By Jason Klein
It fits.
You know, Mark Sanchez reportedly losing his job the way he did.
One final indignity for the man continuously bamboozled by his own organization.
Inexplicably thrown to the wolves during his 4th quarter preseason appearance against the Giants, Sanchez was done in, again, by the very team he once led to two AFC Championship Games in a row. This time, he sustained an injury that could ultimately derail his career in New York.
Once again, Sanchez was done in by his own team.
Bruised Shoulder.
Broken Career.
It’s not shocking, over the last two seasons, that Sanchez has regressed. It can’t be easy to succeed in the NFL when you have to battle an opponent, and your own team at the same time.
Seemingly on a weekly basis, Sanchez has been given every opportunity to fail. After his first two successful seasons, Jets decision makers left him with a diluted supporting cast, flirted with Peyton Manning, and publically humiliated him when Woody Johnson told the world “You can never have too much Tebow.” It was a statement, and a personnel decision, that divided the Jets locker room and fan base.
Then, Tebow left and Geno arrived.
They drafted Geno Smith and privately hoped he’d unseat the incumbent Sanchez. New GM, John Idzik, ultimately got his secret wish…by default.
When Rex Ryan decided the Snoopy Bowl was more important than the wellbeing of his Week 1 starting quarterback, Sanchez sustained a hit to his throwing shoulder. He now finds his status with the Jets more questionable than a Miley Cyrus performance.
Bottom line is, they haven’t treated Sanchez like a franchise quarterback, and consequently, he hasn’t played like one either. He’ll never be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but Sanchez has certainly proven he can win in this league when surrounded by capable talent. Plus, it’s easily forgotten, he played only one season at USC, and is only 26 years-old. He’s still a kid.
To be fair, Mark hasn’t done himself any favors either. In buttfumbling fashion, he’s turned the ball over 52 times over the last 2 seasons and proved to be mistake-prone at the most inopportune times. Opponents have undressed the inconsistent Sanchez on the field. Frivolous, camera phone-carrying party girls have undressed him off it. Poor decisions during, and after, games haven’t helped Sanchez. Again, he’s still a kid.
If this is the end of his stint in New York, it will mark a stunning fall from grace for the kid from SoCal.
It’s just a shame there was nobody from the Jets organization there to catch him on the way down.
For a team who always seems to handle things with complete ineptitude…it fits.
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