Jets Roll Dice Take Sanchez, Big Mistake

Well, the Jets did it again. They have found a way to screw themselves again, trading defensive end Kenyon Coleman, quarterback Brett Ratiff, and safety Abram Elam, and their entire day one draft to old friend Eric Mangini and the Cleveland Browns, to trade up to the number five pick to select the tiny quarterback from USC, Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez played in only 16 games in his four year college career, and didn't even listen to the advice of his former coach Pete Carroll who warned the quarterback that he was not ready to make the jump from college to the rigors of the NFL.

The Jets don't seem to care obviously. They feel that Sanchez is ready to beat out Kellen Clemens for the starting job. Jet fans inside Radio City Music Hall were excited about the pick, but point in fact is this: Sanchez won't even play until at least mid-season when it clear the Jets are not going anywhere. When he plays Sanchez will be so raw and so untested that it will brutal to watch. Who knows how many years Sanchez will need to truly learn how to play as a starting quarterback in the NFL, since he is so inexperienced to begin with.

Then again, some will say that Matt Cassell, another USC alum, went untested for years, and was great when given the chance in New England. Memo to those people: Cassell had Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to, and Bill Belichick to teach him. Sanchez has Chansi Stuckey and Jerricho Cothery to throw to and the much maligned Brian Schottenhymer to teach him. Plus the Patriots didn't throw away their draft to get Cassell a few years ago, they got him very late in the draft.

In other words, it will be five years, at least, before the Jets really know if they have found a franchise quarterback. Making a mistake at quarterback in the draft can kill a franchise. I.E. the Chargers suffered for years after they chose Ryan Leaf in 1998. It was not until they brought in LaDanilian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers in 2002 and 2003 respectively that the team was able to turn things around.

The Browns have never recovered since they drafted Tim Coach, number one overall in 1999; the Bengals struggled for a few years after taking Akili Smith in 1999; In 2002 they turned around and drafted Carson Palmer, and it has worked out for them in some respects.

There are no guarantees in the NFL, and when it comes to drafting a quarterback, it is the biggest risk of all. The drafting of Sanchez, who is only 6'2" and has an arm similar to the Jets most hated man in America, Chad Pennington, could spell the beginning of the end for Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum.