Jets coach Rex Ryan replied “Yeah, no question,” when asked if quarterback Mark Sanchez was still his guy.
But the questions continue to mount about his ability to lead a short-handed offense.
Sanchez completed fewer than half his passes for the fourth straight game, which makes the speculation about Tim Tebow natural.
But Ryan refused to give Sanchez a long-term commitment, having said he still judges quarterbacks by wins and losses more than stats.
“I’m not going to get into the what-ifs and all that,” Ryan said, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “We’re not preparing to lose, that’s for sure. We’re thinking we’re going to win starting this week.”
“We’re planning on winning,” he added. “We’re planning on having success. I’m not getting into the what ifs.”
Through five games, Sanchez is 31st in the league in passer rating at 66.6 (after the 666th Monday Night Football game, get the Tebow followers on alert).
He was plagued by drops last night, but that’s going to be a reality he has to deal with given the Jets current state. Getting tight end Dustin Keller back, which seems close, would probably help him as much as anything.
Of course, there’s a sense of inevitability about Tebow’s ascension, so it might not matter.