Patriots want to speed things up for Sanchez
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Sometimes it seems as if there are two Mark Sanchezes. There's the one who can struggle and look like an overmatched second-year quarterback. And then there's the one who can suddenly regroup and lead the Jets to victory.
The Patriots saw both when the Jets played the Colts. They're hoping for more of the former this time around.
What makes the last-minute Sanchez so good?
"He has some good targets that allow him to make the plays and he's got a good arm," Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain said Thursday. "If he can catch a guy open, he'll hit him. He knows at the end of the game, if they're ahead or behind, the situation is going to fall on him to make a play. He's been able to pull it out in some tough games."
There are two ways for the Patriots to prevent Sanchez from turning into the Comeback Kid against them on Sunday. The first is to speed the game up. "You really want to put pressure on him and make it a tough decision," Banta-Cain said.
The second is to put the game out of reach before Sanchez has a chance to regroup.
Chung sees improvement
Patriots safety Patrick Chung, who played at Oregon, was asked to compare Sanchez now with the one he saw when the two played in the Pac-10.
"Obviously, he's better," Chung said. "He's starting for an NFL team. He's a good player. He's got a good arm. He can make good decisions. He's got good players around him. He wouldn't be playing if he wasn't good."
Digging out
A crew of 300 people and 100 trucks is busy shoveling nearly 20 inches of snow out of Gillette Stadium in time for Sunday's game. The field and the parking lots are being cleared by trucks, but seating areas must be dug out by hand.
So where does all of the snow go? The Patriots are trying out a new snow melter, which has been described as a "big moving hot tub."
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