Link: No Ross, Tell Us How You Really Feel
Ross Tucker pulls no punches in a recent column on SI.com on the new face of the Jets … clearly Tucker isn’t buying into the hype around Mark Sanchez any time soon:
I can’t remember the last time a player’s stock rose so much and he became so sought after based upon what he did at dinners rather than on an actual field. This is football, after all, and you aren’t looking for a sales guy in the office that you want to be good with clients or in the board room. Personality can only take you so far. At some point you have to just produce, or else the fan base will turn on you and your charisma will no longer matter. Just ask another former Jets quarterback by the name of Favre.
Well, no one is going to mistake Tucker and Peter King’s style of writing. Believe it or not, that’s one of the articles nicer paragraphs. Yee-ikes.
I think Tucker’ encapsulation of Sanchez’s hyperbolic ascension to the #5 spot of the draft is just another good reason for the widespread bewilderment of many a Jet fan on April 25th. Yes, he was someone who most folks seemed OK with taking if he fell past #10, but the Jets never allowed that to happen.
Tannenbaum has made a lot of savvy moves over the years, and I truly think this will prove to be the move that cements his legacy in the NFL, or has him writing contracts for some team in the Midwest in five years. I just hope it’s the former.
42 Responses to Link: No Ross, Tell Us How You Really Feel
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charleyjet says:
No one knows. The question is whether this was a gamble worth taking. I think so, but only time will tell.
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ramble914 says:
The Jets have made some terrbile draft picks/moves over the years. If Sanchez is not a top 10 QB for the next decade this might be the worst of them all.
That being said, I believe he will be a top 10 QB for the next decade or more. However, I can see where people would question the wisdom of moving up to 5 to draft a player with only one year of experience, the gamble is enormous considering we could have stayed at 17 and filled a lot of holes with quality players. To make that gamble even more omnious is the chance that KC will turn out to be a good QB, and we didn’t have to make that move afterall.
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I like Ross Tucker for what he is…… an ex player that is kind of new to the media world and talks/writes with his heart instead of his head. He is the same way when he is on Sirius NFL radio….He also hates that rookies get paid instead of veterens so this also slights his credibilty on this subject
He makes it sound like Sanchez was a average QB and was boosted to the #5 pick becasue he was charming over dinner….
The kid has all of the skills to be a top QB and more than a few had him rated ahead of Sanchez including Mike Mayock (maybe the best in the business). He obviously impressed the Jets at his workout and then cemented it with his knowledge of their playbook and clear leadership qualities.
I questioned the move intially but think we made the right move here.
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Pdubbs says:
Why is everyone hating on this move ? If this guy went to Denver would all of these clown reporters be saying all this negative stuff ?
Sanchez is known to be accurate and has a great personality ….. if this isn’t the QB you draft, who is ? Were the Jets suposed to take a guy with a bad rep. ? I just don’t know where these guys come up with these articles predicting failure.
I think these guys are scared because for once it feels like maybe the Jets drafted the right guy. The Jets might be good EWWWWW scary who would they hate on then ??????
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Freeman24 says:
Sure there is no substitute for on field talent but how did drafting Jay Cutler even though hes a prick work out for Denver. Last time i checked the QB has to be a leader.
Anyway maybe this putz should check out Simms and Kirwins breakdown of Sanchez. No mention of table manners when they called him the best QB in the draft.
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igs says:
I thought the spot was a little high, but they had the trading partner at 5 so they took it. The only thing that was questionable for me is the Shonne Green move in the wake of the Sanchez move. I think in a draft this deep with talent you have to put a premium on finding late round talent.
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I find his last line about Favre a major reach to end his story….. We thought we were getting a top 10 QB in Favre not a guy who would break down in the games we needed him the most…
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brian311 says:
dont really understand the slant of the article.
he was #1 on the jets board. he was rated by many to be the best QB in the draft. he was tanny and rex’s guy, so they went out and got him.
actually, trading up to 5 probabaly cost the jets less than trading to 8 or 10 because we gave mangini players instead of picks. i doubt other teams would have placed the same value on coleman, ratliff or elam. trading with another team most likely would have meant having to include our 2010 1st or 2nd rounder. trading to 5 was the smart move
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Lets also remember that the Jets saved 2 – 3 draft picks by trading “spare parts” to Cleveland….when no other teams was going to take those players
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jcjets says:
It’s pretty funny..the guy did throw 10 more TDs than Stafford. I’m not a big enough college football fan to know who was better, though. If personality isn’t enough, than neither is a strong arm..you need a total package to win!
But everything I’ve seen, including footage from the minicamp, interviews, and quotes, has me excited!
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Ducky says:
If the main questions about Sanchez were about his experience level and his mental make-up, why is it surprising that the more time teams spent with him the higher his stock rose?
Every time I read Tucker he comes across as an almost smart guy; he loses all credibility when he reduces what is necessary to play QB in the NFL to arm strength (if that were all it took, Jeff George and Michael Vick would have been all time greats).
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SackDance99 says:
Ross Tucker was a mediocre NFL DE and a graduate of that football powerhouse, Princeton. Exactly what does he know about the QB position? Or, more to the point, what does he know about it that former NFL QBs, like Jaws, Dilfer and Simms, don’t know? Those guys, who all played in a Super Bowl, have effusively praised both Sanchez and the Jets for picking him. And, faulting Sanchez for not beating out Booty? Pete Carroll doesn’t seem like the type that would throw his senior and starting QB under the bus because of an injury. I thought it was an unwritten rule in football that you don’t lose your starting position unless you’re hampered by the injury. To a lesser extent, that’s true in the pros, but good luck recruiting in college if the HC gets a rep for lack of player loyalty. Hey, the exuberance over Sanchez may be unwarranted, but he was a top 10 QB prospect and the Jets paid a relatively low price for the opportunity to draft him. Sanchez may not work out, but you have to like the bold move by the Jets. We keep wondering why the Jets haven’t won or appeared in a Super Bowl since Namath? Well, how about the fact that Namath is the only All-Pro QB the Jets have ever had. I can’t fault the Jets for trying to fill this gaping hole by drafting the second top 10 QB in the franchise’s existence. Let’s hope it works out as well as when the Jets drafted a QB with the no. 1 pick.
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NJets says:
Sounds like a bitter ex-player to me. Personality def. makes a difference, especially in New York where the media crushes you if you dont show them you have one. Its the cherry on top of a set of skills which the Jets had already fallen in love with. I think at this point, the kid has developed so many fans, has impressed so many people, has gained the affection of so many media members…. that people like Ross Tucker are finding the need to hedge their bets, be against popular opinion, and set themselves up for the “i told you so” after the season. What does Ross Tucker really have to lose by doing that anyway? If Sanchez turns out to be incredible he wont bring up this article ever again, if he doesnt, he will talk about how he called it non-stop on the radio and in future articles.
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head_coach says:
p dubbs u r sooooo right
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Bent says: This is the guy who said that the Faneca signing was a waste of money because the level of play of the left guard doesn’t have much of an effect on the team’s success as a whole.
Having said that, I kind of agree with him on this issue.
*hides*
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jetfanATL says:
Ross Tucker was an Offensive Lineman in the NFL, not a DE….maybe he played that side of the ball in college, don’t know there….. but seriously how is this guy supposed to be an authority on first round QBs? I listen to him on Sirius and frankly find him pretty annoying on a regular basis. If it’s his opinion v. Pat Kirwin’s I’ll take PK all day long…
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Yeah, my bad, Tucker was an OL. So, he knows a little more about the offense, but I’ll still take the word of former NFL starting QBs over him.
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Also, he was initially a DE at Princeton, but was moved to OL.
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jvsvn says:
I always think that this type of commentary is totally absurd. What, guys like Tannenbaum and Ryan have spent their entire adult lives in and around the NFL and THEY don’t realize that they have to win to maintain credibility. It’s just ridiculous. I am totally sure that they broke down every inch of tape that ever existed on Sanchez, they watched every workout possibile, and they met with him in every circumstance they could possibibly have arranged. After all of that, they decided the team can win with him at QB. Now, they may be wrong about that. Every year teams make mistakes about players. If they’re wrong about Sanchez, then Tanny and Ryan will be out of a job. That happens every year in the NFL as well. But the idea that Woody and all of these guys are going to bet many, many, millions of dollars and their jobs and professional reputations on what Sanchez said or did at dinner is just ludicrous. They think he can play. Let’s hope they’re right.
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You know some of these ex players have no right in the booth or printing articles.
I.E. Keyshawn: terrible attitude, won a superbowl with one of the best defenses ever and got cut in favor of a WR that never actually played. Why do I want to hear what he has to say at all on draft day ?
Ross Tucker: We aren’t even sure what position he played. Turns out he played OL/DL and now I am listening to him tell me about QB’s ?
I would rather listen to Bill Plasche tell me how to get chicks.
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Bent,
Sonny Werblin wanted to draft Namath no. 1 entirely because of his charisma. All the doctors warned him that Namath would be limited by his knee injury. Werblin didn’t care, he wanted to sell tickets, establish the Jets as a rival to the Giants, and raise the profile of the AFL. So, maybe it’s not crazy to credit personality as a plus factor when your scouts tell you the QB has top 10 talent. New York isn’t an easy place to play and QB is a position where the mental ability to withstand pressure, be confident and have Rex’s favorite word “swagger” count. Now, I wish Sanchez had Namath’s legendary rocket arm and the Jets had a Maynard to haul in those missiles, but you can’t have everything.
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Sackdance,
No one is saying that personality wasn’t a factor. Dealing with the New York media and selling tickets are part of the job description of a QB in New York. But as your own example attests, Namath had the personality AND the physical skills to be a successful QB. Like all draft choices, he had question marks too (knees, etc.). At the moment, Sanchez is in a similar situation. Personality and physical skills as well as question marks. It’s always the total package that is being evaluated. That was true with Namath and it’s true with Sanchez. Time will tell if Sanchez can have a similar impact.
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Loved the move and Sanchez:
Pat Kirwin
Mike Mayock
Phil Simms
Jaws
Dilfer
Kiper
Mcshay
The entire Jets organizationDidnt like the move:
Ross TuckerCase closed…..
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Tucker should also understand that playing in NY takes more than just talent….. The city and its fans can chew a weak minded person up and spit them out.
Besides the fact that he was the highest rated QB (by some) the kid played at (NFL junior) at USC and was under the bright lights for 2 seasons.
His charisma and personality will help….. I see Sanchez as Chad Pennington with a stronger arm. Who wouldnt want that excatly??
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Ross Tucker is an idiot, if the jets couldnt move up to 5 to grab Sanchez then they wouldnt of got him…
being able to trade some of manginis guys to Cleveland was the reason this trade worked.. if we didnt make the move at 5 the redskins would of got him and we would be left with 2 unproven qbs and everyone would be calling the jets a 6 win team because of it…
the jets moved into the TOP 5 ( which is almost valued higher than real good players) by swapping 1st rounders and giving up just a 2nd and 3 depth players that combined in any normal trade wouldnt of brought back anything higher than a 3rd rounder maybe…, thats unheard of and it was a great trade… no matter what ppl r going to question the jets, if we didnt do it we would be stupid n wer stupid for doing it
not to mention that Sanchez had better numbers than Stafford and with the whole “sanchez had amazing talent at usc” argument, people seem to forget that Stafford had a team preseason ranked #1 and fell way short of expectations
i think we got the best qb in the draft and i love how we did what we had to do to grab the guy we wanted most..it was a good trade for the organization and idiots like Ross Tucker just like bashing anything the Jets do
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Warren Buffett says:
Tucker makes some valid points but he seems to forget that he was a backup offensive lineman with the patriots.
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RKNYC says:
I liken this a little to Kobe, Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal, when you get someone at a young age with a lot of talent sometimes you take a risk and if their skill set is already enough (when they are young and only slightly proven) then it will often pay off.
The WR on the Jets think he’s accurate, he had more TDs than most of his predecessors and almost tied Leinart’s 38 TD but missed with 34 (in his first year as starter), he has the team excited and exuberant to get out to minicamps, he seems like a good fit.
I didn’t want to take him at 17 but if they liked him enough to trade up you couldn’t ask for a scenario better than the way it went. Seriously I was scared of the trade until I saw the players. Yes I’d like to have my cake and eat it too but you don’t often get something without giving something.
The FO saw more of him than any of us could outside of T.V. and highlight reels. They are football people. I trust that they liked this guy enough and they got him.
I still think starting KC is the smart move but I think Sanchez’ psyche can handle going in early.
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jvsvn,
Are we disagreeing about something?
Tucker’s argument is that Sanchez’s draft stock shot up because he did well in personal interviews and that isn’t a valid basis to evaluate a QB. To him, it’s what happens on the field and, when it comes to Sanchez’s college career, there wasn’t enough to match the hype. I disagree with that assessment on two fronts. First, despite Sanchez’s 16 starts, there were many draft pundits and former NFL QB analysts who were impressed at Sanchez’s pro day, especially Phil Simms, who admitted that he was prepared to hate Sanchez and came away believing Sanchez was the best QB in the draft. It was Sanchez’s pro day that raised his draft stock as much as his interviews. So, there were football reasons for Sanchez’s rise. Second, having the mental make up for QB is important. For instance, Shaun Hill doesn’t have Alex Smith’s talent, but he has the right make up. Rex, Woody and Tanny all saw a need for QB and decided that Sanchez’s total mix of talent and charisma were worth trading up for. I think that’s a valid basis for choosing a QB.
Do you disagree?
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John C says:
It looks as if the Jet are upgrading the faces and personality of the team. Leave Hostra and move into a state of the art 75 million dollar practice facility. Get rid of you HC who has the charm of gum and replace him with a more likeable Parcels type. Bring in a QB with looks and personality and hopefully enough talent so that you can have a new image as you begin playing in your brand new stadium in 2010. Its not the steak but the sizzle that sells. Lets just hope that the product on the field is good.
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EddieC says:
this is exactly how i felt before we drafted sanchez…
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WhereHaveYouGoneJoeKlecko? says:
The thing that bugged me most about the article was Tucker’s assertion that teams fell in love with Sanchez after one date. Like his sweet talking was the key to his rise in the draft. I found this insulting to the team’s coaching, adminstrative, and scouting departments, as if they didn’t dissect every piece of film on this kid, put him through the paces physically and mentally, and come to a decision on their own about him.
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Sackdance, we agree. Tucker’s silly commentary had me riled up.
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DSmizzle says:
re: Sanchez not playing over John David Booty.
JD Booty was good enough to be an NFL 3rd-round pick despite not having great measurables! He wasn’t the athlete that Sanchez is, but he started while Sanchez was a spring chicken at USC and he did very, very well (once again, well enough to be a 3rd round pick, then a “day 1 draft pick”!!!).
Playing behind an NFL 3rd-round pick with excellent production until your JUNIOR YEAR, being expected to start for 2 years but being so excellent after 16 starts that you think it makes sense to go pro and you get drafted #5 overall…
I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT “NOT BEING ABLE TO BEAT OUT BOOTY”
The last instance I can think of where a major college football program handed over the reigns of the team to an unproven super-talent while having a DOMINANT upper-classman QB already was Texas. Think about it:
Major Applewhite (sweet name) is re-writing the record books, but Chris Simms is suuuuuuuuuuuuuch a highly-touted recruit, so we will just give him the job.
Mack Brown handled the Texas Applewhite-SImms situation terribly. You simply don’t replace an excellent upper-classman QB with a younger guy just because he was a huge recruit, or might be better physically than the upper classman. Only if you’re struggling.
For example, it made sense for THE Ohio State University to replace Todd Boeckman waaaaaaaay earlier than it did with the #1 overall prospect in the country, run-pass threat Terrell Pryor … but they didn’t. It wasn’t because Boeckman was good (he was terrible), it was just super-conservative. That’s a different world from the USC Sanchez-Booty situation, because Booty was playing excellent!
*By the way, Pryor out of Ohio State was an 18-year old starting last year, and he is AWESOME. Not an NFL prospect at QB but as a college QB, one of the best I’ve seen in ages (or looks like he’ll be is probably more accurate). He runs like a Mack truck and is fast as lightning, has electric moves, and is a flat-out football player. Witness his game against Texas in their BCS game last year, I think he threw a TD, ran for 1, and caught a fade route when lined up at WR when everyone knew they were going to do it.
Sorry for the college FB tangent!
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2006
Booty (#10) leading a drive against the Stanford Cardinal.Booty entered the 2006 season as a redshirt junior.
At the beginning of the 2006 season, Booty was one of fifteen players on the official watch list for the Maxwell Award for the best player in college football, although the list states that it “may change without notice based on performance … during the 2006 season and is not designed to represent an all-inclusive listing of eligible candidates for the collegiate football awards presented by the Maxwell Football Club.”[9]
In the 2006 season, Booty was ranked the tenth best quarterback in college football and the number one quarterback in the PAC-10 by Rivals.com.[10]
He started all of the games for the USC Trojans at quarterback in 2006 and was named to the rivals.com and Pacific 10 conference coaches 2006 All Pac-10 team First Team[11].
Booty led the Trojans to a victory over Michigan in the 2007 Rose Bowl, throwing for 391 yards and four touchdowns.[12]
[edit] 2007
Booty running off the field at the Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumBooty chose to return for the 2007 season, foregoing the NFL Draft.[13] Rivals.com named him one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season,[14], Sports Illustrated as one of the “Top 20 Players Heading Into 2007,”[15] and he was considered a front-runner for the 2007 Heisman Trophy.[16][17][12]
Booty was a 2007 pre-season All-American for Athlon, The Sporting News, and Blue Ribbon and was on the 2007 Maxwell Award and Manning Award watch list. In the summer before the season, he worked out with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.[18]
On October 6, Booty suffered a broken finger in his throwing hand during a 24-23 loss to Stanford.[19] He sat out the following three games before returning as the starting quarterback against Oregon State on November 3.[20]
On his return, the Trojans finished the season 5-0 and outscored opponents 165-68, culminating in a victory in the 2008 Rose Bowl, an unprecedented sixth straight Pac-10 title and making the Trojans the first college football team to achieve six straight 11-win seasons.[6][21][22] In leading the Trojans to a 49-17 Rose Bowl victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini, Booty set a Rose Bowl record with seven career touchdowns (in the 2007 and 2008 games) and was chosen as the Offensive MVP.
Booty at 2008 Minnesota Vikings training camp.Booty ended his career at USC with a 9-0 record against top-25 teams.[
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What coach in his right mind in Pete Carroll’s position would’ve replaced Booty as the starter for ANYONE? 9-0 against top-25 teams!
Anyone who makes this argument should turn in their brains to the proper authorities!
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rj says:
umm…. but he did perform well on the field… and if he played next year in college he just woudlve dominated anyway and ended up going 1st overall based on what he did ON THE FIELD! Tucker gives good perspective from an ex-player but this article is moronic
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BubbyBrister/shovelpass says:
I have issues with Tucker’s comment that
“I can’t remember the last time a player’s stock rose so much and he became so sought after based upon what he did at dinners rather than on an actual field.”
Umm, how about the #3 overall pick this year? Jackson’s ascent was similar to Dwayne Robertson’s. But if KC didn’t pick him, there would be no way Sanchez, IMO, would’ve been there at #5.
Also, Tanny’s track record for reaching up in the draft to select a certain guy is good enough for me.
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Sackdance – funny to me that Jaws (and other former QBs) assessment of Sanchez matters so much to you. Jaws loved Clemens, too!
Not disagreeing with you at all, just found it funny. -
NYC Parking Expert,
I specifically cited Jaws because of that, he clearly believes that Sanchez is superior to Clemens and on draft day believed Sanchez would likely start. So, even KC’s biggest supporter on draft day has jumped on the Sanchez bandwagon. I find that funny.
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I find it funny how these experts change their opinion as the wind shifts. Jaws was sure Clemens would be a quality NFL QB and now he feels that way about Sanchez. I sure hope he’s right about one of them (at least).
viva sanchez!! judging him at this juncture in time moot, come back in 3 years ross and lets discuss. until then i’ll remain optimistic and you keep writing filler.