Sanchez is a turnover machine in 31-14 loss

Sunday November 22, 2009 10:38 PM By Greg Logan

A season that got off to an exciting 3-0 start behind what appeared to be a quarterback-eating defense has turned into something much different. From here on out, it's about the education of rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.

He tied his personal record in his 10-game career with five more turnovers in a 31-14 loss to New England today at Gillette Stadium. That total included four more intercetpions and one fumble. He opened with a pick by Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden, who returned it 53 yards for a touchdown and never seemed to get smarter. If anything, he went the other way.

Running for his life on a play that started at the Jets' seven-yard line, Sanchez threw up a wounded duck instead of firing the ball into the third row. It was intercepted by Brandon Meriweather and returned to the Jets' 35 to set up the clinching TD. Sanchez eschewed the prepared script he used a week earlier and took responsibility for his rookie mistakes.

"They scored 17 points off four turnovers by the quarterback, and that's how we lose," he said. "Their defense did a great job of trying to disguise things…I just tried to do a little too much. You can't do that against a great defense like this.

"I felt comfortable with my throws, maybe almost too confident. I can't put the ball at risk on offense; I can't afford to go out on my own when a play is broken down. You just need to say 'uncle' and end the play and be smart with the football."

Intellectually, Sanchez gets the message. But he hasn't always translated that into execution on the field. He made a nice throw on a 29-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery that cut the Patriots' lead to 24-14 in the third quarter. But with the ball at his own 48 starting the fourth quarter and a chance to make a game of it, he badly underthrew Braylon Edwards, allowing Bodden to make his third interception of the game.

"That was a crucial play in the game and totally turned the tide back into New England's favor," Jets coach Rex Ryan said.

The Jets' defense actually stopped the Patriots on that series to maintain a chance of a comeback. So, did Ryan consider replacing Sanchez with Kellen Clemens right there?

"No, aboslutely not," Ryan said. "I don't think he's going to get any better sitting on the sideline. You know, he's got to learn from it. Without question, he made a lot of mistakes today, but he's got to learn from them. You can visualize it, watch tape and carry a clipboard, but unless you get on the field, you aren't going to get any better and that's my opinion."

Ryan's defense wasn't nearly as effective as it was in a 16-9 win over the Pats in Week 2 at the Meadowlands. Wide receiver Wes Welker, operating often out of the slot, caught 15 passes for 192 yards. That wasn't the response Ryan was looking for when he made an impassioned locker room speech last Monday in which he expressed his faith in his team.

Now that the Jets have lost six of their past seven to fall to 4-6, all the high expectations are gone. "I've got a vision for our football team, and I want to be a team that you have to strap it up to play against. I know we are capable of having that kind of team, a physical football team, and clearly the last two weeks that [emotion] hasn't been there when we came out of the gate. That's been disappointing."

It kind of looks like more disappointment lies ahead for the Jets in the final six weeks.

Final: Patriots 31, Jets 14

Sunday November 22, 2009 7:25 PM By Greg Logan

Sorry for the delays with the terrible wifi in this press box. It's been slow for everyone today.

On the other hand, many Jets fans probably would rather not read about another awful day for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. He threw four interceptions (three to Leigh Bodden) and lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the Patriots' 30-yard line. Five turnovers ties his previous record against Buffalo earlier this season.

The Patriots dominated both sides of the ball, wide receiver Randy Moss won his duel with Jets CB Darrelle Revis, and Patriots receiver Wes Welker had the absolute best game of his career with 15 catches for 192 yards.

The last two interceptions thrown by Sanchez came after the Jets cut the deficit to 24-14. The final return by Brandon Meriweather to the jets' 35 set up a clinching 1-yard TD by Laurence Maroney for a 31-14 lead.

After filing my newspaper stories, I'll be back with a few quotes (maybe some tears?) from the Jets' locker room and the gloating from the Patriots' side.

Jets in 24-7 halftime hole

Sunday November 22, 2009 6:10 PM By Greg Logan

The Jets had the ball four times in the second quarter without making a first down, and that translated to more dominance by the Patriot's offense. Starting at the own 41-yard line, the Pats quickly marched 59 yards to score with most of it coming on a 43-yard completion from Tom Brady to Wes Wlker that carried to the Jets' 3-yard line. Two plays later, Laurance Maroney ran two yards for a touchdown that made it 21-0.

Facing third-and-8 from his own 43-yard line, rookie Jets QB Mark Sanchez once again did little to disguise his intentions. After a quick glance right, he came back to the left side and threw a ball too far in front of wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Leigh Bodden, who earlier ran an interception back 53 yards for a TD, went down to one knee to make the pickoff and came back seven yards to New England's 48. The Pats stalled at the Jets' eight-yard line before Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 24-0 lead.

Having lost faith in Sanchez judgment, the Jets ran on third-and-2 on their next series, but Shonn Greene lost four yards. The Pats got the ball back at their 21, and Brady was sacked on third down by Shaun Ellis at the New England 19, forcing a Chris Hanson punt. Jets backup safety Eric Smith broke through the middle to block it, and wide receiver Brad Smith scooped it up and returned it four yards for the Jets' only touchdown to make it a 24-7 game at halftime.

Live blog: Jets vs. Patriots

Sunday November 22, 2009 5:29 PM By Greg Logan

FOURTH QUARTER:

Starting the fourth quarter with great field position at his own 48, Sanchez underthrew Braylon Edwards and was picked off for the third time today by CB Leigh Bodden. The hockey writer in me felt Pats fans missed the boat by not throwing hats on the field. The defense held and forced a punt, but scrambling left from his own 7-yard line, Sanchez made a foolish throw that was intercepted by Brandon Meriweather at the Jets' 35. Laurence maroney's 1-yard scoring run reasserted the Pats' control with a 31-14 lead.

DISCLAIMER: Slow post are due to agonizingly slow wifi in Gillette press box. SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: Must not be Optimum Online, which is offered by Cablevision, which owns Newsday

THIRD QUARTER:

When they returned for the third quarter, the Jets almost looked like a professional football team again. QB Mark Sanchez did a good job on a fourth-and-1 sneak, gaining two yards to his own 46. They immediately set themselves back with a false start penalty on receiver Braylon Edwards, but on third-and-9, Sanchez hesitated but still gunned a pass up the middle for a 21-yard gain to tight end Dustin Keller, who pulled it in just before the safeties arrived.

That put the Jets in Patriots territory for the first time all day at the 32-yard line. On second down from the 29, Sanchez lofted a picture-perfect pass over Pats corner Johnathan Wilhite to Jerricho Cotchery running a flag pattern to the right corner for a touchdown at 9:45 of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 24-14.

As one press box pundit said, "Hold the rip job a little while longer."

Sure enough, the Patriots got the ball twice in the third quarter, and the Jets' defense contained them both times. As the fourth quarter began, the Pats were about to punt from their 22-yard line, and the Jets hav good reason to feel they still are in the game.

2Q UPDATE: Brady hits Welker for a 43-yard gain to the
Jets' 3-yard line to set up Maroney's 2-yard TD run for a 21-0 lead.

FIRST QUARTER:

Call this the "Patriots' Revenge." It's almost as though New England coach Bill Belichick is dead-set on proving the only reason the Jets won the first meeting this season was because of the absence of injured receiver Wes Welker. And Patriots wideout Randy Moss is determined to show Jets cornerback Darrell Revis can't cover him one-on-one.

Brady just connected with Welker three times for 51 yards and the wideout carried once on a reverse for 11 more to power a 76-yard scoring drive that ended with Brady throwing a quick out 4 yards for a TD to Moss solo against Revis. That gave the Pats a 14-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter.

As for the Jets, they are starting to prove their 3-0 start was something of a fluke. The defense started strong, forcing a three-and-out on the first Pats series and then recovering a fumble by Laurence Maroney at the Jets' 34-yard line. But on third-and eight, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez locked in on receiver Jerricho Cotchery. Right cornerback Leigh Bodden saw it, waited, then jumped on the pass to get a running headstart on a 53-yard interception return for the game's first touchdown and a 7-0 lead at 5:47. Apparently, that had a disheartening effect on the Jets' defense, which was shredded by Brady on the next drive.
 

Jim Leonhard starts with bad thumb

Sunday November 22, 2009 4:11 PM By Greg Logan

The inactive list just came out, and Jets safety Jim Leonhard isn't on it. Despite undergoing surgery on Monday to repair his broken right thumb, a job that required three screws, the signal caller for the Jets' defense is in the in the starting lineup against the Patriots this afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

This either is a testament to the toughness of the 5-8, 186-pound Leonhard or a sign of how desperate coach Rex Ryan is to hold together his vaunted defense against the AFC East-leading Pats. Just a week ago, Leonhard tried to change the defensive call when the Jets were trying to hold off Jacksonville's final drive. But safety Kerry Rhodes didn't get the message in time, and the result was a 33-yard pass play to the Jets' 14 yard line that set up the winning field goal in the Jaguars' 24-22 victory.

That was the fifth loss in the past six games for the reeling 4-5 Jets. As Ryan said earlier this week, a win in Foxboro would put the Jets back in playoff contention a game behind New England, which comes in with a 6-3 record, and that would give them a season sweep of the Pats. But that will be a tall order against a Patriots squad that has been under heavy fire for a week since coach Bill Belichicks' failed fourth-and-2 attempt last Sunday night at Indianapolis that led to the Colts' 35-34 win.

In an ironic side note, Yale held a 10-6 lead in "The Game" against Harvard yesterday when coach Tom Williams ran a fake punt reverse on fourth-and-22, gaining only 15 yards and turning the ball over to the Crimson, which then drove for the winning score in a 14-10 victory. Lets' see, if Belichick is an NFL "genius" and Yale is one of the top two or three institutions of higher learning, what does that say about the state of education in this country?

Back to today's game. The focus really will be on the Jets' defense to see if it can approximate its best performance of the year when it pressured Patriots QB Tom Brady the entire game with aggressive blitzing schemes on the way to a surprising 16-9 victory in the second game of the season. No doubt, the Jets will try to control the ball with the running of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene to keep Brady off the field. Pats wideout Wes Welker missed the first game with an injury but is healthy today, so, that's one more problem for the Jets.

Jets coach Ryan stunned his team during an impassioned speech last Monday when he cried while expressing his faith in them to make something of the season. It should be evident early whether or not that had an emotional impact that resonated with his players and inspired them.

As for the players who are on the inactive list, it includes Jets QBs Kevin O'Connell and Erik Ainge, kick returner Justin Miller for the second straight week, LB Vernon Gholston (hammy), LBs Ryan Fowler and Kenwin Cummings, G Matt Slauson and DE Ropati Pitoitua. Inactive for the Patriots are RBs Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris, CB Shawn Springs, LB Rob Ninkovich, G Stephen Neal, T Matt Light, WR Sam Aiken and DL Jarvis Green.

Kickoff is 4:15. Should be a good one. We'll be back with updates after each period and later this evening after the newspaper stories are filed, we'll have some quotes for your consumption.

Ryan: Leonhard questionable, Gohlston out for Sunday

Friday November 20, 2009 2:15 PM By Jim Baumbach

How big is this Sunday's game? Well, answer this question: can the Jets' playoff hopes - as dim as they might be - afford any more losses this season? Obviously no. And maybe that's why Jim Leonhard has rushed back from surgery to put himself in position to play Sunday.

Leonhard, who as the Jets' strong safety essentially is their quarterback on defense, injured his right thumb during last week's game and had surgery on Monday. Clearly, that put his status for this week's game in New England in severe jeopardy.

But after spending all week watching practice from the exercise bike, Leonhard was back in jersey this morning, on the field going through drills with his teammates. We don't speak to Rex Ryan for about an hour or so, but know this: they're not putting a guy who had surgery on Monday through practice on Friday if they don't plan to play him on Sunday.

Also, it appeared he had a soft cast of some sort underneath his glove, protecting his thumb. I'll see if he will expand on that when we go inside the locker room after practice.
 

UPDATE: Rex Ryan just spoke. Said Leonhard is questionable, went through "limited" practice. Rex wants to talk to Leonhard about how he felt going through drills while wearing a soft cast. Wants to make sure Leonhard feels comfortable making tackles and possibly catching a football with the cast on. But, he added: "I would not be surprised to see him out there."

BTW, fwiw, Vernon Gohlston is officially out for Sunday's game.

Transcript: Jets chat with Rod Boone

Thursday November 19, 2009 11:50 AM By Mike Rose

Rod Boone talks Jets and answers your questions today in a live chat at 1 p.m.