New general manager John Idzik has made it clear he wants to bring in competition for embattled starter Mark Sanchez, and now new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has given some idea of what he wants in a quarterback during an interview on the team’s official website, NewYorkJets.com.

And it’s not about completion percentage. "No, absolutely not," Mornhinweg said.

“Some of the great ones have really not thrown for such a great accuracy,” Mornhinweg said. “Steve Young was astronomical accuracy-wise. Brett Favre wasn't. Brett Favre, I believe won an MVP two different times out of the three times that he won it, throwing for 58, 59, 60 percent, somewhere in there. So they all come in different shapes and sizes.

“Now those guys, those men that throw for a little bit less accuracy typically are generating a little bit bigger pays on occasion. so there's a little bit of a tradeoff there.”



It’s good news for Sanchez, who ranked 30th in the league in completion percentage at 54.3, down from a career-high 56.7 in 2011. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Denver’s Peyton Manning, tied at 68.6, led the league, followed by Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (67.2). Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco was 19th in the league for Baltimore with a 59.7 completion percentage.

The sticking point with Sanchez is his touchdown-to-interception ratio. In 2011 he had 18 interceptions and 26 touchdowns. In 2012, he had the same number of interceptions but just 13 passing TDs. The Jets were not generating a lot of big plays, however, and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was fired after a single season.

The interview yielded another nugget. Mornhinweg said he was planning to use running backs as short yardage receivers when applicable.

“If our backs have that talent we certainly will do that you may see that a little bit more than you have in the past,” Mornhinweg said.

Mornhinweg clarified that he planned to use the strengths of the individuals he has on the final roster.

Given the offensive challenges of last two season, why did Mornhinweg take the job?

“I love challenges and I think this is a great challenge,” Mornhinweg said.