Jets Make Right Move; Give Sanchez Job

As predicted in this space August 15th, the Jets today announced rookie Mark Sanchez will open the season as the team’s starting quarterback.

Good for the Jets….they made the right decision.

Head Coach Rex Ryan said the choice was his and his alone, though he did consult many people in the know before coming to his conclusion.

That being said, Sanchez being named as the starter was probably decided back in April when the Jets traded up to grab the USC QB 5th overall.

After the contract they gave him and the 2008 success of rookies Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, Sanchez and his Madison Avenue appeal were a virtual lock to be under center week one.

Remember, both then and now, the Jets have those pesky PSL’s to sell in a new stadium next season.

It would have been a much tougher sell if Sanchez didn’t have a season under his belt to get used to the speed and grind of the NFL.

Take a listen to what Sanchez and coach Rex Ryan had to say at a press conference today:

From an organizational standpoint, it will be a plus to have Sanchez on training wheels for the last season in the Meadowlands…that way he’ll have a year under his belt when the new place opens (and the Jets are asking an average of about $300 a ticket).

As far as X’s and O’s, Ryan said that he believes Sanchez gives the team the best chance to win RIGHT NOW. With my football knowledge limited to what I see from my couch on Sundays, I think Clemens would probably be the better choice week one.

But the Rook has to learn sometime…so why not right off the bat. I do believe that Clemens gives the Jets a better chance to beat the Texans, but only like a 55%-45% better chance.

Certainly not a big enough swing to justify starting the vanilla Clemens (Sorry Kellen, 2nd round draft picks from Oregon who don’t pose shirtless in GQ with models just don’t have that same cache) over the sexy (literally and figuratively) Sanchez.

Also, way to go Rex getting this done prior to the third preseason game. As we’ve heard so many times in the past, the only preseason games that mean any thing are the 2nd and 3rd…because the starters don’t play enough in the first and rarely play at all in the 4th.

Sanchez will be under center as the official starter Saturday against the Giants. It will be interesting to see if he steps up his game now that the pressure of playing for a job is off his shoulders.

I can certainly see it going that way…though chances are the kid from Hollywood wasn’t all that flustered when he was auditioning for the starring role.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle