Mark Sanchez: New York Jets' QB Destined to Be Scapegoat for Underachieving Team

Mark these italicized words: The New York Jets will never win a Super Bowl with Mark Sanchez at quarterback.

It's nothing personal, it's just an unfortunate reality that Jets fans must consider every Sunday they watch their team play. 

Sanchez recently said, in an NFL.com piece, that he has changed his demeanor for the good of the team. That it's time to get serious and become more focused on the task at hand: making the playoffs.

At 6-5, the Jets have zero margin of error heading into the home stretch of the regular season, and going on vacation early seems the most likely of the two possibilities. New York only plays two of its last five games at home, and Sanchez has yet to play at Philadelphia and at Miami this season.

But despite all of the criticism and the booing of Sanchez under center, the former USC Trojan has never shown any promise to begin with. He's just the obvious scapegoat for a mediocre NFL team.

His numbers are surprisingly better this year than in seasons' past, but you wouldn't know that from listening to Jets fans or league experts. Sanchez has tossed 18 TDs this year to just 11 INTs, and he still has five games left to play. The guy threw for 29 TDs and 33 INTs in his first two seasons combined. 

He is not the reason New York crashed the AFC Championship Game for two consecutive seasons. The combo of a dominant ground game and Rex Ryan-coached defense is the reason for that, that's nothing new.

Sanchez is and always will be an inhibitor before he is a contributor. He's not Joe Flacco or even Matt Ryan. He's not going to win games for his team, he's going to do just enough to not lose games for his team.

But the same can be said for Rex Ryan.

Occasionally, Sanchez will throw a TD with seconds remaining to lift the Jets, much like he did last week against Buffalo. But if you look back on the previous four quarters of football, you'll find time after time where Sanchez did enough to lose.

The mystery that surrounds New York's recent playoff success is the same that surrounds their practical-joking QB.

Regardless of what face he puts on or what demeanor he demonstrates on the sideline, he's not elite and never will be, and until his play elevates, the Jets will continue to stall.