Making the Case for New York Jets to Bench Mark Sanchez

Good evening, ladies and gentleman of the New York Jets jury.

Tonight's closing argument regarding the starting status of Mark Sanchez is incredibly simple. So simple, that I, as a seasoned litigator of the goings on of professional football, should turn it over to a junior associate.

However, I do not want to deprive anyone of their constitutional right to a fair trial. So I shall make my impassioned plea to this court to sit Sanchez.

And find anyone but Tim Tebow to run the offense.

Well, again, except for Sanchez.

It's easy to look at his 284 yards and say that he didn't play so poorly. Don't be naive.

He threw the ball 54 times, giving him 5.2 yards per attempt.

That's not just horrendous, it's offensive to the senses. It stings the nostrils.

And he isn't even as effective as Sex Panther. In fact, he's completing just 53 percent of his attempts for the season.

Sanchez also doesn't take care of the ball. He's thrown eight interceptions and also fumbled away four other possessions. 

Then there are the three other balls that he put on the ground that his teammates were gracious enough to cover for him.

Thus, the numbers don't support keeping the underachieving Sanchez in the starting lineup. But what about the intangibles?

Trent Dilfer has stated before that Mark Sanchez is a bona-fide leader. That if all the quarterbacks from the 2009 draft class needed to go somewhere, they'd flip the keys to Sanchez.

That leadership hasn't translated well to the Jets over the past two seasons. The locker room has imploded so hard at times that even the third-string quarterback has called out his teammates.

After taking a 30-9 beating at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, it's obvious that the Jets need something to change. 

And they should start with their quarterback.

I rest my case.