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Mark Sanchez, not Tim Tebow, is Jets' starter, Rex Ryan says


Mark Sanchez, right, is still the New York Jets' starting quarterback, but Tim Tebow continues to lurk in the background. (Alex Trautwig / Getty Images / October 9, 2012)
By Chuck Schilken
October 9, 2012, 10:30 a.m.
Mark Sanchez is still the Jets starting quarterback. Popular backup Tim Tebow is not getting a promotion this week, right?

"Yeah, no question," Coach Rex Ryan told reporters Tuesday.

Glad that's resolved ... for this week anyway. A lot of Jets fans aren't going to be happy though. They've been clamoring for the benching of Sanchez, who continues to struggle as the Jets (2-3) have started piling up losses.

In a 23-17 loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, Sanchez completed less than 50% of his passes (45.2%) for the fourth straight game. Even when his stellar 70.4% from the opener is thrown in, Sanchez's season average is still just 48.4%.

But Jets fans need to remember that completion percentage isn't exactly Tebow's strong point. In 11 games as the Denver Broncos' starter last year, he completed 50% or more of his passes just four times -- and two of those were exactly 50%. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 46.7%.

So what was Tebow's strong point with the Broncos last season? Comeback victories, something Sanchez wasn't able to pull off against the Texans. Down, 23-17, in the fourth quarter, Sanchez had two chances to lead the Jets to a potential winning score. Those drives ended in a punt and an interception.

But Ryan says Sanchez "played pretty good" -- completing 14 of 31 passes for 230 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions but with three dropped passes and four tips skewing his stats.

Tebow was pretty good too, at least for the limited amount of time he was on the field. He ran for a first down on a fake punt, took a direct snap and ran 13 yards for a near-touchdown, and threw a deep pass that should have been caught.

It was the most playing time Tebow has gotten this season, and still not that much. Why not use Tebow more often to spark the offense when it stalls? Isn't that why they traded for him? At least that's why most of us thought they picked him up.

What do you think the Jets should do with Sanchez and Tebow? Vote in the poll, then leave a comment explaining why you voted the way you did.