Sanchez Takes a Step Back

Mark Sanchez is finding out there is a steep learning curve for young quarterbacks in the NFL.

The question for the Jets rookie is how quickly can he overcome his first subpar effort?

Make no mistake about it: Sanchez needs to perform better than he did in Sunday’s 24-10 loss to New Orleans.

The final numbers were these: 14 completions in 27 attempts, a mere a 138 yards. The bigger numbers were these: Three interceptions and one fumble that resulted in a Saints touchdown.

It wasn’t just the turnovers or the fumble that were killers for the Jets. It was also when he fired the interceptions. The most critical one was early in the second quarter, with the Jets trailing 3-0 but deep in Saints territory. His pass intended for Dustin Keller was picked off by Darren Sharper and returned for a 99-yard touchdown.

Talk about turning points. The Jets get the lead there, they can let their defense loose. Coach Rex Ryan’s team will be difficult to beat once they get a lead, but Sanchez’s critical interception cost them that chance.

“That’s a classic rookie quarterback looking at his receiver and Sharper read me the whole way,’’ Sanchez said. “I took him right to it. It was a poor decision and poor use of my eyes.”

The Jets’ loss can’t be pinned entirely on Sanchez. The Saints had a fourth-and-one play in Jets’ territory late in the fourth quarter and protecting a 17-10 lead. Coach Sean Payton said the team was content to take a delay penalty and punt, but nose tackle Kris Jenkins jumped offside and the Saints maintained possession.

There were other errors, too, but Sanchez’ mistakes were critical. “We spotted them 14 points, and the final score was 24-10,’’ Sanchez said. “That was huge. I’ve got to learn from that and improve.”

How quickly, and how much, Sanchez improves will define his career. He won his first three games as an NFL starter, and certainly shows as much promise as any Jets quarterback has shown in a long, long time. But if the team is going to make a run at the postseason, he will need to improve. Quickly. Things change on a weekly basis in the NFL, and the Jets need Sanchez to minimize turnovers and let the defense keep the team in the game.

We will find out quickly if Sanchez is up for the challenge. His next opponent is the Miami Dolphins in a nationally televised game on Monday night. There is no question Miami general manager Bill Parcells and coach Tony Sparano saw Sanchez get exposed Sunday, and will try to capitalize on that.

It is too soon to tell if the Jets made a mistake by taking Sanchez with the No. 5 pick in April’s draft or even if he will be a starting quarterback in the NFL for any length of time. We will have a much better idea, however, after the next couple of games.

Jets Need to Show Saints Something

New York is What-Have-You-Done-Lately town, and that will certainly be evidenced by the New York Jets in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

The Jets have shown in three games thus far that these are not the Same Old’ Jets.
Things have a way turning around quickly in this town, however, which is why Sunday’s game at New Orleans is critical for Gang Green.

Certainly, the Jets have taken care of business so far. They are 3-0, beat New England at home, and have shown an aggressive defense that is capable of shutting down any one. Coach Rex Ryan has injected new life into the team, and first round quarterback Mark Sanchez has played as well as any one had any right to expect.

What was impressive in Sunday’s win over Tennessee was how the Jets were able to capitalize after getting a turnover. The game changed when Titans’ rookie Ryan Mouton fumbled a punt deep in his own territory. The Jets scored a few players later on Mark Sanchez’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery, and the defense allowed very little the rest of the way in a 24-17 victory.

The Saints and quarterback Drew Brees might be the Jets’ toughest test yet this season. It is on the road, and Brees and Co. have been putting up staggering offensive numbers. If the Jets are as good as people think they are, this will be a good chance for them to show it.
”People are going to say what they want to say whether you win, lose or draw, Ryan said at Thursday’s news conference. “ I think people realize now that the Jets have a pretty darn good football team. That’s important to us.”

The Jets don’t necessarily have to beat the Saints on Sunday, because there is still a lot of season left. Nobody expects the team to go undefeated and losing on the road to an upper-echelon team is not going to end their season.

The one thing that positively cannot happen, however, is for the Jets to lose ugly. Their defense can’t surrender 40-plus points, Sanchez and the offense can’t survive multiple turnovers and the defense has to show that it can stop one of the marquee teams in the league.

If any of those things happen, many of the good vibes that have been generated by the good start will get washed away. New York is a town that breaks legs jumping on and off bandwagons, and if things get rolling in the wrong direction, people will be quick to dismiss the team’s good start as a fluke.

That’s not Ryan’s fault, but that’s the way things are in New York. If Ryan wants to keep the faith among the team’s hard core (and long-suffering) fans, it needs to play well against the Saints. Otherwise, many of the good feelings engendered from their September sprint will be wiped away.

Jets Might Be a Surprise Playoff Contender

There is a lot of anticipation in New York as the NFL season prepares to get under way.

Most of the talk centers on the Giants, who are generating a lot of attention as a preseason NFC favorite to win the East and reach the Super Bowl. They improved their depth on the defensive line, have one of the league’s top quarterbacks and a strong running game.

They also have a strong pedigree, winning the Super Bowl in February of 2008 and a coach most regard as one of the best in the business in Tom Coughlin. There is no reason not to believe the Giants won’t be playing in January and perhaps making it to the Bowl once again.

But the intriguing team in New York is the Jets, who turned over some key personnel after going 9-7 last year. They have a new quarterback in Mark Sanchez, and a new coach in Rex Ryan but the most important thing is this: a new defense, orchestrated by Ryan, which will go a long way toward determining Gang Green’s fate this fall.

The Jets open their season Sunday in Houston.

The key addition to the defense is linebacker Bart Scott, who came over with Ryan from the Ravens. He will play on the inside with David Harris, and with a defensive line anchored by Kris Jenkins, the team should be difficult to run on.

“I expect him to play lights out,’’ Ryan said of Scott at Thursday’s news conference. “I expect him to be a physical presence like he always is and bring that type of mentality to the defense. He already has. The great things is, I think he feels great about David (Harris) playing right next to him. That’s the big two right there in the middle and then you’ve got (Kris) Jenkins in there with them. He’s just a guy that’s fantastic for the whole unit.”

If Scott and Co. can control opponents’ rushing attack, the Jets appear to have a strong secondary that will make them difficult to attack through the air. Darrelle Revis was an All-Pro selection last year, and CB Lito Sheppard joined the team from Philadelphia. Kerry Rhodes was one of the best safeties in the league in 2007 and veteran Jim Leonhard also comes over from Baltimore. The defensive backfield should be one of the team’s most improved areas this season.

The key will be getting a pass rush, but Ryan’s aggressive mentality should help the team keep heat on the quarterback.

The Jets were in the running for a playoff spot last year until a late-season swoon derailed their season and led to the firing of coach Eric Mangini. The Jets were 8-3 after beating Tennessee on Nov. 23, but followed with consecutive clunkers against Denver and San Francisco. After beating Buffalo in Week 15, the Jets lost to Seattle and Miami and missed the playoffs. In their final five games, they surrendered an average of 24.4 points per game.

It didn’t help that quarterback Brett Favre, as we found out this week, played most of the season with a torn biceps. The No. 4 Sideshow is off to Minnesota now, and Sanchez takes over with a veteran offensive line and shifty running back Leon Washington.

The Jets won’t be a high-octane offense, but maybe it won’t have to be. If the defense plays as well as Ryan promises, this could be a team that is fighting for a postseason berth in December. Maybe both New York NFL franchises will be playoff-bound, which would be a welcome sight for New York fans.

Giants, Jets still face questions

The NFL preseason has come and gone for the Jets and Giants, and heading into next week’s season-openers, the big questions on both teams still have to be answered.

The Jets open their season Sept. 13 at Houston, and the Giants open their season the same day at home against Washington. For all of the new faces and big-name players on both squads, how each team fares this season will be determined by two very different phases.

The Giants, who went 1-3 in the preseason, are one of the favorites in the NFC to reach the Super Bowl. They have a stout defense that overcame a rash of injuries last year and is one of the best in the league.

Quarterback Eli Manning is steady, if unspectacular like his brother Peyton, and Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs give the team what they believe is one of the best backfield tandems in the league.

The question marks are at wide receiver, where Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are gone and will be replaced by an untested group. The team believes it has the replacements for the two veterans in Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Domenik Hixon.

Smith, in his third year out of USC, is the most experienced and caught 57 passes last year for and will probably be the guy Manning looks for in the clutch. Whether he can become the team’s No. 1 option is unclear. The Giants struggled down the stretch last year when Burress left the team, and Smith will see a lot of extra coverage this year.

Manningham, in his second year out of Michigan, had just four receptions last year. Nicks, the team’s first round draft choice out of North Carolina, has played well in the preseason. He caught six passes against the Jets last week and Thursday against New England, he took in a 64-yard touchdown pass.

Hixon’s value is primarily on special teams, where he is a dangerous return man, but he could also see time at receiver in obvious passing downs.

It’s going to be critical for the Giants to develop a passing game so teams can’t load up in the box against Jacobs and Bradshaw, who will also see their share of passes from Manning. But if the young receivers can’t get separation and force the Giants to become one-dimensional, they won’t be heading to the Super Bowl.

The Jets (2-2 in the preseason) aren't considered Super Bowl contenders, but Rex Ryan was brought in to improve a defense that played poorly during last year’s 9-7 campaign.
The team brought in Mark Sanchez as the team’s top pick and named him the starting quarterback after a preseason competition with Kellen Clemens, but the team’s success will be determined by its defense.

Ryan brought over linebacker Bart Scott from Baltimore, and he should help improve a defense that had difficulty stopping teams last year. The Jets surrendered 356 points last year, the most allowed in the AFC East. With Scott and All-Pro safety Kerry Rhodes, there are some pieces for an attacking defense, which Ryan employed as the defensive coordinator for the Ravens.

While Sanchez and running back Leon Washington are the featured offensive players, it will ultimately be the defense that decides the fate of the Jets this year.

Sanchez and Manning Square Off

Never has a game that has meant so little meant so much for the quarterbacks in Saturday’s preseason game between the Giants and Jets.
The third preseason game is always the most critical of NFL schedule, because it is when the starters get the most reps. The final preseason game is almost pointless, because teams rarely let starters play more than one or two series for a fear of injuries.
So it is that tomorrow’s 8 p.m. contest is important not only for Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, but also Giants quarterback Eli Manning. There is much more at stake for Sanchez, the highly-heralded rookie from USC who was anointed the starter earlier this week by coach Rex Ryan. But Manning will also be under pressure to perform, if for no other reason than to show he’s still the top quarterback in town.
Sanchez got his first start on Monday against the Ravens and looked shaky. His first pass was returned for a touchdown and he completed 3-of-8 attempts for 43 yards and one touchdown
It came as no surprise that Ryan decided to go with the rookie Sanchez over four-year veteran Kellen Clemens, who was also competing for the starting job. Of course, the competition was like the Globetrotters going up against the Washington Generals. The outcome was pretty much decided when training camp began, despite what Ryan or anyone else connected with the Jets will say. Now, Sanchez has to go out and prove he was worth taking as the No. 5 pick in April’s draft.
“This comes with a lot of responsibility,” Sanchez said on NewYorkJets.com. “I know as happy as I am, this is just the beginning and I’m really excited to get the chance to play with such great players.”
Sanchez won’t be able to do it by himself. He’ll need a strong running game led by Leon Washington and a veteran offensive line that should be one of the team’s strengths. The Jets also need to improve on the defensive side of the ball, and they should under Ryan and his aggressive schemes.
Look for the Jets to play a lot of their games like last year’s Ravens’ team, where Ryan was an assistant, and the team used its running attack to take the pressure of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.
Manning’s situation is altogether different. He’s now the highest paid player in the NFL, and is in his fifth full season as the team’s starter. He already has a Super Bowl victory in his pocket, and is clearly the face of the franchise.
But there is also pressure on him to perform well in the contest against the Jets. Sure it’s preseason, but neither team likes to lose this game. If Manning struggles and gets outplayed by Sanchez, there will be more than a few Giants fans who will wonder if Eli is worth all the money.
Manning, for his part, knows the struggles that Sanchez will face. He didn’t get the starting nod as a rookie, but he was a starter by midseason during the 2004 season.
"The hardest thing about it is learning the game," Manning said in the New York Daily News. "It takes time. The media is going to play a role because if you play well, they will promote you and say you are the greatest. If you don't play real well, then you will be the worst. It is about believing in yourself and listening to your coaches and earning the confidence and respect of your teammates. That is what you kind of have to learn."
Manning and Sanchez will face off for the first time against each other Saturday, and there is a lot riding on it for both of them. It’s rare, but it is actually a preseason game that has a compelling angle.