Sanchez excited to be playing again
Quarterback Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets calls a play before he snaps the ball against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field. (Dec. 17, 2012) Credit: Getty
Just yesterday, Mark Sanchez was preparing for his second straight game as the clipboard manager.
But now, thanks to a stunning turn of events, the Jets former starter will get another shot at being No. 1 again.
“I guess you didn’t expect it that quickly,” Sanchez said Wednesday, hours after Rex Ryan announced that his intended starter, Greg McElroy, is now sidelined with a concussion, “…Things totally flipped today. It’s a good example of how this league works and you’re one play away as a backup, so be ready.”
Sanchez lost his starting gig after committing five turnovers in the Jets’ Week 15-loss to the Titans – a game the Jets needed to win in order to keep their postseason hopes afloat. Ryan had tapped McElroy to finish out the season, but the Jets coach was forced to go back to Sanchez after McElroy admitted Wednesday that he was suffering from concussion symptoms.
Sanchez said he wasn’t initially alarmed when he didn’t see McElroy in their morning quarterback meeting.
“I figured he was just doing something else cause his stuff was there,” said Sanchez, who later learned what was happening when Ryan brought both him and Tim Tebow into the hallway and delivered the news.
Asked if two practices and a Saturday walk-through would be sufficient time to prepare for Sunday’s road game against the Bills, Sanchez smiled and said: “We’ll see.”
He threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns in the Jets’ 48-28 rout of the Bills in the season opener. But Sanchez isn’t so sure his Week 1 success will have any bearing on this upcoming game.
“It’s two totally different teams, it’s been months apart,” he said. “They could be exactly as they’ve been all year, show us what they showed in the last game, show us what they’ve showed us the last few games. Or just be totally different.
“Who knows what’s going on and what their feelings are like going into this game. At the end of the day, we just have to react to what we see, be sharp and have a good plan. I think we do, and just get ready to go, try to end on a positive note.”
The fourth-year quarterback said he’s “excited to be playing again” and isn’t feeling any added pressure to prove he can handle the starting job.
“No different than any week being in this spot,” he said.
