The Scores Report - The National Sports Blog » Kellen Clemens

Jets blow three field goal attempts, choke in loss to Falcons

Anthony Stalter — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:43:03 +0000

What in God’s name is going on with all the blown field goal attempts in the NFL these days?

The Jets’ chances of making the playoffs entering Week 15 were slim, but at least they still had a shot. And with the Falcons officially eliminated from postseason contention with the Cowboys’ win over the Saints on Saturday night, one would have thought that the Jets would have taken advantage of the situation on Sunday and get a win over a depleted team. (Matt Ryan and Michael Turner both started for Atlanta, but Turner left the game after just one carry.)

But thanks to three blown field goal attempts, New York will likely be home for the playoffs this season as the Falcons beat the Jets, 10-7. Holder Kellen Clemens dropped a snap on the first attempt, kicker Jay Feely missed a chip shot before half on the second, and Atlanta blocked the Jets’ final kick with just under four minutes remaining to set up their game-winning touchdown drive.

The best and the worst of Mark Sanchez were on full display today. He threw an absolutely beautiful 65-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards in the first quarter to give the Jets a 7-3 lead, but he also turned the ball over three times, including on New York’s final possession. He took command of the Jets’ offense and moved the ball the entire game. But the turnovers killed him today, which has been the case so many times this season.

Give the Falcons credit, after they were eliminated last night they could have rolled over on a cold day in East Rutherford. But their defense played inspired and with a lot of help from the Jets, they were able to notch their third win of the year. If they can beat the Bills and Bucs the next two weeks, they’ll finish with back to back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. (Breaking one of the most embarrassing records in sports.)

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Mark Sanchez has PCL sprain

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:49:42 +0000

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez has a sprained PCL in his right knee, but may play through the injury as long as he can tolerate the pain.

Ironically, Sanchez had spent time learning how to slide with Joe Girardi, but hurt himself when he dove head first after scrambling. After the game, Sanchez even apologized to Girardi:

“I’m sorry to Coach Girardi,” Sanchez said. “He spent all that time trying to help me. And I know Rex wants me to slide and everybody wants me to slide, but in the heat of the moment I was trying to get the first down. That’s just the way I play.”

Outside of his hot start, Sanchez has suffered plenty of growing pains through his first year. But with the way backup Kellen Clemens looked Thursday night in New York’s 19-13 win over the Bills, Sanchez remains the team’s best option to win. Clemens completed just 1-of-2 pass attempts for 14 yards and looked like player that had no business being under center. He showed zero pocket awareness and it’s a good thing the Jets were leading when he entered the game so they wouldn’t have to rely on Clemens throwing vertically.

After playing on Thursday night, the Jets will have a few extra days off to rest before their Week 14 game against the Bucs. The extra time should help Sanchez heal, but team will have to evaluate his injury next week during practice.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

No wonder Rex Ryan didn’t want to bench Mark Sanchez

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:16:30 +0000

For those wondering why Rex Ryan hasn’t benched struggling rookie Mark Sanchez yet, I hope you were one of the four people that caught the Jets’ 19-13 win over the Bills on Thursday night on the NFL Network.

After Sanchez suffered a knee injury midway through the second half, Kellen Clemens entered the game and completed just 1-of-2 passes for 14 yards. The Jets showed little trust in him to put the ball in the air and I don’t blame them given Clemens’ lack of awareness in the pocket. It’s understandable that he would be a little rusty considering he hasn’t seen much game action this season, but that’s no excuse for him to look completely inept.

Nevertheless, the Jets hung on for the victory and kept their slim playoff hopes alive for another week. They rushed for a staggering 249 yards (Thomas Jones had 109 of those yards) and Braylon Edwards caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez right before half to put New York ahead for good. (Of course, he also had a potential touchdown bounce off his face early in the second quarter, so he gave his usual inconsistent effort.)

It doesn’t appear that Sanchez’s injury is serious and it helps that the Jets now have extra days off before they take on the Buccaneers in Week 14. Hopefully for New York’s sake, Sanchez will be healthy enough to play because Clemens is brutal.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Rex Ryan to stick with Mark Sanchez

Anthony Stalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:33:37 +0000

According to a report by the New York Daily News, Rex Ryan won’t bench struggling rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in favor for Kellen Clemens.

Sanchez has followed poor outing after poor outing the past couple months and is now only two interceptions behind league-leader Jay Cutler. Sanchez has also seen his completion percentage drop to 52.1 as the Jets have lost six of their last seven games.

But wasn’t all this expected? Just because Sanchez and the Jets got off to a hot start doesn’t mean that it was going to last all season. After all, he’s a rookie quarterback that didn’t have a ton of experience in college and is struggling in his first year. That’s not uncommon.

It’s important that Ryan stick with Sanchez and see him through the rest of the year. If Sanchez can get through this season, then he’ll see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that he can play in this league. But he needs to learn from the mistakes that he’s making or else he’ll never develop. It’s Ryan’s job to do everything he can to help Sanchez transition to the next level, which includes supporting him when he isn’t playing well.

Confidence is everything to a young quarterback. Ryan chose Sanchez to be his starter in preseason and unless the young signal caller turns into Ryan Leaf over the next couple weeks, then he should remain the starter. Don’t forget that Peyton Manning struggled in his first season with the Colts, yet he remained the starter the entire season. I’m not trying to compare the two players, but the situations could wind up being similar in the end if Ryan allows Sanchez to suffer through his growing pains.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Jets name Mark Sanchez starting quarterback

Anthony Stalter — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:50 +0000

Even following his rough outing in the Jets’ second preseason game on Monday night, head coach Rex Ryan named rookie Mark Sanchez the team’s starting quarterback.

From FoxSports.com:

Despite a rough start against the Ravens in his last preseason game, Sanchez never lost his cool and battled back. The team has been impressed with his command of the huddle and the offense. Sources say the team has been impressed with how much he has not looked like a rookie. Drafted out of USC, Sanchez has gone 6-of-12 in two preseason games, with one touchdown pass and one interception.

Clemens, in his fourth season, is 9-of-14 for 84 yards in the preseason. He also has one score and one pick. Entering his fourth season with the Jets after being a second-round pick in 2006, Clemens also had a solid but unspectacular camp, but threw 12 interceptions compared to the rookie’s five.

I’m sure Ryan would have wanted a better performance out of Sanchez on Monday night before he made his decision official, but it’s not like Clemens did anything this summer to merit the job, so why delay the announcement?

The good news for Sanchez is that the Jets offensive line is solid. They also have a trio of backs in Leon Washington, Thomas Jones and rookie Shonn Greene that are more than capable of taking some of the pressure off Sanchez in his first year.

The bad news is that the Jets aren’t giving Sanchez a lot to work with in terms of receivers. Jerricho Cotchery is underrated and has been a consistent, productive receiver throughout his career. But he’s not a player that will keep defensive coordinators up at night and after him, the Jets will rely heavily on the inexperienced crop of Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney and Brad Smith.

If Sanchez continues to show the poise he did on Monday night when things weren’t going his way, he should do fine. That’s not to say that he’ll have a Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco-type rookie year and lead the Jets to the playoffs, but success can’t always measured in whether or not a quarterback can get his team to the postseason. (Especially if said quarterback is a rookie.)

Don’t go crazy on draft day and pick Sanchez in the middle rounds. He’s a rookie QB, and they’re notoriously undependable in fantasy circles, especially with all the depth available in leagues that only start one QB. It probably would have been better for the Jets WRs (especially Cotchery) if Clemens had won the job, as the two had shown a nice rapport in the past. Sanchez will no doubt have his ups and downs, so that means the Jets receivers are likely to as well.

Sanchez struggles in second preseason game

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:58:55 +0000

Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was just 3-of-8 for 43 yards, one touchdown and one interception (which was returned for a TD by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata) in the Jets’ 24-23 loss to the Ravens on Monday night. Kellen Clemens, Sanchez’s main competition for NY’s starting quarterback job, didn’t fair much better, completing just 5-of-10 passes for 60 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Sanchez almost threw a second pick in the game, but Ray Lewis showed off his stone hands on the play and dropped it. The rookie QB did bounce back after his poor start, hooking up with Leon Washington on a 19-yard touchdown pass before exciting the game after being hit in the head.

Even with this bad outing, chances are that the Jets will still name Sanchez their starter because Clemens hasn’t done anything to prove he deserves the job more. Sanchez has reportedly showed a stronger arm and more accuracy all summer and thus, will probably win the gig at some point.

This is just speculation, but if Sanchez starts and plays well Saturday night against the Giants, Rex Ryan will name him the starter shortly thereafter.

Daily Six-Pack: NFL Preseason Friday

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:15:45 +0000

NFL preseason action continues tonight with four games on the schedule. Below are six quick-hit thoughts and things to watch for during tonight’s slate of games.

1. Are the reports true about Palmer?
All indications from Bengals camp is that Carson Palmer is in the best shape of his career after missing virtually the entire 2008 season with a right elbow injury. Palmer is expected to get 12-15 snaps tonight when the Bengals travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints. Just as the Patriots were hoping for a strong showing from Tom Brady last night (he threw for 100 yards and 2 TDs, by the way), Cincinnati is hoping that Palmer flashes the arm strength that once made him the top overall pick. Another thing to keep an eye on is how the young Cincinnati offensive line looks in protecting Palmer. The Bengals have a physical unit in Andrew Whitworth, Anthony Collins, Kyle Cook, Nate Livings and Bobbie Williams, but they’re an inexperienced unit on a whole and Cincy would love to see some cohesion from the group tonight.

2. The starting quarterback battle for the Vikings begins tonight.
Head coach Brad Childress reported that Sage Rosenfels will get the start Friday night against the Colts, which isn’t a huge surprise considering Tarvaris Jackson missed some time in camp with a sprained knee. Still, Rosenfels getting the starting nod tonight may be an indication that he’s pulled ahead in the race for the Vikes’ starting quarterback job. Rosenfels doesn’t have a high ceiling in terms of potential, but he’s steady and could be a good game manager for a Minnesota team that is expected to keep the ball on the ground a lot with Adrian Peterson. While Jackson will certainly get his opportunity to start in preseason, a strong first impression tonight would go a long way for Rosenfels.

3. It’ll be a light debut for Sanchez.
Mark Sanchez is expected to play in the Jets’ preseason opener against the Rams, but with O-linemen Nick Mangold, Damien Woody and Alan Faneca all sidelined with various injuries, New York isn’t going to risk playing their rookie quarterback extensively on Friday night. Instead, Erik Ainge will probably get the bulk of the work, while Kellen Clemens (who is competing with Sanchez for the starting job) will also see some action as well. Sanchez reportedly has a decent lead over Clemens in the starting quarterback race, which is even more reason for the Jets not to risk a potential injury in their first preseason game.

4. Keep an eye on Moreno.
Former Georgia Bulldog Knowshon Moreno has turned heads so far in Broncos camp and will get the start tonight against the 49ers. While he wasn’t the most explosive running back prospect in April’s draft, Moreno has excellent vision and could turn out to be a future NFL star. These aren’t your father’s Denver Broncos, where Mike Shanahan used a slew of backs to get the job done in his rushing offense. With Josh McDaniels now in charge, if Moreno dazzles in preseason, he’ll win Denver’s starting running back job and receive the bulk of the carries this season. He’ll benefit from running behind one of the best offensive lines in football and could be in for a big season. Outside of Sanchez and maybe the Vikings’ Percy Harvin, Moreno is easily the most intriguing rookie to watch tonight.

5. Will this be the year that the Saints put it all together defensively?
While the threat of losing defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant for four games at the start of the season is a major concern, the Saints defense finally has the makings of a productive unit thanks to a couple of key offeason moves. New Orleans signed veterans Paul Spicer, Darren Sharper and Jabari Greer this winter, and also re-signed Jonathan Vilma and selected cornerback Malcolm Jenkins in the first round of April’s draft. Those moves, coupled with the ongoing development of young players like Sedrick Ellis and Tracy Porter, have seemingly set the Saints’ defense up for a good season. And with the offense expected to once again be highly explosive, New Orleans could be a sleeper Super Bowl contender if the defense is finally up for the challenge.

6. It’s now or never for Alex Smith
Some within the Niners organization still have high hopes for former first overall pick Alex Smith. But others believe that Smith will never be able to make the throws necessary in the passing game in order to take the next step as a pro quarterback. With Shaun Hill breathing down his neck, this appears to be Smith’s last chance to prove he isn’t a bust. He’ll need a solid preseason to stave off Hill and ensure he’s a starter this season. Of course, it would help if he had first round pick Michael Crabtree to throw to in the passing game, but the receiver and his agent are entrenched in an ongoing battle with the team over his contract and it’s uncertain when he’ll sign. Either way, Smith will have no excuses this preseason – he must shine.

Friday night’s NFL preseason lineup (all times EST):
Rams at Jets, 7:00PM NFL Network
Vikings at Colts, 7:30PM
Bengals at Saints, 8:00PM
Broncos at 49ers, 10:00PM NFL Network