A sunny, Saturday morning filled with Jets news and debates. It doesn't get much better than that.
As I sit and chuckle at the opposing views over last night's news regarding Mark Sanchez's contract extension, only one thought comes to mind:
What would my timeline look like if Twitter was around in 2004?!?
Present:
Sanchez gets drafted by the New York Jets in the days of ridiculous rookie contracts, goes to the AFC Championship game his first 2 years, decides to stop his tradition of bagging brunettes, starts dating blondes, and has a horrible 2011 season.
Tannenbaum & Co. then jump on the bandwagon of opportunity stemming from Peyton's neck, find a way to show the world they support their franchise QB, and create some breathing room cap wise.
So it's official - Mark Sanchez signs a 5 year contract extension worth $58.25 million dollars with $23 million dollars guaranteed.
Past:
Five games into the 2002 season, and only 3 appearances in his first 2 seasons in the NFL, Chad Pennington takes over as starting QB for the New York Jets, wins the AFC East Division Title, yet loses to the Raiders in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
The 2003 season begins and so do Chad's injuries. He plays only 10 regular season games to end the season....6-10
September 2004: It's official - Chad Pennington signs a team record 7 year contract extension worth $64.2 million dollars with $23 million dollars guaranteed.
The comparisons of the two contracts can be argued to death, as can which QB deserved it more. It's almost pointless to do yet puts the over reaction to Sanchez's contract into perspective.
For those that think that the length of a contract matters consider this: according to Pennington's extension in 2004, he would have still been in green & white, doing the Tone Time dance last season.
I'm going to sit back with technology that wasn't around during Chad's 41-0 win over the Colts, watch as the debate over Sanchez's contract continues and laugh as I think to myself:
What would my timeline look like if Twitter was around in 2004?
