• Which QB Would You Pick If You Were Starting A New Franchise, Mark Sanchez, or Eli Manning?

    by
    Phil McConkey
    Published on 10-05-2011 03:31 PM
    41 Comments Comments
    At the start of the season, most would have taken Mark Sanchez over Eli Manning. While the former was coming off back to back AFC Championships, the latter had not been to the playoffs over that period. The Jets were looking to expand Sanchez' responsibilities in the passing game, while the Giants were trying to cure Manning of being an interception machine.

    Rex Ryan was bragging that New York had become Jets town and actually hired painters to paint it green. There was no doubt that his team was going to the Super Bowl.

    But a funny thing happened on the way to Indiannapolis in February. After four games, Eli has a better record than Sanchez, and is playing much better. To be fair, Sanchez has been dealing with an offensive line that's missing their all pro center. But the same can be said for Manning, his O-Line has had a big turnover this year.

    Here are a few numbers:

    Giants 3-1
    Jets 2-2
    QB Rating: Manning 105.6 Sanchez 75.9
    Comp % Manning 64 Sanchez 55
    TD-INT Manning 8-2 Sanchez 6-5

    So if you were starting a franchise, which QB would you pick? Mark Sanchez, or Eli Manning?

    Comments 41 Comments
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    1. KabaModernFan's Avatar
      Eli Manning, no doubt about it. He's proven he can be a good QB in the NFL, Mark Sanchez has not. It's as simple as that for me.
      Reply
    1. Polishguy00's Avatar
      I think Eli Manning is an obvious answer here as well. Manning needed his defense a few years ago, but also played well himself. Sanchez has had the defense, but has not played well. I'll take Manning for longevity despite some similarly adored clutch throws in the playoffs.
      Reply
    1. trh5001's Avatar
      I think it really depends on the kind of team I wanted to be. I have doubts about both in certain systems. I like eli but can't stand how he handled himself during the draft and probably wouldn't draft him out of spite. In all seriousness though don't I must be stacked at eveeyother position to have these 2 be my qb choices. Id take Sanchez on a running team in hopes his potential eventually wins out. I think eli is as good as he is going to get and wont be at this level long.
      Reply
    1. iwatt's Avatar
      I'd take Eli. And I would have taken him before this season started. He is top 10, and that's probably his ceiling, but that is good enough for a team like the Giants that predicate their success on good defensive play.
      Reply
    1. msclemons's Avatar
      If those are my only choices then I'm selling the franchise and buying a baseball team.

      But if forced to pick... Eli Manning is at least an NFL caliber quarterback. Mark Sanchez is not. I would take Alex Smith over Sanchez.
      Reply
    1. ScottDCP's Avatar
      As a player, Eli. If you'd thrown in Cassell, Kolb, Tarvaris Jackson, or Alex Smith, it would have been Eli. Fitz, and it would have been Fitz. As a way to meet The Cheerleader and maybe Save The World, it's gotta be Sanchez. Sanchez does well at the end of tight games, but he's far too often in tight games because he can't get it going in the first three quarters. Eli is going to steadily put you plus 7 after three quarters with a solid defensive effort. He'll turn one over, but will lead you to a couple scores as well. I prefer the guy who will try.
      Reply
    1. Colts01's Avatar
      I would take Cooper Manning over Sanchez!
      Reply
    1. GoBigOrGoHome's Avatar
      Manning
      Reply
    1. Phil McConkey's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by ScottDCP View Post
      As a player, Eli. If you'd thrown in Cassell, Kolb, Tarvaris Jackson, or Alex Smith, it would have been Eli. Fitz, and it would have been Fitz. As a way to meet The Cheerleader and maybe Save The World, it's gotta be Sanchez. Sanchez does well at the end of tight games, but he's far too often in tight games because he can't get it going in the first three quarters. Eli is going to steadily put you plus 7 after three quarters with a solid defensive effort. He'll turn one over, but will lead you to a couple scores as well. I prefer the guy who will try.
      Eli plays in a high risk offense. Kevin Gilbride holds back nothing and forces Eli to make play after play. In fact, I believe Gilbride thinks it's against the law to run the ball on consecutive plays. This strategy backfired on the Giants last year as Eli threw a ton of INT's. This year, the WR's ar catching balls, rather than deflecting it into defenders hands. Let's see if it continues.
      Reply
    1. vancemeek's Avatar
      Gotta be Eli. Yeah, Sanchez and the Jets have been to AFC championship games, Eli has a ring.
      Reply
    1. Bengals1181's Avatar
      Eli, no doubt.
      Reply
    1. RSConn5's Avatar
      Eli Manning and it isn't even close!
      Reply
    1. Sander's Avatar
      Even before the season this should have been Eli.
      Reply
    1. DaBearsFan's Avatar
      Phil, I'm curious why you say that before the season more people would have taken Sanchez. As far as I'm concerned, before the season I thought Sanchez is maybe an average level QB while Eli is a low-end top 10 QB. Today, all I wonder is if I overrated Sanchez a little bit. Maybe I wasn't paying attention at the beginning of the year but I've always thought and don't remember anyone even suggesting that Sanchez should have been considered better than Eli. I assumed everyone knew that their defense carried them to the AFC Championship games.
      Reply
    1. Phil McConkey's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by DaBearsFan View Post
      Phil, I'm curious why you say that before the season more people would have taken Sanchez. As far as I'm concerned, before the season I thought Sanchez is maybe an average level QB while Eli is a low-end top 10 QB. Today, all I wonder is if I overrated Sanchez a little bit. Maybe I wasn't paying attention at the beginning of the year but I've always thought and don't remember anyone even suggesting that Sanchez should have been considered better than Eli. I assumed everyone knew that their defense carried them to the AFC Championship games.
      I think maybe you're right Bears Fan. My perception may have been distorted reading the NY tabloids. Rex was over selling his guy, while Eli was being ripped for throwing INT after INT. Now that you put it that way, I wonder how Sanchez would respond if he had to carry the load offensively like Eli?
      Reply
    1. Amy's Avatar
      Neither.

      I'd take Cam or Freeman. Both have better upsides then either Eli or Mark. But, if I had to win a playoff game, and could not have Brady or Rogers, I'd want Sanchez. He seems to really step up his play in January.

      Also, can we stop using Mangold's injury as an excuse? Pats lost Koppen - who is just as good - and we haven't had protection issues like they have. If losing your center makes you suck, well, you're just not that good to start with.
      Reply
    1. Dave Lapham's Avatar
      In these scenerios I always play the switch spots game. If Eli were with the Jets would they be better or worse off? How would Sanchez perform with the Giants? I like Eli in this swithching spots game.
      Reply
    1. Trumpetbdw's Avatar
      The key to this is "if we're starting a franchise".

      Is Manning even really all that close to the top 10, especially in terms of current/future value? Here are the QBs definitely ahead of him, no questions asked (alphabetically)...

      Brady, Brees, P. Manning (still taking the chance on him, even with the neck), Rivers, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Stafford, Vick

      As for the next in line-

      Romo or Manning? Tough call. I've changed my mind 5 different times on this one.
      Newton or Manning? Newton (perhaps highest ceiling of any current QB)
      Freeman or Manning? Freeman
      Ryan or Manning? Ryan
      Cutler or Manning? Probably Manning
      Kolb or Manning? Manning
      Bradford or Manning? Bradford (age/potential wins out)
      Flacco or Manning? Manning barely
      Schaub or Manning? Schaub
      Fitz or Manning? Hmmm. Manning by a nose.
      Dalton or Manning? Not a sure thing, but you have to take the future risk with Dalton, right?

      Not to mention the unknowns like Gabbert, Ponder, Kaepernick, etc.

      That places Eli smack in the middle of QBs to build your team around. Is that better than what Sanchez may offer?

      Sanchez has been a huge disappointment this year (specifically, last Sunday night, which is fresh in all of our minds), but he's also limited by being on a team that's become one-dimensional, despite not being built to succeed as a one-dimensional franchise. They're built for ball control, yet can't control the ball, and know they can't control the ball. Worse yet, other teams know they can't run, so they're baiting Sanchez, and he's biting (hello Ed Reed/Lardarius Webb). Put many QBs in a similar situation to the one Sanchez faces, and they'll struggle. But the million dollar question is, would those many QBs struggle as badly as Sanchez has this year, not as badly, or worse in a similar situation. And most importantly, can Mark Sanchez snap out of it?

      I'm overly patient when it comes to the development of QBs, and Sanchez is only in his 3rd season, which is way too early to fully judge what he is likely to become. And I think he's hurt in this debate because he was thrust into the spotlight right away, allowing us to critique every mistake he makes.

      It's easy to forget that Eli was a 51.5% passer his first 2 seasons. In year three, he jumped to near 58%. Eli's first season with a rating over 80 was year 5, the year AFTER he won a Super Bowl.

      Sanchez is at 54.4% through two full seasons. And his 2.6% INT rate last year is a number Eli has only bested once in his entire career.

      Through 4 seasons, Eli's yearly YPA was a decidedly mediocre 5.3, 6.8, 6.2, and 6.3. Sanchez has been at 6.7 and 6.5. The adjusted YPA and net YPA stats are also similar.

      So I actually think that a Sanchez-Eli comparison is very fair, in that Eli was a late bloomer, with his peak development turning him into an avg to above avg QB. In fact, I think Sanchez has shown a bit more at times through his first 2 seasons than Eli did. And keep in mind as well, both have very similar pedigrees (highly recruited into college, highly touted draft picks into the NFL) with the only real difference being Eli's game experience in college, and the Manning name.

      So considering the similar beginnings, give me the QB who has an additional 5 years on his side. I'll jump on that island and say that if forced to pick between the two, Sanchez is the choice.
      Reply
    1. BuckeyeRidley's Avatar
      Nice Work Phil.

      I like Eli Manning. He won a Super Bowl and an MVP. Getting your NFL Alumi team the title for the first time since 1990 was solidifying something despite his quasi-Rex Grossman like performances.

      Sanchez is gonna get there. I sense he's a true Football Guy and will keep working at it. We are spoiled with Quick Results but I think Sanchez will be their QB whenever they get over the AFC Championship game hump.
      Reply
    1. mikesteelnation1's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by msclemons View Post
      If those are my only choices then I'm selling the franchise and buying a baseball team.

      But if forced to pick... Eli Manning is at least an NFL caliber quarterback. Mark Sanchez is not. I would take Alex Smith over Sanchez.
      I'll one up you here clem. My final answer is the same for the same reasons, sanchez is just plain awful.

      But if those are my only two choices, I'm selling the franchise and buying a wnba team. With the millions left over after spending the cost of a bag of beads and trinkets to get the team(roughly half the original cost of Manhattan 250 some years ago) I'm using the rest to buy a Caribbean island. Retiring there and watching the team I just sold have beat writers constantly destroy their franchise qb, as I enjoy frosty beverages on the beach! All this while the same writers call me a moron for overpaying for the wnba team...
      Reply
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