All true, but 65% completion isn't that impressive for college -- and college percentage rates really don't carry over to pros anyhow.
Right now there are a dozen Div 1 college QBs hitting over 70%. Colt McCoy hit 77% and 71% his last two years but is hitting fewer than Sanchez now. Clausen hit 68% in college and 52% now. Beck, the Dolphin flop, hit 69%. Kliff Klingsbury, the Jets' desperation sub back when both Chad and Fiedler went down 1-2, hit 69% in college ... the list is endless.
Clemens hit 64% in college ... but Tom Brady hit only 61%, his percentage went *up* in the NFL.
That's the point, it's a different game, pro v college. What completes passes in the pros is different.
If you play with the search engine at PFR.com you won't find many young pro QBs who started out playing full seasons with a completion pct more than 5 pts below league average who wound up as good starting QBs.
There have been a few -- Eli Manning is about the one example of the last 10 years. The Giants really stuck and stuck with him, and he got better. (Though their trading Rivers plus all the rest to get him was awful.)
We're sticking with Sanchez that way, and he's gotten noticeably better this year -- for all the distance he still has to go. So he could be the next one.
> Yes, there have been QB's who have put up gaudy numbers in college and
> flopped in the NFL,
Yup, there sure have.
> with Sanchez' predecessor at USC, Matt Leinhart,
> being a prime example. But Leinhart can only dream of someday performing
> in the playoffs the way Sanchez has already played 4 times in 2 years.
In those four wins the rushing game averaged over 150 yards and the D gave up an average of only 16 points. Sanchez didn't win those, the *team* won those games.
Sanchez did his part by playing efficiently, few pass attempts, picking his spots well, few mistakes.
That's fine, that's how a ground-and-pound works with a top D. Too bad we have no running game this year.
>
> Sure, there are guys who are wild by nature, and will never overcome
> that, but Sanchez has shown that he is not one of those guys. He may
> well be a streaky passer, but I think a good QB coach who will emphasize
> proper technique could help Sanchez improve his accuracy markedly.
Again, he's had pro-quality coaching for six years already.
And he *has* improved this year. Why people here who so defended Sanchez the last two years have decided to write him off now is ... geeze.
He's very arguably had his two best games ever, and four of his best 12, this year. OK, that shows his low level of past play, but progress is progress. Why do people deny it when they wanted it?
Throw out the Ravens game because it really was unfair to ask him to line up against Ngata with no center in between them.
Then his completion percentage this year is 61% up from 54%, his yards per attempt is 7.7 up from 6.6, and his rating this year is 93.4 up from 75. (Even including the Ravens disaster he's up across-the-board.)
Those are all *big gains*. They put him only in the middle of the league because his starting level was so low -- but still, those are *big gains*.
As to "Defending Sanchez", that's all the defense he needs, I think.
He's good enough now so that if Rex actually had a ground-and-pound, I think he could be a solid winning ball control QB behind it. But there is none.
The offensive problem now is that the ground game is the least productive in 40 years, while Cotchery/Mason has left a void and Plaxico is playing like he's still adjusting to getting out of jail, so the receivers are deficient.
No running game, deficient receivers -- Sanchez is the best thing the offense has got.
> --
> graybeard