Mark Sanchez Injury Leaves Jets with Quarterback Concerns Before Start of Regular Season
Mark Sanchez and his shoulder injury will continue to be the focus of media inquiries until the regular season kicks off in a few weeks, placing the fifth-year quarterbacks starting job in jeopardy.
To make things worse rookie Geno Smith threw three interceptions against the Giants leaving the Jets scrambling to find a starting quarterback for week 1.
Questions have surrounded the reason why Sanchez was put in the end of a preseason game with little to gain from the experience.
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"It was my decision," a defensive Coach Rex Ryan said during a contentious postgame session with reporters. "You're talking about competing all week. That was my decision all the way."
Ryan has taken a lot of heat from media and fans for bringing in Sanchez that late in the game behind an offensive line comprised of backups.
''I understand being second-guessed when an injury happens,'' Ryan said. ''Certainly I understand that. But that's football.''
Smith struggled in his first NFL start, throwing three interceptions and stepping out of the back of the end zone for a safety while playing into the fourth quarter. Ryan and Smith said after the game that the plan all along was to have Sanchez play after Smith.
''I would not have put Mark in there if it wasn't important,'' Ryan added.
Ryan also had a bizarre moment during the postgame session when he turned his body sideways while refusing to definitively answer whether Smith could still win the quarterback competition despite his poor performance.
''I can say anything I want,'' he said. ''That's the beauty of this country. I can answer it 100 (times). I can stand backwards and answer the question. I'm going sideways. We'll make the announcement when I think it's the appropriate time.''
