According to a report by the Newark Star-Ledger, Jets’ QB Mark Sanchez made a precautionary visit with the acclaimed Dr. James Andrews to have his right knee examined.

Sanchez suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in a 19-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills in a Week 13 game in Toronto when he made an ill-advised head-first slide. The exam is a precaution as Sanchez finished the season strong and showed no ill-effects of the injury.

Sanchez will likely have his left knee examined as well. He injured that knee in college. The trip to Birmingham, Ala., to see Andrews was first reported by The New York Post.

This offseason is vital for Sanchez because the Jets are expected to throw more of the playbook at him in his second year. The reason why some quarterbacks struggle in their second season is because more is expected of them, they have to learn more of the system and because defensive coordinators figure out more ways to defense them. So if Sanchez has to spend most of his offseason rehabbing from knee surgery, that would likely sidetrack his development.

Hopefully the injury is nothing serious though, and Sanchez can put in a ton of work this offseason. He’s going to need it before the season starts again.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/28/is-mark-sanchez%e2%80%99s-knee-injury-serious/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/21/will-mark-sanchez-become-a-factor-this-sunday/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/21/will-mark-sanchez-become-a-factor-this-sunday/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:55:04 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=33293

Know what the best thing about the Jets is? No, it’s not the fact that they’ve taken on the role of Cinderella (a brash, cocky Cinderella for that matter) for this year’s playoffs, although that has certainly made them fun to watch. It’s always easy to root for an underdog, especially when that underdog is led by a walking sound bite in Rex Ryan.

Actually, the best thing about the Jets is that they know exactly who they are and they don’t hide from it. They’re a team that relies on running the ball and playing good defense, much like the Ravens did in 2000, the Buccaneers did in 2002, the Steelers did in 2005, the Bears did in 2006 and the Giants did in 2007. The formula works.

That said, is this the weekend that rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez will have to take on more responsibility in order to take the Jets to the Super Bowl? Because at some point, an opponent will be able to take away New York’s running game and force Sanchez to beat them through the air. And that opponent may be the Colts, who happen to be the Jets’ counterpart in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Peyton Manning has had a fair amount of success against Rex Ryan-led defenses over the past couple years and if the Colts can build a lead, they may force the Jets to abandon the run in order to win. Granted, this might not happen until the second half or even in the fourth quarter, but the key is that it may happen.

The word “poised” has been used in the past two weeks to describe Sanchez’s play. But “steady” might be a better term. He’s only thrown for 282 yards in his last two games, but he’s also completed over 63 percent of his passes and has only thrown one inception. For a team that can run the ball and rely on its defense to stop opponents, performances like Sanchez’s over the past two weeks are acceptable.

But what happens if Manning can move the ball at will and the underrated Colts’ front seven limits the Jets’ ground attack? Keep in mind that the Chargers had the Jets exactly where they wanted them last week after dominating the first half. Their problem was that they couldn’t convert opportunities into points and the Jets were able to get their running game going in the second half. Had San Diego been able to build a double-digit lead when the Jets couldn’t pick up a first down in the first half, New York might have been at home this Sunday.

If the Jets can execute their game plan and limit what Sanchez has to do, they have a shot at playing in Miami in two weeks. If they can get the running game going and keep Manning on the sidelines, they can control the tempo of the game and force Peyton to make mistakes.

But if the Colts can build an early lead, Sanchez will have to deliver through the air. Is he capable of beating teams with his arm? We may find out this weekend.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/21/will-mark-sanchez-become-a-factor-this-sunday/feed/ 2 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/12/monday-night-to-serve-as-test-for-youngster-sanchez/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/12/monday-night-to-serve-as-test-for-youngster-sanchez/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:34:05 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=26396

For all intents and purposes, last week was an utter disaster for Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. He threw for only 138 yards, was intercepted three times and had a fumble recovered for a touchdown in the Jets’ 24-10 loss to the Saints in New Orleans.

Simply put, the kid looked like a rookie.

One of Sanchez’s many issues last week was that he tried to do too much when plays broke down. Instead of chucking the ball out of bounds when he was in trouble, he forced passes into coverage and paid for it. Credit the Saints for generating a consistent pass rush throughout the game, but Sanchez needs to learn how to get rid of the ball and live to fight for another play.

But the growing pains he suffered last week weren’t anything that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger didn’t go through early on in their development. In fact, Manning threw so many picks his rookie year that fans used to hold up signs mocking him to remember that his team wore blue jerseys and white helmets.

It’s what Sanchez does tonight against the Dolphins that I’m most interested in, because he was bound to suffer a let down eventually. He wasn’t going to walk through an entire season playing as well as he did the first couple games and not be exposed for the inexperienced player he is. In fact, it’s better that he got his first ass-kicking of his career early in the year rather than later on at a crucial moment in the season. He can learn from the beating he took last week in New Orleans.

Pundits like to marvel at how calm and cool Sanchez has looked so far leading the Jets’ offense. Well, let’s see how he reacts after suffering his first loss. Let’s see if he can learn from what happened last weekend and turn it into a positive for he and his team. He was eventually going to be exposed and he was, but now let’s see how he responds.

I think he’ll respond favorably. He has a great defense at his disposal, a solid running game, an excellent offensive line and now a No. 1 receiver in Braylon Edwards (when he’s not dropping passes that is). Sanchez doesn’t need to do too much; he needs to let the game come to him and rebound from his first defeat as a pro. That said, it’ll be interesting to see how he does playing in his first prime time game of his career.

Pundits warned after the Patriots barely beat the Bills on Monday night that it’s ignorant to come to conclusions after Week 1.

Well, it’s only Week 2 and I’ve already come to this conclusion: Bill Belichick’s team has issues. They’re still 1-1 after their 16-9 loss to the Jets on Sunday, but New England is a Leodis McKelvin kneel-down away from being 0-2 right now.

New England’s pass protection might be at the forefront of the Pats’ problems. The offensive line struggled to control the penetration that New York was able to generate throughout the game and the Pats were also unable to pick up a crucial 3rd and 1 at their own 38-yard line trailing 16-9. That’s a telltale sign that the horses up front for the Patriots aren’t getting the job done.

New England’s defense played much better this week then it did on Monday night against Buffalo, most notably against the run. That said, the Jets made a simple adjustment in the second half and were able to spread the field and find holes in the Patriots’ coverage. While Belichick did a nice job mixing up his defensive fronts to confuse Mark Sanchez in the first half, he seemingly didn’t have an answer for when New York spread the field and started attacking certain zones.

I know, I know, I know – it’s still early. But you’re fooling yourself if you think this is the same team Patriots team with Tom Brady under center as it was in 2007. Granted, Brady is still getting used to playing on his surgically repaired knee, nut New England’s issues go far behind his health right now.

As for the Jets, how can you not love what Rex Ryan has done to change the attitude of this team? The Jets had lost eight straight home games against New England coming into this game and they came out and backed up Ryan and Kerry Rhodes’ talk. Those two said that New York wasn’t going to be intimidated by New England and it wasn’t.

I’ve got to admit that I never expected Sanchez to look this good, this early. But he has a ton of poise and he’s playing with a raw energy that has lifted his entire team. He must get better at directing his team on third downs, but so far it’s hard to criticize the rookie QB after leading the Jets to a 2-0 start.

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.

The Jets reached a deal with No. 5 overall pick Mark Sanchez on Wednesday night, signing him to a $50 million contract that includes $28 million in guarantees. In comparison, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, Matt Ryan, received a six-year, $66 million deal with $34.75 million in guarantees from the Falcons.

Ironically, Sanchez, at least initially, was given more guaranteed money that No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford was. Stafford is only guaranteed $17 million according to this article, and not the $42 million that was initially reported. The rest of the “guaranteed” portion of Stafford’s contract is actually incentive based, which is pretty fair. (Again, this is assuming that the article I linked to is accurate.)

Getting back to Sanchez, he took less short-term money than Ryan in order to hit free agency sooner. The contract also has incentives that could max his deal out at $60 million, which is still a bargain considering the position he plays and how high he was drafted. It’s really a good deal for the Jets and it’s huge that they were able to sign him fast and therefore not have to worry about the threat of a holdout.

Now all Sanchez has to worry about is beating out Kellen Clemens for the starting job. All indications are that Sanchez will get the opportunity to be the starter as a rookie, but word has it that Clemens has looked sharp thus far in practice and isn’t ready to give into the GQ model.

I should note that I’m not in favor of the rookie salary structure in the NFL. Whether it’s a good deal for the Jets or not to have signed Sanchez for that amount of money compared to what he could have made give the day and age we’re in, it’s still absolutely ridiculous that a player who has never taken a snap in the NFL to get that much money. Something has to be done.

Even though it appears he’s stating more of his opinion rather than actual fact, Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post writes that Mark Sanchez is going to start for the Jets next season. He notes that Sanchez can be a game manager and can certainly handle the offense, although he also notes that the Jets will likely rely on their defense early in the season in order to allow the rookie to gain confidence.

Before the 2008 season, I wrote how the Falcons should start Matt Ryan because he was the most NFL-ready quarterback in last year’s draft. I also noted that since Atlanta’s roster was so young, he should take his lumps with the rest of his inexperienced teammates and they could grow together. (Of course, while I was right on that projection, I was also the idiot that said the Falcons should have drafted Glenn Dorsey with the third overall pick and then fill their quarterback need with Brian Brohm in the second round.)

When the notion of starting a rookie quarterback is brought up, most pundits and fans rattle of the list of signal callers that eventually succumbed to the pressure (David Carr, Joey Harrington, etc, etc), and therefore note how awful of an idea it is. But Ryan and Joe Flacco’s performances last year might have gone a long way in changing that mindset, and you can’t leave Ben Roethlisberger out of the discussion of quarterbacks that started as rookies and went on to have great success.

Of course, there are some key components that led to the success of Ryan, Flacco, and Roethlisberger. Ryan had Michael Turner to take the burden off his shoulders and an explosive wideout in Roddy White. Plus, Atlanta’s offensive line played extremely well despite most pundits predicting it would eventually lead to Ryan’s demise.

Like Ryan, Flacco also had the luxury of having a solid rushing attack open things up for him in the passing game. And unlike Ryan, Flacco also had a defense that provided ample opportunities for him and the rest of the offense to put points on the board thanks to turnovers and great field position.

Big Ben went into a great situation in Pittsburgh as a rookie in 2004. Not only was the Steelers’ defense still the force it is today, but the offensive line was also one of the best units in the AFC and Roethlisberger had a head coach in Bill Cowher that made sure he was prepared for every situation.

Getting back on topic, should Sanchez start for the Jets next year? That depends on a lot of factors obviously. First and foremost, can he handle an NFL playbook? Based on what you hear, he can, and you have to like the fact that the Jets dumped a ton of time and money into upgrading their offensive line over the past couple years. The defense should also be much improved under new head coach Rex Ryan.

But one thing you have to remember is how little starting experience Sanchez has coming out of college. He only has one full season of starting experience under his belt and it might be wise for the Jets to show a little patience and not rush him onto the field. Why spend millions of dollars on a quarterback just to throw him to the wolves and have his confidence shaken forever? Plus, it’s not like the Jets have a ton of weapons for him to throw to outside of Jerricho Cotchery, and Rex Ryan has zero experience working as a head coach with a rookie quarterback.

Sanchez hasn’t even gone through his first training camp yet or take one snap in preseason, so it’s way too early to determine whether or not he should see the field as a rookie. But hopefully the Jets are exercising extreme caution with him.