Sayonara Sanchez

                   The woes of fifth year New York Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez have continued this season, as he has been placed on the injured reserved list and will soon be a forgotten man. Sanchez decided to go ahead and have shoulder surgery on the injury he suffered during Week 3 of the preseason against the New York Giants. Despite the fact that he feels as if he won the job, Sanchez was placed behind rookie quarterback Geno Smith on the depth chart. While his turbulent career with the Jets is surely over, it will be interesting to see if another NFL team is willing to give him a chance next season as a backup quarterback. I say backup because it is hard to imagine Sanchez coming off a shoulder surgery being able to potentially start for any other team besides Jacksonville. He has not exactly wowed people with his past two seasons as the starter for the Jets, and the addition of a questionable shoulder will not help. 
                   Geno Smith has not been stellar through the first quarter of the NFL season, but has showed promise and play-making ability that Sanchez had not in the previous two seasons. He is more of a threat to tuck it and run than Sanchez is and has the ability to throw the deep ball better, as evidenced by a couple of 50+ yard touchdowns to Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes in a Week 3 win over Buffalo. Smith has compiled a 57.4% completion percentage, 1,090 yards, 4 TD's and 8 INT for an unimpressive 68.6 QB rating through four games. Comparing these statistics to Peyton Manning's rookie season of a 56.7% completion percentage, 3,739 yards, 26 TD's and 28 INT for a 71.2 QB rating, Smith's do not appear very poor for a first year starter. Most people would look at these numbers and laugh at the notion that these are NFL starting quarterback worthy, but they are a tad misleading. Smith has also added 85 yards and a touchdown on the ground, which will surely continue to be an asset to the Jets offense that has not had much success in the last few years. The Jets will have to live with the turnovers and growing pains of a rookie quarterback, as the switch from college ball to the pros is nothing to brush aside. Having said that, they have committed to Smith and will allow him to grow and develop in their offense and try to surround him with the weapons he needs to prosper. 
                   In terms of Sanchez, he will have the surgery performed and will look to next season for possible landing spots. I have come to the shocking realization that I actually feel bad for Sanchez and how he has been ruined by the Jets organization. Laughing at, mocking, and bashing him had become a hobby of mine in the last few years. I looked forward to watching him "play" for comedic relief, because it was at the point where every time he touched the ball it was a sequence of pee-wee level mistakes. The icing on the cake was the 500-time "Worst of the Worst" champion butt fumble that everyone and their mother in this country has seen multiple times. Anytime you get close-lined by your offensive lineman's butt, fumble the ball, and have it returned for a touchdown all in one play, especially in New York, your going to have a rough time with the press and fan base. It's an infamous play in Jets history, but it does not excuse what Rex Ryan did in the preseason and how the organization has handled Sanchez's falling from the starting job. Ryan inserted Sanchez in the third quarter of a meaningless preseason game against the Giants, and he consequently took a rough hit and injured the shoulder he is going to have to miss the rest of the season for. This is a move that Ryan should not be excused for, as any team throwing their presumed starter out in the second half of a meaningless game should be highly questioned. The Jets organization caught a huge break in the fact that Sanchez injured his shoulder, because the decision to start Smith was made for them. Ultimately, there was no quarterback controversy or questioning of who to start, because Ryan's decision to put Sanchez back in that preseason game led to a season-ending injury for the five-year veteran. That decision was questioned, but not to the degree it should have been. The Jets management and coaching, as a whole, did not have to wear the egg on their faces for that mistake. I sympathize with Sanchez in that the Jets have ruined him and his chances for regaining a starting position in the NFL next year. He certainly has not helped himself with his play in the last few years, but he has quality playoff experience and wins in the postseason. I hope for  his sake he can recover from this surgery and land a backup position on a team, as that is his only chance of possibly becoming a starter again.