Mark Sanchez: I assume Geno Smith's starting vs. NYG

Rex Ryan may not be ready to name a starter for Saturday’s preseason game against the Giants – but Mark Sanchez is resigned to the fact that it won’t be him.

“I’m assuming (Geno Smith will start),” the fifth-year quarterback said. “I don’t know. But they haven’t said, so....”

This week, the Jets strayed from their usual every-two-day quarterback rotation, with Smith practicing with the first-team offense for three straight days. But Sanchez said there’s a simple explanation for the switch.

“Because I did it last week,” he said. “When he got hurt, I took all the reps and played in the game. So think that’s the plan this week.”

Smith said he hasn’t been told anything about his status for Saturday night’s game. But he’s anxious to make the most of the opportunity if he’s given the opportunity to start.

“We don’t know yet. But, I’m pretty sure we’ll find out in the next couple days,” said the rookie.

“If I get a chance to play, if I get a chance to start, it’s going to be big for me. I’ve been working extremely hard and I just want to go out there and play well.”

Smith had one of his best days of practice Wednesday, completing 15 of 16 passes against the first and third-team defenses. He also had two touchdowns and was sacked once.

Joked Ryan: "It wasn't brutal, that's for sure. That was a great day. I don't know if it was his best day, cause he's had a lot of good ones. And he had a great one today."

But the Jets coach still isn't ready to publicly tab a starting quarterback for this weekend.

“Hey, I guess we can anticipate it. I guess that’s fair to say. But we really don’t want to put a timetable on it," he said. "Eventually, we’ve got to name one. So we’ll see.”