Tag: Rex Ryan (Page 19 of 23)

      It’s official: Mark Sanchez is a rookie.

      October 19, 2009 /

      Mark Sanchez learned a valuable lesson on Sunday: In the NFL, things can always go from bad to worse.

      Three weeks ago, Sanchez threw thee interceptions and fumbled once in a 24-10 loss to the Saints. One of those interceptions was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Darren Sharper and the fumble produced a TD for New Orleans as well. It was the first time that the Jets’ quarterback looked like the rookie he is.

      Yesterday, Sanchez completed just 10 of 29 passes for 119 yards and finished with a career-high five interceptions in a 16-13 overtime loss to the Bills. He missed open receivers, he often threw into double coverage and at times, looked absolutely hopeless.

      But guess what? That’s going to happen with a rookie quarterback. When Sanchez led the Jets to a 3-0 start and beat the Patriots in Foxboro, everyone was ready to anoint him the next Joe Namath before he even had four games under his belt. But now that he’s playing like the love child of J.P. Losman and Joey Harrington, nobody should be ready to throw in the towel – especially the Jets.

      At least for the time being, Rex Ryan has to stick with Sanchez and ride him through the good and the bad this season. Sanchez was bound to struggle and now that he is, the first thing Ryan needs to do is make it known that the rookie is still his quarterback. Sanchez’s confidence is shaken right now and the last thing he needs is Kellen Clemens breathing down his neck.

      The Jets are going to find out what kind of quarterback they have over the next couple weeks. They play the Raiders next Sunday and host the Dolphins before their bye in Week 8. If Sanchez can lead the Jets to two victories, then he can build some confidence going into the off week and into the second half of the season. If he fails, then Ryan can reassess the situation in the bye and go from there.

      It’ll be interesting to see how Sanchez responds to Sunday’s performance. Ryan Leaf tanked after two strong performances his rookie year, while Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions but rebounded to be one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

      Which way will Sanchez go?

      NFL

      Henne, Wildcat help Dolphins beat Jets in thriller

      October 13, 2009 /

      It’s usually wise to expect the unexpected in the NFL. That’s why I’m not going to act the least bit surprised that Rex Ryan’s defense looked befuddled on Monday night while trying to defend second year quarterback Chad Henne and the Dolphins’ Wildcat formation.

      Thanks to Henne’s surprising accuracy (he completed 20 of his 26 pass attempts for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns) and the combination of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams running the Wildcat, the Dolphins topped the Jets 31-27 in one of the more entertaining games of the year.

      All right I admit – I’m a little surprised that Ryan’s defense was little match for the Wildcat. After all, if there were one defensive mind in the NFL that could shut down that formation, it would be Ryan right? Then why whenever the Dolphins needed a big play in the fourth quarter to keep the chains moving did they successfully use the Wildcat? Why can no defensive guru figure this formation out?

      The short answer is that Miami runs the Wildcat so well that even the stingiest of defensive coordinators can’t slow them down. Brown has been the perfect fit for the formation and even though he’s on the wrong side of 30, Williams still displays good burst when he runs. Simply put, the Dolphins have mastered the formation and will still give teams (any team, including Ryan’s Jets) fits while using it.

      The Wildcat also helped open things up for Henne in the passing game. He wasn’t asked to do too much, but he came up with a couple of huge completions when Miami needed them, specifically on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. early in the fourth. It’s still early, but the Dolphins may have found their franchise quarterback.

      On the other side, Mark Sanchez turned in his second poor outing in consecutive weeks. He certainly wasn’t as bad as he was last week in New Orleans, but he was shaky to say the least. He finished with only 172 yards on 12 of 24 passing, although he did throw a touchdown pass to the newly acquired Braylon Edwards, who looked like a player with a new lease on life while hauling in five receptions for 64 yards.

      Sanchez was far from the reason the Jets lost, but it has been clear the past two weeks that defensive coordinators are starting to figure out how to game plan for him. This is when it’s important for a young quarterback to learn from what he’s seeing on the field and not lose confidence in his abilities. He didn’t turn the ball over tonight, which was big considering he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against New Orleans last week. But Sanchez needs to continue to learn from his mistakes and move forward in his development.

      NFL

      NFL power rankings for MVP, Rookie and Coach of the Year

      October 10, 2009 /

      We’re going to start something new this week….individual power rankings in the NFL for MVP, coach of the year and rookie of the year. We may expand this to separate entries, since frankly it’s difficult picking just three of each. But here is what we’re thinking so far after the first quarter of the season….

      MVP

      1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—With all due respect to Drew Brees and Peyton’s little brother, there is no way in hell the Colts would be 4-0 without Peyton. And he’s doing it with young receivers not named Harrison and Gonzalez.

      2. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Favre mostly handed off to his stud RB Adrian Peterson the first two weeks, then made himself comfortable with a game winning pass with 2 seconds left against the Niners, and a fierce performance including 3 TDs against his former employer Monday night. Again, without Favre, is this team 4-0? Probably not.

      3. Steve Smith, New York Giants—Are you kidding me? This guy has not only made everyone forget about Plaxico Burress, but he’s on pace to catch 136 passes, which would be second in NFL history for a single season. Smith is the only receiver in the league averaging 100 yards per game (102.8) and has 4 scores.

      Continue reading »

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

      Saints welcome Sanchez to the NFL

      October 4, 2009 /

      It was bound to happen.

      Mark Sanchez couldn’t continue to play like he was Joe Montana week after week without suffering a setback. The Saints proved to be Sancehz’s setback on Sunday by constantly harassing the rookie into three huge mistakes in the New Orleans’ 24-14 victory at the Superdome.

      Sanchez’s first mistake came early in the second quarter when Darren Sharper intercepted his pass on the goal line, then returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. Two possessions later while backed up to his own end zone, Sanchez held onto the ball too long on a 2 and 7 from the 5-yard line and was sacked by Will Smith. Remi Ayodele recovered the fumble in the end zone to give the Saints a 17-0 lead early in the second.

      Down 14 points with about five minutes remaining, Sanchez made his final mistake on a desperation fourth down play in which he was once again intercepted by Sharper. For as much swagger as Sanchez had played with throughout the year, he looked like a beaten rookie on Sunday.

      This loss doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of Sanchez, though. New York offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer didn’t do the rookie any favors by failing to offer him max protection when the Saints proved early in the game that they could generate a pass rush with only their four down linemen. On multiple occasions, Charles Grant came off the edge untouched and forced Sanchez to scramble in attempt to make something happen.

      It’s great that the Jets have confidence in Sanchez to make plays in the passing game, but Schottenheimer’s play-calling was atrocious and he should re-visit how he plans on protecting his quarterback in future weeks.

      For the Saints, this win further proved their elite status in the NFL. Drew Brees and the passing game was held in check throughout the game, but Pierre Thomas and the Saints’ rushing attack racked up 153 yards and often kept the chains moving. Hopefully Sean Payton was paying attention to how hard Thomas ran throughout the game, so he doesn’t continue to leave the talented back on the sidelines in short-yardage situations.

      The Saints defense has improved dramatically this season. Sharper has played like a man possessed and veterans like Roman Harper and Jabari Greer have stepped up in the secondary. New Orleans’ front four is as good as anyone in the league, too.

      The NFC South is the Saints to lose, if not the conference.

      NFL

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