In a much anticipated Monday Night Football game last night, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets squared off in what promised to be one of the best games of the 2010 season. Instead, this game was over by the end of the first quarter, as the New England Patriots pummeled the New York Jets as though they were Mike Tyson in his prime against Michael Spinks. Even France put up more of a resistance to Germany during both World Wars than the Jets defense did to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.
However, during this drubbing, two things occurred. First, this game marked the complete derailing of the Sanchize Bandwagon. Mark Sanchez is now being criticized as not being a franchise quarterback, being incapable of playing in a big game, and essentially being a waste of the number five pick last season. Now, there are several things to remember here. Sanchez is only 23 years old. This is his second year in the league. Young quarterbacks do make mistakes, especially when facing a great defensive coach such as Bill Belichick. Even experienced quarterbacks make mistakes. Brett Favre has made an entire career out of making mistakes and being bailed out by his receiving corps.
The argument that Sanchez cannot win in a pressure situation also does not apply here. Last season, as a rookie, he won two playoff games and brought the Jets to the AFC Championship game. Yes, he had more of a game manager role, but the fact of the matter is that he still twice led them to road playoff victories. While Sanchez may never reach the levels of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees, not too many quarterbacks ever will. There is nothing wrong with having a solid quarterback who can play within a system and will only improve in time. The Jets are 9-3, not 3-9. There is no reason to panic and throw the quarterback under the proverbial bus.
The second interesting occurrence may have been missed by majority of the viewers. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game far out of reach, the Patriots brought out Fred Taylor to finish the game. While Taylor has been injured for much of this season, this was a peculiar time to put him on the field. Majority of the rushes during the game were given to Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, the former was on the bubble in terms of roster cuts during training camp and the latter of which wasn't even with the Patriots until week two. It would appear that there should have been an opportunity for Taylor to get a couple of plays when the conclusion of the game was still in question.
So, at this stage of his career, is Taylor the Patriots human victory cigar - an aging veteran who no longer is capable of performing on the field but is great in the locker room? Has he taken over the role that Junior Seau had the past couple of years when in New England? If so, this is a sad ending to Taylor's vastly underrated career. Despite the injuries he has accumulated over the years, he has still managed to gain 11,647 rushing yards, good for second amongst active players and fifteenth all-time. He is a Hall of Fame caliber player, even if he toiled in the obscurity of Jacksonville for most of his career. Yet, Taylor only made it to one Pro Bowl, signifying the lack of respect he has received over his career. If this is truly the end of the line, then the best thing for Taylor would be for him to go onto the IR, and allow him to become an unofficial coach and mentor for the young runningbacks on the team. Watching him limp onto the field and take a handoff in the waning moments of a blowout is not how this underappreciated player should be remembered.
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