Jets football blog

Stuckey earning his spot

Yeah, Mark Sanchez played pretty well in the Jets' 27-25 win over the Giants Saturday night at Giants Stadium.

But how good would his night have been without Chansi Stuckey?

Stuckey, who caught four passes for 69 yards and a big-time touchdown, was Sanchez' go-to man Saturday night.

His 31-yard catch-and-run for a score in the second quarter was the play of the night.

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Jets win 27-25, Sanchez looks poised

 You're the kid quarterback of the Jets. Your head coach, Rex Ryan, just handed you the keys to his new team, to Woody Johnson's franchise, even after a rather unceremonious welcome-to-the-NFL moment Monday night in Baltimore. Now all of New York's eyes were on you.

You started slowly during last night's 27-25 victory over the Giants, but then, with one magic moment, you gave your new fans, many of whom have been suffering long before you were born, the kind of hope franchise quarterbacks young or old are expected to bring to their city. Continue

Big game for Sanchez

 One of the rites of summer football is the creation of manufactured significance to NFL preseason games.

With teams barely playing their starters into a sweat in most of these games, which mean nothing in the standings, we come up with contrived themes, inventing reasons to generate interest.

Longtime Jets public relations director Frank Ramos has used the phrase "braggin' rights" to describe the Jets' annual practice game against the Giants -- as if any of the players from either side actually used victory as bragging fodder while out and about town in the offseason. Continue

Sanchez needs reps

 Phil Simms likes what he sees from Mark Sanchez. Now he just wants to see more of it.

In the Jets' two preseason games, Sanchez has thrown 12 passes. Simms said he believes head coach Rex Ryan should let the rookie out of USC air it out on Saturday night against the Giants in the traditional third preseason game between the two local teams.

"It's two games and he's only made 12 throws," Simms said. "After two games, in my opinion, he should have 40. In this game, he should get 30 throws minimum. He's going to be the starter. Continue

Manning has little advice for Sanchez

 There is a playbook full of life information that Giants quarterback Eli Manning could impart to his Jets counterpart, Mark Sanchez.

Manning could tell the rookie, who yesterday was named as Gang Green's starter, that if he keeps his nose clean (or at least doesn't pack a gun in his sweatpants), is cordial with the media and kind to the fans, he can share the face of football in this town.

Or Manning could point to something more tangible, such as the $97 million contract extension he recently signed. Or the Super Bowl ring, can't go wrong talking about the ring.

But Manning, a pro's pro, didn't offer any of this to the Jets rookie. The title for Manning's New York Rookie Quarterback Primer for Sanchez sounds like the title of a country song -- It Takes Time.

"The hardest thing is just learning the game," Manning said yesterday at the Giants practice facility. "It just takes time. Continue

Surprise Surprise Sanchez named starter

This is hardly a shocker, but the Jets have decided to name rookie Mark Sanchez as their opening-day quarterback, the Daily News confirmed Wednesday morning.
 
Rex Ryan, in his first big decision as coach, picked Sanchez over career backup Kellen Clemens. The only thing surprising about it was the timing, with Sanchez coming off a mistake-filled performance Monday night in Baltimore. But the organization has known for at least 10 days that Sanchez likely would be the guy, so Ryan probably figured it wouldn't be prudent to prolong the inevitable.
 
Some might argue it was a bit hasty, but Ryan said at the outset that he wanted to have a starter in place by the third pre-season game, Saturday night against the Giants. And Sanchez did end Monday night's game on an upbeat note, throwing a touchdown pass to Leon Washington -- all Ryan needed to see to close the deal.
 
Ryan informed both quarterbacks Wednesday morning. Continue

Jets and Washigton not close yet

Leon Washington didn't need a big game Monday night in Baltimore to prove his value to the team. The question is, what is his value in dollars?

Washington's agent and the Jets are still haggling over that issue. The team is trying to sign Washington to a long-term contract extension, but "nothing is imminent," GM Mike Tannenbaum said Tuesday on WFAN radio.

It's believed the two sides haven't talked in about two weeks. The Jets have an offer on the table that includes $10 million in guarantees, sources said. Washington, entering the final year of his rookie contract, is due to make $535,000. Even though the talks have hit a standstill, it would be a surprise if negotiations don't resume before the start of the season. Continue

Rocky start for Sanchez

Rex Ryan may need to take a delay-of-game on his quarterback decision.

The Jets' coach had hoped to name a starter this week, but his master plan may have been blown up Monday night by his old team, the Ravens, who rattled Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens into skittish, mistake-filled performances as they beat the Jets, 24-23.

It was all there for Sanchez, who made his first NFL start and could've made it an easy decision for Ryan, but the $50 million rookie took a step backward after last week's encouraging debut against the Rams. This time, facing a superior defense, Sanchez threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on his first attempt. Continue

Can Sanchez get it done tonight?

Put simply, Mark Sanchez can win the Jets' starting quarterback derby with a strong performance against the Ravens in tonight's preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium.

For Kellen Clemens, it might take an extraordinary performance to win the job, coupled with a poor performance by Sanchez.

Though Rex Ryan has not specifically handicapped the quarterback competition, it appears -- based on practice performances and the one preseason game last week against the Rams -- that Sanchez has a slight edge entering tonight's game. Continue

Sanchez will have opportunity to win job Monday night

It may have been Mark Sanchez's final practice as a No. 2 quarterback.

As part of the pre-set rotation, the rookie worked with the second-string offense Saturday in the Jets' return to Florham Park, N.J. But with Rex Ryan reiterating that he'd like to name a permanent starter before the third preseason game, it's possible that Sanchez will be No. 1 when the team returns to the practice field on Wednesday.

It all depends on how Sanchez fares tomorrow night in Baltimore. If he handles himself well against one of the NFL's top defenses, the long quarterback competition - Sanchez vs. Kellen Clemens - could be over. Continue