New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez's sophomore season was statistically nearly identical to his rookie year. His completion percentage, yards per attempt, and touchdown rate were all within a few decimal points of his 2009 numbers. His one big area of improvement came in interception rate, which he cut in half from 5.5 percent to 2.6 percent (15th in the league). So while he still struggled with accuracy, at least he was making better decisions and taking care of the football. Or, he may have had a ludicrous amount of luck on his side.
Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders noted this morning that based on the charting project he manages, Sanchez led all quarterbacks in dropped interceptions (passes that should have been intercepted, but were dropped by defenders) in 2010 -- and it wasn't close. Sanchez threw 15 dropped INTs, while nobody else threw more than eight.
Those numbers aren't based on Schatz's eyes only -- they're based on reports from 30 different charters around the country. Schatz just makes sure that every game gets watched, and totals numbers at the end of the year.
So how would Sanchez's numbers have looked with more typical luck? If we give him seven more interceptions (which means he still would have tied for the lead league in dropped INTS), his interception rate would have been 3.9 percent, higher than anyone except David Garrard, Eli Manning, and Brett Favre. His passer rating, meanwhile, would have fallen from 75.3 to 69.6, worse than anyone except Derek Anderson and Jimmy Clausen. That's not the company you want your franchise quarterback to be keeping.
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