ESPN’s AFC West reporters are running a roundtable where they’re asked to rank the quarterbacks in the AFC West.
Philip Rivers is the answer for No. 1, obviously. I know some Chiefs homers might put Alex Smith above Derek Carr but most others probably wouldn’t. It’s fair to put Carr No. 2 and Alex No. 3. And the last one, of course, is Mark Sanchez in Denver.
Do we have any disagreement here? Denver reporter Jeff Legwold somehow found some people that would take Sanchez over Alex Smith. Really.
Raiders QB Derek Carr is the up-and-comer and in an informal poll of seven personnel executives about the quarterbacks in the division he was the No. 2 guy. Young and strong-armed, Carr also has a composure about him. The executives then put Mark Sanchez, the presumed Broncos starter next on the list -- just barely ahead of the Chiefs’ Alex Smith. The biggest reason? Most think coach Gary Kubiak’s offense will fit Sanchez and the Broncos are expected to run the ball well. Smith had always played low-risk football and limits interceptions, but the personnel executives want to see him make the throws he needs to make when the games are on the line.
I wonder if these personnel execs all live in Denver. Because who else would put Sanchez over Alex Smith? Even some of the staunchest Alex haters wouldn’t do that.
I would go through and look at Alex’s stats compared to Sanchez’s but it’s not exactly news to say that Alex has better numbers.