Mark Sanchez is the Key to New York Jets' Playoff Hopes

Mark Sanchez threw another interception last night. He lost a fumble. He missed some throws badly. If you were watching the game, you know what I mean. Some of these throws were ugly! I know, it was just a preseason game. The interceptions didn't bother me as much as Sanchez's comments after the game. 

Sanchez basically said, and I'm paraphrasing, "The offense looks good, we are fine, blah blah blah."  Then he said something profound. 

He said, the offense looked good other than the fact "the ball is slipping out of my hands, like an idiot." 

Mark, it is the quarterback's job to throw the ball. If it is slipping out of your hands, that could end up being a bit of a problem. That would be kind of like saying, "Our defense is pretty good, except they just keep missing tackles," or, "Our running back is pretty fast, but he keeps tripping and falling behind the line of scrimmage." 

One part of that statement cancels the other part out.

Sanchez is only in his third year. Some people think it is too early to judge him. I am not one of those people. I think when a guy throws for 53.8 percent as a rookie, and then comes back to throw for 54.8 percent the following season...yeah, that might just be who he is, a below-average passer.  Throw in the fact that Sanchez has 29 career touchdowns to go along with 33 career interceptions, and his body of work so far is not pretty at all.

The Jets have a championship caliber defense. They have a powerful running game. They re-signed Santonio Holmes and picked up Plaxico Burress as a free agent. They are built to make a Super Bowl run this season. They need Sanchez to be the quarterback they drafted him to be.

Step one, Mark, would be to stop letting the ball "slip" when you throw it. Let's keep it simple and start right there.