?
Was Sanchez expected to say, "Oh boy! We just got Tim Tebow! ESPN is obsessed with this guy! They talk about him more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the All-Star hockey game combined! I cannot wait to have one of the most liked players competing with me for the starting job! This is going to be so much fun! Woo-hoo! There will be even less pressure on me than there already was! If I have a bad game, I won't have to worry about fans chanting Tebow's name and calling for him to start! This has to be the greatest day of my life!"?
This is a non-story. Let's face it - Mark Sanchez is the starting quarterback for a New York football team. The pressure has been on him since his first snap in the league. While I don't think he's become the premiere quarterback the Jets were hoping for, I also think the guy has received too much criticism as well. The guy's been in the league for three years and his team has finished, at worst, 8-8. They've made the playoffs twice in those three years and made it as far as the AFC Championship Game. Sanchez, himself, has improved each and every year. The guy went from a quarterback rating of 63.0 to 75.3 to 78.2 last year. While 63.0 is definitely sub-par and 75.3 is slightly below average, 78.2 is getting close to average. His touchdown passes have increased from 12 to 17 to 26. His completion percentage has increased from 53.8 to 54.8 to 56.7. As far as yardage goes, he's increased his numbers from 2,444 to 3,291 to 3,474. At this rate, he'll complete approximately 57.5% of his passes this coming season for 3,500+ yards, 30+ touchdown passes at a quarterback rating of around a respectable 80.0. While I think Sanchez is a long ways away from being even a top 10-caliber quarterback in this league, he is still leaps and bounds better than Tebow and his responding to the Tebow acquisition by saying, "Wow, how did this happen?" is about as much of a story as a bum on 72nd and Main Street picking his nose.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8342101/santonio-holmes-says-new-york-jets-trade-tim-tebow-initially-floored-mark-sanchez
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/12482/mark-sanchez
When reading the report, Sanchez didn't even sound angry - just surprised, asking, "Wow, how did this happen?"
Now I'll be the first to admit that New York Jets' head coach, Rex Ryan, is none too coy about prompting drama, however I think, as is often times the case, the media is blowing this story way out of proportion.
Really - what did ESPN expect Sanchez to say when he discovered the team acquired one of the most popular players in the NFL and a starting quarterback no less? How did they think he'd react?
Was Sanchez expected to say, "Oh boy! We just got Tim Tebow! ESPN is obsessed with this guy! They talk about him more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the All-Star hockey game combined! I cannot wait to have one of the most liked players competing with me for the starting job! This is going to be so much fun! Woo-hoo! There will be even less pressure on me than there already was! If I have a bad game, I won't have to worry about fans chanting Tebow's name and calling for him to start! This has to be the greatest day of my life!"?
This is a non-story. Let's face it - Mark Sanchez is the starting quarterback for a New York football team. The pressure has been on him since his first snap in the league. While I don't think he's become the premiere quarterback the Jets were hoping for, I also think the guy has received too much criticism as well. The guy's been in the league for three years and his team has finished, at worst, 8-8. They've made the playoffs twice in those three years and made it as far as the AFC Championship Game. Sanchez, himself, has improved each and every year. The guy went from a quarterback rating of 63.0 to 75.3 to 78.2 last year. While 63.0 is definitely sub-par and 75.3 is slightly below average, 78.2 is getting close to average. His touchdown passes have increased from 12 to 17 to 26. His completion percentage has increased from 53.8 to 54.8 to 56.7. As far as yardage goes, he's increased his numbers from 2,444 to 3,291 to 3,474. At this rate, he'll complete approximately 57.5% of his passes this coming season for 3,500+ yards, 30+ touchdown passes at a quarterback rating of around a respectable 80.0. While I think Sanchez is a long ways away from being even a top 10-caliber quarterback in this league, he is still leaps and bounds better than Tebow and his responding to the Tebow acquisition by saying, "Wow, how did this happen?" is about as much of a story as a bum on 72nd and Main Street picking his nose.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8342101/santonio-holmes-says-new-york-jets-trade-tim-tebow-initially-floored-mark-sanchez
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/12482/mark-sanchez
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