Link: Fantasy Writer Gets Flacco-Ryan vs. Sanchez-Stafford Argument All Wrong
Ever since Sanchez and Stafford were drafted, everyone has tried to project their potential to repeat Flacco and Ryan’s success as rookies. It’s expected. The NFL is a game of comparisons. Steve Schwarz of sportsnetwork.com tried to support his opinion on the differences between the quarterbacks by manipulating stats, and hurt my feelings in the process.
…The same won’t be the case in 2009 for Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez.
Why you ask?
Because the team’s that will surround them are vastly inferior to what Ryan and Flacco had.
Let’s look at the 2008 Ravens and Falcons and compare them to the 2008 Detroit Lions and New York Jets.
And that’s where it’s okay to stop reading.
To make this comparison fair, you have to evaluate the 2007 Ravens and Falcons against the 2008 Lions and Jets. It defies logic to try and assess what Sanchez can do as a rookie by comparing him to what Flacco and Ryan did as rookies.
And if Schwarz did that, he’d see Sanchez is walking into a better situation than Ryan and Flacco did as rookies.
The Falcons and Ravens’ success was unprecedented. It’s okay to look for similarities and try to make some educated guesses. But it’s irresponsible to examine the situation from an irrelevant angle.
We’re in for a world of analytical aggravation this season while people try and find correlations between everything Sanchez does versus what Ryan and Flacco did. I’m up for the challenge. I have no worries if Sanchez actually looks like a rookie as a rookie.
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Is Steve an idiot???
This guy definitely got it wrong. I think stafford will have a tough time adjusting. Thats only because Detroit defense will not be that good this year. I really think however, that Sanchez is getting thrown into a great situation. (providing he starts) The Jets are going to run the rock. Which limits Qb mistakes. The Jets will potentially have stellar defense which will give the offense good field position. All they will ask of sanchez is to complete a 3rd and 7 here and there.
most writers don’t do their homework anymore when doing comparisons. I saw it too much in my news writing class
Uhhhh.. Flacco wasn’t that great, but Ryan was awesome as a rookie..
If we’re comparing, it’s my opinion that Flacco mirrored Big Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie year in that both managed the game, tried not to cost the team while handing the ball off and letting the defense dictate the game….
What Matt Ryan did was a rookie, we may never see again..
I’m kind of sick of hearing Flacco get credit for what Baltimore’s defense did (as far as getting wins goes)..
Am i wrong?
I found this article yesterday and decided it wasn’t worth linking to.
It is clear that the comparison is bogus. The Falcons were terrible in 2007 and no one expected them to have that success in 2008. Just shows you can’t predict how rookies or even teams will do from year to year. I agree with all you that Flacco didn’t really play outstanding. He just played well enough to complement a terrific defense. I’m sure Sanchez could do that and even more sooner than later.
If you read the rest of the article he talks about the Jets WR core being one of the main problems, well Flaco WR core isn’t all that great either, if i say our current is as good as theirs, and the other reason which i agree with is the New york media, everybody expects this dude to win because we weren’t like the Falcon or Ravens who got went 4-12 or 6-10, we just missed the playoffs, so everyone expects him to make the playoffs, and the New York media will kill him for every mistake, and under that cool layer, i see a very sensitive guy
Oh and also what might hinder his Fantasy career is KC, I think KC has a 70% chance of winning this thing. I hope it’s like a Rivers/Brees type of deal here.
If you compare those teams the ‘07 Ravens & Falcons to the ‘08 Jets. The ‘08 Jets were a far superior team.
Well, this was written from a fantasy perspective. And franky, from a fantasy perspective, it’s probably on the money.
I’ve been a big Sanchez promoter since before the draft, but there’s little chance I’d draft him for my fantasy team unless it’s as a late round flyer.
This in no way means the Jets can’t, or won’t, be successful with Mark under center. It just means he’s very unlikely to put up the kind of stats one wants from a fantasy QB. This is especially true if the Jets intend to be a run first team, which is exactly what they claim they want to be.
Flacco was a bad fantasy QB last year, Ryan a mediocre one. Neither was desirable from a fantasy perspective.
Flacco had a very good defense, and an adequate offense, Ryan had a good year and a weak schedule. This year Atlanta may win 8 games the schedule is much harder. The Jets have a good team that went flat when Farve got hurt and Mangini didn’t replace him which cost the Jets the season, a playoff birth, and Mangini’s job. The Jets have enough pieces to be a contender and make the payoffs, Miami is going to have a much harder schedule, N.E. is still a question mark, I believe they have tossed all their hope into T.B. being the QB he was 2 years ago, now 2 years removed, and questions about if he can take a hit, or if he is skiddish in the pocket remain. He got killed in the S.B. and the first game of the year went down and got hurt on a sack, I personally think the Giants have him seeing shadows all the time. Buffalo will be the same, so as far as the Jets are concerned I’m happy with this team, now and for the future.
Simply put, this is not a fair comparison. The Jets right now are in a better position than any of those two guys were last year. The harsh reality is that Flacco wasn’t that great and that he just allowed the D to prosper. Matt Ryan was INSANE and I give major ups to him. Let’s just hope we have a Franchise QB and in turn, a team that will seriously compete for years to come.
“If we’re comparing, it’s my opinion that Flacco mirrored Big Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie year in that both managed the game, tried not to cost the team while handing the ball off and letting the defense dictate the game….”
I agree. Whether Flacco can emulate Ben remains to be seen.
However, lots of QBs start out that way and expand their role as they grow in confidence:
Matt Ryan is a great example of this. As Atlanta started out a surprising 3-2, it was largely due to Turner and the running game, as Ryan never surpassed 200 yards and had just 4 TDs and 3 ints in those 5 games. The following week, he made an incredible pass in the closing seconds against the Bears to put him over 300 on the day and set up the winning FG, but it was really the first outstanding throw he had made as they keyed on the run. However, after that game, his confidence grew and his numbers shot up.
Cassel did not throw for over 200 yards until week 5 and only surpassed 250 twice before throwing for 400 against the Jets in week 10 (again out of necessity as the Jets had built an 18 point lead. He had another 400 the following week and had better numbers (and was allowed to do more) from that point onwards.
Even Brady was just a game manager when he first stepped in for Bledsoe. He didn’t really do anything that impressive until the second half of his second season as a starter.
The “Game Manager” route is a good way to get your rookie going and hopefully that’s something Sanchez can achieve when he gets in the lineup.
Until they play, their arguments have no ground…like sand on a windy beach; “some get blown away”, “while others are taken by the tide”. No one can hold their ground with no proof (foundation) Then again, for Culpepper to get beat out by Stafford, that would be embarrassing, and might the end for him. People must understand that Sanchez is an investment; not some commando you send to take some god forsaken rock, knowing he might not coming back.
i think each and every player mentioned will have great careers. going on feeling and personal perspective, i think Sanchez and Stafford have that will win a superbowl moxy(whether they do it or not)
Matt Ryan: dont think he’’s that great and might never exceed rookie season although it was great.
Flacco: wasnt really ready not sure how much he has but he has the prttiest deep ball in the league right now.
Sanchez: seems to have it all slightly below Payton Manning,we’ll see.
Stafford will help detroit win some games this year and get them in the post season and soon.
StvDoe is right on the money… That article was strictly about fantasy football. It has nothing to do with what the Jets might or might not do on the field this year…
All Joe Flacco had to do last year was something Kyle Boller never figured out- emulate Trent Dilfer.
[...] thejetsblog.com. Please read the complete article and let us know what you think [...]
StvDoe,
I tried looking at it from a fantasy perspective, but still couldn’t find the merit in Schwarz’ argument. I almost overlooked the article like Bent did, but the writer only addresses fantasy projections in his conclusion. Initially, it reads like an attempt at real analysis.
I don’t know much about fantasy football, but like you said — Flacco and Ryan were both average fantasy players.
-Angel
Kevino, at this of stage of their careers you’re getting into fantasy football. Dude I’m thinking about stability and getting to the big one, ever since we flopped to Denver. Fantasy football at this stage? You don’t sound like a good JETS fan at all. We don’t even have a proven talent like Roddy White yet. Like it or not Cotchery isn’t going to do that. Our divsion’s run DEF will be one of the best, so don’t expect Turner performances.
Le’Sean…
You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? If you bothered to read the article, it would be easy to see that it is written from a fantasy football perspective. I’m not getting into anything. I don’t think your inability to read is a determining factor in how good of a Jets fan I am. The lesson as always:
R.I.F
Reading Is Fundamental
Kevino, the fact is you don’t have mental hierarchy to understand this. Stock in a fantasy world… over some baseless argument. The fact is considering Sanchez in Fantasy Football is idiotic no matter what angle you try to come with. Reading is fundamental, sure…it’s just that you don’t know how to decipher excrement from intelligence. You confuse the two. That’s just the majority of people like you. You show up and people give you the benefit of the doubt because of “certain things”, then you all @#$5 up.
lol… ok, terrific!