Is Mark Sanchez the next Byron Leftwich?

Last night the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the abysmal Kansas City Chiefs in what turned out to be a surprising 16-13 nail biter in overtime. The Steelers were forced to play much of the game without their two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder. Their backup QB Byron Leftwich took over and played the way his job description would lead you to believe , as he completed seven of 14 passes for 73 yards. He is a 32-year-old backup QB who has failed to regain a starting job after he relinquished it to David Garrard in 2007  due to his inconsistent play. Like Leftwich, Jets QB Mark Sanchez has not silenced his critics at any point in his career. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Leftwich with the seventh overrall pick in the 2003 draft, six years prior to Sanchez being selected with the sixth pick. Like Rex Ryan, Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio won a Super Bowl ring with the 2000 Baltimore Ravens as a defensive coach. He became the Head Coach of the Jaguars and immediately took their defense from No.30 to two. They had All-Pro defensive players Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. In addition to their strong defense, they had star running back Fred Taylor who rushed for 1,572 yards. Despite their strengths, they were unable to advance in the playoffs, mainly due to their struggles at the AB position. Leftwich never progressed as a QB, and after struggling to improve the Jaguars eventually cut ties with him and moved onto Garrard. When Sanchez was a rookie, the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship, as they featured the league’s No. 1 ranked rushing attack and overall defense. Sanchez’s job was to basically avoid turnovers and attempt only 20 passes per game. Even with those limits, he threw 20 interceptions, including five against the division rival Buffalo Bills in a mid-season game. The next season, the Jets were once again among the best teams in the AFC. This time, the team allowed Sanchez to pass the ball an extra 143 times. As a result, he threw for more passing yards and touchdowns, but still only posted a 75.3 QB rating. Additionally, he had four receiving options—Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller—that were reliable pass catchers. Many were left to wonder, had Sanchez already reached his ceiling at age-24? Since that time, the New York Jets have been in a free fall. After beginning the 2011 season with an 8-5 record, they lost their final three games and six of their first nine in 2012. Despite not having as many options as he had in his first two seasons, Sanchez has appeared extremely uncomfortable in the pocket, even though he is often asked to take quick drop backs and attempt simply slants and screens. Even the most adamant Sanchez supporter will find it hard to defend the man that was given a long-term contract extension prior to the season. As everyone knows, football is a performance industry without the luxury of guaranteeing money the way the MLB does. Could Sanchez possibly be cut in the offseason and left to follow the career path of Byron Leftwich? At this point, Sanchez would be lucky to last in the NFL until he is 32-years-old, with the credentials of winning a Super Bowl ring as Leftwich did with the Steelers. Unless Sanchez turns around the Jets season and plays better than he has in his career at any point he may be forced to win his starting position next season. Rex Ryan has been vehemently supporting him but the honeymoon will be over after consecutive disappointing seasons. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was the scape goat after the 2011 season. This year it will be Sanchez.