🏈 McElroy named Jets starter

[JoshB]

yikes, 1987? :shake:

 

[planomateo]

Honestly, they've made him inactive for weeks all things considered, there is definitely some reasoning behind it. Have to wonder if Sanchez's ship has sailed...

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/je...avor-of-greg-mcelroy-for-upcoming-game-vs-cha

One day after Rex Ryan’s seemingly unwavering to Mark Sanchez cost the Jets a chance at the playoffs, the Jets head coach pulled the plug on a four-year relationship that began with so much promise. Ryan benched Sanchez for Greg McElroy for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.

"I want to put Greg out there,” Ryan said on Tuesday. “I'm going to put Greg out there. In my opinion, that's what's best for our team.”

Ryan admitted that he told Sanchez after the game that he would bench him this week.

"I told Mark we needed to make a change,” Ryan said. “He respected my decision."

Ryan said that he “had a lot of conversations” with people in the organization, but it was ultimately his call. “This is my decision and solely my decision,” said Ryan, who didn’t commit to McElroy as the starter beyond this week.

He said that chose McElroy over backup Tim Tebow on Tuesday.

The move was a stunning referendum on Tebow, who was leapfrogged by a seventh-round second-year QB with seven career passes. Tebow quietly waited his turn all season before Ryan ultimately chose McElroy to replace Sanchez instead of him.

Ryan had no choice but to pull the plug on Sanchez after a miserable five-turnover performance in Monday night’s 14-10 loss to the Titans that eliminated the Jets from playoff contention. Sanchez has a league-high 50 turnovers since the start of last season.

Ryan benched Sanchez late in the third quarter three weeks ago after he threw three interceptions. McElroy rallied the Jets to a 7-6 win over the Cardinals on that day, but he was inactive for the next two games.

"I liked what I saw from Greg against Arizona,” Ryan said. “I like what I see on the practice field."

Although having Sanchez under center in front of a disgruntled home fan base on Sunday would appear to have made the decision easier for Ryan, the prevailing thought in the organization was that the upcoming game’s locale didn’t really matter.

"Home or away... I don't care where the game is being played,” one prominent member of the organization told the Daily News. “There's no way that he starts.”

Sanchez lost some trust from teammates after his poor performances in the recent months, but many wanted to give him another chance after Ryan benched him in the second half against the Cardinals in Week 13.

Although players didn’t explicitly point fingers at Sanchez after his five-turnover performance on Monday night, the vibe was apparent: The quarterback’s blunders were the primary reasons that they dropped of 6-8 and out of playoff contention.

“I can’t speak for everybody,” safety LaRon Landry said. “That’s not my job (to speak about the offense). I’m a defender. That’s why they’ve got guys upstairs and coaches. They make that decision.”

Sanchez shouldn’t be exonerated for his poor decision-making and execution, but the Jets made a couple of curious premeditated decisions that proved counterproductive.

Ryan inexplicably chose to activate six wide receivers rather than dress Greg McElroy, who had rallied the team to victory after Sanchez was benched three weeks ago. The Jets also pre-determined that Tim Tebow, who hadn’t played in three weeks due to a lingering rib injury, would get a full series for the first time this season on the third drive.

Sanchez moved the Jets well on their first two drives, but watched from the sidelines when the Tebow-led drive went nowhere.

“I don’t set standards for Mark,” right guard Brandon Moore said. “Mark is doing the best he can. You can’t take away his commitment and his approach to the game.”

The bigger question is whether the Jets’ braintrust undercut Sanchez this season by trading for Tebow. “I don’t necessarily believe that,” Ryan said.

So, was the Tebow trade a mistake?

“People can speculate anything they want,” Ryan said.

But the reality is impossible to ignore. Tebow’s presence had an adverse effect on Sanchez, who didn’t help his cause by playing poorly.

Ryan didn’t get into specifics about his job security.

“The end result is we're 6-8 and I know I'm accountable for that,” Ryan said.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Greg doesn't have the arm to be a regular starter in the NFL. I consider that a settled matter. He is, however, an accurate and extremely intelligent player who developed well and over-achieved in college.

With Sanchez a basket case, and Tebow having no business being a starting NFL QB, Greg is the best choice. It's probably the first rational decision Ryan has made this season. My question is whether he deactivates Sanchez so he can keep six WR. THAT would be a statement.

As has been mentioned, I think Greg realizes his role is to not screw things up. I hope he has a good game and the Jets win 20-13.

 

[ElephantStomp]

Greg has been the third string QB all year behind a guy that everybody likes to say "has no business being a NFL QB", so I don't expect much out of Greg other than he can't be worse than Sanchez.

I think Ryan didnt go with Tebow is because with Tebow they would've had to have turned around the offensive gameplan and with Ryan almost of certain out the door at the end of the year he is trying to somehow save his job.

 

[CaptainTide]

All the way back to 1987, huh? But I'm happy because the QB was with the Giants! :td:

I should hate the Jets since I'm an NYG fan, but I root for any team with Bama players that isn't playing us.

 

[bamaraider]

Not the Alabama QB Jets fans want back :biggrin_blue:

McElroy doesn't have the arm, but he has brains. He can manage the game, work the clock, and drive down field, if he can a good running game and a good pocket. As bad as Sanchez is, his offensive line has not helped the least bit in many games.

 

[jdpas29]

Greg will be much better than their other two options. i thought they would do this early in the year when it was obvious that sanchez was not getting it together.. and you have to know that tebow cannot consistently make throws so... what other option did they have? LOSE! that's what... and then start Greg when the season is over.

stupid.

 

[Houndstoothpuller]

This is great news for Greg!!
I know everybody says he doesn't have the arm, but if he has good protection good things can happen for him and his team.
The comment that stood out to me was that the coach liked what he's been seeing out of Greg 'on the practice field'.
Pretty sure he's talking about the leadership Greg brings, and players have already commented on record saying that Greg was kind of cocky. Great news!~ Leadership can go a long way, especially on a downtrodden team.

 

[Swamptick]

Finally!! Ryan is a blumbering moron.

And 1987?! That's sad it's been 15 years.

Bwaaaahahahahahahhaaa

 

[PhillyGirl]

Way to go, G-Mac!! Hope to see him prove his worth out there. Reports are saying that Tebow is requesting a trade because of this. Poor baby :icon_twisted: Watching Sanchez on Monday was just .. wow.

 

[c-r]

I've watched a few of the 2009 games over the past week, and GMAC's performance during that season continues to impress me. I hope he has a great game on Sunday.

Roll Jets Roll!