Mark Sanchez: It's Time To Take Off the Training Wheels

Last night the Jets put forth one of the worst offensive displays seen in the NFL in quite some time.

The Jets offense managed just six first downs on 176 total yards.

They were 1-for-11 in third down conversion attempts and Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez was 10-for-21 on the night for a whopping 76 yards.

This was pure nauseating, bag-over-the-head stuff.

Now, credit has to be given to the Ravens defense.

But as stifling as the Ravens defense was, when a team only scores nine points on three field goals, it’s usually a combination of strong defense and horrendous offense, which was certainly the case last night at The New Meadowlands Stadium.

Although it seemed as if a yellow flags were flying in every direction while the Jets defensive unit was on the field, the Jets managed to hold the Ravens to just 10 points.

This loss falls squarely on the shoulders of the offense and on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer in particular.

For more than a year now, it's as if Sanchez has been prohibited from throwing passes of more than five yards.

It’s reminiscent of the Yankees “Joba Rules” that worked out so well for them in terms of handling Joba Chamberlain over the past few years.

But, Sanchez is no Joba Chamberlain.  Sanchez is a $60 million first round draft pick that is meant to lead this team to the Super Bowl in the very near future.

It's time to unleash Sanchez and see what he can do.

Sure, he made some terrible decisions last year and at times looked about as comfortable in the pocket as a Wall Street executive talking about financial ethics at a congressional hearing while under oath.  

And sure, he may not have the physical tools to sit in the pocket and pick apart defenses like Tom Brady.

But Sanchez has got to start doing more than just throwing five yard dump passes, and this falls more on the man calling the plays than the quarterback who's attempting to execute them.

The Jets defensive unit is easily good enough to win a Super Bowl.  There is no question about that.

The running game is good and the offensive line is solid.

The Jets chances are resting almost solely on the arm of their young quarterback.

Just look at the last six teams to have made it to the Super Bowl:

New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees

Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning

Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger

Arizona Cardinals: Kurt Warner

New York Giants: Eli Manning

New England Patriots: Tom Brady

It’s not very often that a team makes it to the Super Bowl without either a great quarterback, or at least a quarterback that is playing great football during their playoff run.

At this point no one really knows if Sanchez has the ability to be a great quarterback or not because he has been put on such a short leash.

If a child is continually babied into his teens he will never grow up.

And if an NFL quarterback is continually babied by calling five yard dump pass after five yard dump pass, he will never learn how to be successful in the NFL.

It’s time to take off the training wheels and see what Sanchez can do, otherwise it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Jets to win a Super Bowl, no matter how strong their defense is or how big Rex Ryan’s mouth is.