Sanchez... the truth and the facts.

OK, lets breakdown Sanchez's first 10 games in an honest unemotional way. He's got 1800 yards 10 TD's and 16 INT's. If we compare him to a guys like Dan Marino or Peyton Manning that would probably be a bit unfair. Lets compare him to Ben Roethisberger and Eli Manning.

Big Ben played 14 games and put up 2600 yards 17TD's and 11INT's. He also had a 66.4 completion percentage compared to Mark's 55%. Better stats overall, no question. How about we use Ben's stats from 2006, his third year as a starter. He played 15 games... 3500 yards, 18TD's and 23 INT's. Oh, and his completion percentage was 59.7. Thats after all the rookie growing pains. So, if Mark can match those numbers(and he very well may) does that mean he should get a 100 million dollar contract? I know that in 05' the Steelers won the Superbowl, but Big Ben had about as much to do with that win as I did (9of 21, 123yrds 0TD's 2INT's).

Eli Manning played 9 games during his rookie season. He had 1,043 yards 6TD's 9INT's and a 48.9 completion percentage. At the end of 2004, Giants fans everywhere were very nervous that they had a colossal bust on their hands. The reason Eli survived his lack luster rookie season was because he was 'handled' properly by his team.

Eli cost the Giants a hell of a lot more than Mark cost us. They gave up multiple picks as well as Philip Rivers. We gave up a low 1st round pick and Bret Ratliff, and some other bench players... not exactly the same price. In Eli's case he sat on the bench for the first half of the season. When he finally got on the field he struggled, but the playoffs were already out of reach. So, Eli wasn't blamed for ruining anything, he just looked like normal rookie.

Rex and Mr. T have put #6 in a horrible spot. The basic percentages dictate that a young signal caller is going to make some mistakes that can only be classified as stupid. Thats because rookie QB's are stupid. Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Roethisberger aren't prodigy's, they just played on teams that were very hungry and opportunistic. Mark Sanchez doesn't have that luxury, he has had to put the team on his shoulders way too many times. He starts to force things and thats never good, no matter how much experience you have as a QB.

At this point benching Sanchez will only give a ready made headline to the newspapers, television and talk radio. If I were Rex I would leave him in there. Ultimately it comes down to a simple reality... 'sink or swim'. The Jets decided, with very little strategy, to throw him in the water and see what happens. Well Rex, your #1 draft pick is drowning and you better find a way to help him keep his head above water.

I believe that Mark has what it takes to be an NFL QB. He has some nice mechanics and footwork, he also has much better accuracy and arm strength than I thought when I watched him in college. He's pretty good with the press and is a good face of the franchise. I think Jets fans are a bit spoiled in that regard because we had a guy like Pennington as our starter for so long. QB's like Vince Young, Alex Smith, and Jay Cutler are horrible when dealing with the media. Mark actually has personality and knows the right thing to say... most of the time.

I can see why the Jets were so high on Sanchez and why they wanted to draft him. To be completely honest, if I were the Jets GM I may have tried to trade up to #1 just to ensure the USC QB would be a Jet. That how much upside he has and how well I think he fits our team. However, I would have insulated him and tried to use a little strategy.

The best QB prospect coming out of college that I have seen in the past 20 years was Carson Palmer. He was the most complete package. Even Palmer sat on the bench during his rookie season. It paid huge dividends and most football experts would say he compares very well to guys like Brady and Peyton Manning. For anyone who wants to compare Troy Aikman to our struggling rookie. I don't even know where to start. Troy was 7-19 over his first two seasons with 20 TD's 36 INT's and 55 completion percentage. Any rookie QB will compare favorably to Aikman.

All we can hope for is a little bit of success and maybe some luck during the remainder of this season. Dirty Sanchez has six games left in 09'. If he can win 3 of those six, and tightens up his game a bit the press will probably allow him to live to see another season. At this point it's not mistake to keep him in as the starter. The mistake was starting him in the first place.