Mark Sanchez is the New York Jets’ starting quarterback. Let that sink in for a minute. He is the New York Jets’ starting quarterback, yet he operates like he is the quarterback of a semi-pro team.
There are few quarterbacks in the NFL that I’m more critical of than Tim Tebow, but one of them is most certainly Mark Sanchez. Sanchez, who has been affirmed and re-affirmed as the Jets’ starter despite growing unrest from fans and analysts alike, but he’s yet to step into a leadership role within the locker room.
Is anyone buying the idea that Tim Tebow was brought in as only a wildcat guy? There are plenty of players that can be the quarterback in the wildcat formation. Are we really supposed to buy that the Jets brought in one of the most controversial guys in recent memory to play 5-10 snaps per game? I didn’t think so.
As Michael Lombardi pointed out, Sanchez’s lack of reaction to the trade that brought Tim Tebow to New York speaks volumes about Sanchez’s leadership qualities.
“How does this affect Mark Sanchez? I think greatly. I wish, upon hearing the news of Tebow’s signing, Sanchez would have displayed the same anger that recently signed backup Drew Stanton showed. For all the talk of being a leader, Sanchez never operates like one. He should have leveled the Jets for making this move, and made it clear he was not interested in leaving the game for a gadget offense. Sanchez needs to stand up for himself and not appear as if he was paid off to be a good soldier.”
Under the watch of Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan, the Jets’ locker room has disintegrated into a chaotic mess of he-said-he-said. It’s a complete mess, and such problems don’t arise in organizations with great leaders.
I’ve always believed that it’s better to lead by example than with passionate speeches. Here’s the problem. Mark Sanchez is leading by example, and that’s not good.
Sanchez has become a model of inconsistency. He finds ways to lose games that most game managers would pull out, and he’s shown a disturbing lack of progression over the past couple of seasons. He’s plateaued somewhere between not good at all and mediocre. Guys like that don’t last as starters in the NFL for long.
The Jets would have us believe that Mark Sanchez is still their man, but there’s not many guys running to Sanchez’s defense. Even Mark Sanchez himself isn’t outspoken about the Tim Tebow trade. There should be at least one big #6 fan in New York, but even that guy is oddly absent in the offseason upheaval.
