Here are a six-pack of observations on whatever the Dolphins and Jets are calling that thing they did at the New Meadowlands on Sunday. I hesitate to call it a game.
1. Mark Sanchez is awful again.
Leave it to Mark Sanchez to prove doubters wrong for most of the season, only to revert back to his 2009 form for the stretch run. He completed just 17-of-44 passes for 216 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in an ugly 10-6 loss. This of course follows his 17-of-33 performance on Monday night against the Patriots. His 38.6 QB rating against the Dolphins was a season-worst and coach Rex Ryan even revealed in his postgame press conference that he nearly benched the second-year quarterback. Sanchez hasn’t completed 60 percent of his passes in over a month and also has five turnovers compared to no touchdowns in his last two games. He has shown zero confidence the past two games and he’s back to diving in and out of the pocket as soon as he senses pressure. In his defense, Santonio Holmes did drop a touchdown pass (with no defenders around him) early in the game, although that’s still no excuse for Sanchez to play as poorly as he did. The problem for Ryan is that Mark Brunell and Kellen Clemens aren’t any better, so the Jets will have to ride the Sanchez train out and hope he can find whatever magic he had earlier in the season.
2. Jets’ strength coach Sal Alosi should be ashamed of himself.
In what can only be described as a classless move, TV replays showed Jets’ head strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi stick his knee out to intentionally trip Dolphins’ gunner Nolan Carroll as he was streaking down the field to cover a punt in the third quarter. Caroll fell to the turf with an apparent knee injury and Miami trainers tended to him after he limped off the field under his own power. Alosi was fortunate that Carroll wasn’t seriously hurt. He could have ended the rookie’s season and for what? To be a jackass on the sidelines? What good could have possibly come out of purposely tripping an opponent? The Jets should review the situation and take immediate action. And if they don’t fire the moron, he at least should issue an apology to Carroll and the entire Dolphins team. What a stupid, stupid decision and how embarrassing for the Alosi and the Jets. This is the last thing Ryan needs to deal with after two straight losses.
