Jets finally bench Sanchez in favor of McElory

Get the champagne bottles Jets' fans; the Mark Sanchez era is finally over! Hip Hip Hooray!

The day after Sanchez spit the bit on not only the Jets season, but his career after a five turnover meltdown against the Tennessee Titans, the Jets finally decided to bench Butt-chez in favor of Greg McElroy, who had been inactive the past two weeks.

To say this was a long time coming is the understatement of the year. Sanchez has been just putrid the past two seasons, leading the NFL in turnovers with 24 this year. He has turned the ball over 51 times in his last 30 games, and 87 times in his career. The Jets were long overdue to bench this bumbling fool who has helped wreck this franchise.

Also, the fact that Rex Ryan has endorsed Sanchez for this long is beyond laughable, especially when everyone could see this guy just didn't have it.

Sanchez's career with the Jets began with much ballyhoo from the Jets brass, who traded up to draft a guy who had only 16 career starts at USC, and was warned by his old coach Pete Carroll not to enter the NFL draft. Yet the Jets felt Sanchez had the moxie to be the quarterback of the NYJ.

Yet for four years Sanchez has never become a franchise quarterback. He rode the coattails of a great defense a strong running attack, and a little bit of dumb luck to two AFC Championship games in 2009, and 2010; when the Jets asked him to become THE guy, he couldn't deliever, instead drawing the ire of his teammates, i.e. Santonio Holmes.

Now, Sanchez is on his way out the door after another hideous season as the "Sanchise." Don't feel sorry for this guy, because he is guaranteed to make $8.25 million next season, and if the Jets cut him, they will take a $17 million cap hit. 

Ryan should have never deactivated McElroy, who lit a spark in a floundering Jets squad that couldn't overcome a 3-0 deficit against the Arizona Cardinals. That's right same Arizona Cardinals who were blown out by the Seattle Seahawks 58-0. The fact that he had his best back-up quarterback deactivated for a better part of the year to favor Sanchez, and to keep Tim Tebow interested was the biggest joke of the season, and it should not be forgotten when Ryan has to answer Woody Johnson come January 1.

Whether McElroy has enough to lead the Jets to two wins here down the stretch is virtually pointless. He is not a franchise guy either, but the fact that his name is not Mark Sanchez will make even an incompletion look like gold.

So good riddance to the Mark Sanchez era. It is finally over at long last. Now the Jets can begin the process of rebuilding this franchise from the top - down, and that of course will begin with both Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan, the minute the Jets season ends in Buffalo.