Before the season, I said that the Jets probably wouldn’t open up the playbook until at least mid-season. Since experience immediate success, Sanchez has faltered in recent weeks and now leads the NFL with 10 interceptions. As a result, Rex Ryan has intimated the Jets may simplify things for Sanchez. The Jets head coach compared the situation to Roethlisberger’s rookie year saying:
“Was it just the play of Mark Sanchez that got us beat? No. But we have to realize that this isn’t a guy that’s played 20 years in the league . . . He’s got an unbelievable amount of talent, but we’ve got to be smart with him. I remember Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh was smart what they did and they won a ton of games.”
Ryan also noted that defensive adjustments have resulted in Sanchez taking longer to read coverage. That’s a nice way to let Brian Schottenheimer off the hook. The Jets OC has probably fallen in love with his new toys a bit too much. First, he had Sanchez throw 31 attempts in his first NFL game. Second, Braylon Edwards was targeted NINE times in each of his first two games on the Jets. The Jets shouldn’t try to turn Braylon Edwards, a guy who is typically among the leaders in yards per catch, into a possession receiver. Sure, part of that is on Sanchez and Cotchery has been hampered by an injury. But the Jets already have dangerous offensive players that have been neglected.
It was clear in the preseason that Sanchez immediately jelled with Dustin Keller. However, Keller has just 93 yards in FIVE games since gaining 94 yards in the opener against Houston. After seeing only one target in the game against Miami, Keller was targeted a whopping 10 times against Buffalo. The other semi-forgotten weapon in the Jets passing game is Leon Washington. Little Leon was only targeted twice in the Dolphins game and had eight targets last week. Short passes to Keller along with screens and swing passes to Leon will open up the field for big plays. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more wide receiver screens either. Expect Sanchez to start looking a lot more like a game manager as he was in the New England game.
Tags: braylon edwards, brian schottenheimer, dustin keller, football, jerricho cotchery, leon washington, mark sanchez, new york jets, NFL, Rex Ryan
