Despite being the most experiences quarterback the New York Jets have heading into training camp, Mark Sanchez hasn’t been able to separate himself from the likes of Greg McElroy, Matt Simms and especially not Geno Smith, who presents the biggest threat to the starting position in 2013.
The OTAs usually start showing us who is ready and who is not to become an NFL quarterback. Someone like Sanchez should be able to stand out thanks to his four seasons in the league which include six postseason games. He seems to have gotten worse and worse as his career progressed, which might have to do with the talent around him, but it’s also regarding his confidence levels, directly connecting to his performances.
New offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has been pleased with what he has been seeing from Sanchez so far, which hasn’t been that much, but he still blurted that his completion percentage and accuracy percentage have been sky high up to date. That shouldn’t be enough on its own to win him a place, but Mornhinweg seems to be on his side at the moment in the competition to win the #1 QB spot.
Rex Ryan on the other hand was vocal about Sanchez throwing three interceptions during the most recent round of practice, calling it unacceptable. Ryan isn’t exactly the greatest of offensive minds in the league, but he put his trust in Sanchez and failed over the last couple of years, and with the depleted team he has under his wings this season, anything but excellent play from his quarterback(s) is going to result in the worst season since Ryan became the head coach.
Smith is currently having his own off-the-field issues, but he’s doing pretty well, although not excellent, on it. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be someone that is separating himself from the rest of the pack, and Ryan has to be thinking to himself that if Sanchez can’t do a good enough job at this point of the preseason to show his career so far in the NFL should give him some sort of edge over three inexperienced guys, Geno Smith’s chances of starting on the opening weekend are becoming better and better.