The Jets would have loved to see more consistency from Mark Sanchez during his time in green and white. He, however, wishes he got more of the same thing from them.
Sanchez’s first two years with Gang Green got off to a hot start as he led the Jets to two AFC Championship appearances in 2009 and 2010. Sanchez looked destined to be the franchise quarterback for years to come, but as his play started to decline, the Jets weren’t finding the same success. Much of that, Sanchez feels, stems from constant turnover within the organization.
“Every year was a revolving door,” Sanchez said on WFAN’s Boomer and Gio Show on Wednesday. “Every year was a new formula. Instead of maybe a draft-and-develop mentality, it was, ‘Let’s go sign some of the best guys on the market and see what happens.’ And every time you do that, you kind of roll the dice. And it just became difficult for everyone. And … you’re either the hero or the goat. When it doesn’t work out, it’s just, ‘Hey, welp, see you later.’ And then I woke up in Philly.”
Sanchez never had any great receivers that he built chemistry with. His top two receivers were Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, who had short tenures with the Jets. Sanchez, however, wasn’t exactly an elite quarterback with them.
In four seasons with the Jets, Sanchez only threw more touchdowns than interceptions twice and only threw for over 3,000 yards twice. He was best described as an erratic game manager thanks to his turnovers — so a bad game manager — who rode the coattails of an elite defense to two straight AFC Championships.
Sanchez noted that injuries hampered his career, but also acknowledged that there were plays that could have been made that would have changed the narrative of his Jets career.
“Hindsight’s 20-20,” Sanchez said. “Listen, I think if some of the guys stayed healthy here or there, and you know the margin for error in this league is so small. You know, one play here, one play there changes perception a little bit, and maybe we stick together a little longer. Maybe we get through one of those valleys and get back up to one of the peaks that we should’ve been at.”
What could have been is left to the imagination. In reality, though, Sanchez’s Jets tenure ended up being a failure after a red-hot start.