Friday, February 22, 2013
Sanchez's starting chances
By Tim Kavanagh
The New York Jets' situation at QB in 2012 was not a favorable one, and through the early portion of the offseason -- when reality set in that Mark Sanchez was going nowhere, thanks to the nature of his contract -- the outlook hasn't improved much. The Jets still have Tim Tebow and Greg McElroy under contract, though Tebow is thought by some to be on the way out, and McElroy projects as no better than a reliable backup at the NFL level.
But the Jets would like to do something to improve themselves on offense, right? That's the idea, in the view of new GM John Idzik. "I think everyone, Mark included, that he, our offense, our team as a whole needs to perform better than we did in 2012," Idzik told reporters Thursday, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. "We're going to increase the competition so that he plays better. We've got a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback coach. That will be healthy."
HC Rex Ryan also received the team memo about mentioning "competition" in Thursday's presser: "No. 1, you heard about what John talked about, the competition. Bringing in competition at every position, not just the quarterback position. ... That is what we want to do. So to say Mark Sanchez or this quarterback or that quarterback, I think there's clearly going to be competition."
And as ESPN AFC East blogger James Walker reminds us Friday morning, the contestants in this competition may include a player or two currently not on the roster:
James Walker
There will be competition"Right now Sanchez is the favorite. But if New York adds a veteran like Matt Flynn via trade, things could get interesting. That's probably the best move for the Jets."
