Santonio Holmes faults line for offense's problems

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez thought about the question for a second or two, doing his best to keep his California cool. It was yet another inquiry about whether changing his pregame routine could help him find a better rhythm early in games.

The Jets' 28th-ranked offense floundered at the start each week in their three-game losing streak, and people are pointing at the third-year quarterback as one of the main problems.

But Santonio Holmes has been calling out the Jets' shaky offensive line, and the wide receiver took a shot at it again Thursday. The Jets haven't tested opponents deep much -- LaDainian Tomlinson's 74-yard short-catch-and-run at Oakland is their lone play of at least 40 yards -- and Holmes attributes that to the line's struggles.

"I may be criticized again for saying it, but I think it starts up front," he said. "The big guys know it. They give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes.

"The routes that are being run are short routes -- 'Hey, let's get the ball out of Mark's hands quick. Let's move the ball down the field and let's go from there.'

"But if you can't protect the quarterback for four or five seconds, then there's no point in dropping back seven yards to throw when he doesn't have enough time. So we pretty much have to roll with the way our offense is rolling right now."

Sanchez is wondering what he can do to elevate his game.

"You lose three games, people are searching," an agitated Sanchez said Thursday. "Everybody wants an answer, everybody wants one thing that you can fix. And the one thing we can fix from last week is getting better on third down.

"But that means we are going to have to play as well as we did in the red zone [Sunday]. Those are the things we need to focus on. We know our routine. If we win these games, nobody is questioning anything. So I'm not worried about that."

Sanchez has completed 56.1 percent (97 of 173) of his attempts for 1,171 yards for the 21st-ranked passing attack. He has been hit 30 times and sacked 13. He gets happy feet in the pocket, partly because of his line's problems.

"I can sit here and complain as much as I want to about protecting our quarterback,'' Holmes said. "Sometimes little things as far as getting their toes stepped on, can't get back in their protection in their dropback long enough, are some of the things that affect play-calling.

"Like I said, I can complain all day about it, but those guys haven't come to me and said anything."

Sanchez's detractors have said a lot about him the last few weeks, though. Joe Namath, along with former Jets Kris Jenkins and Damien Woody, have been critical of the Jets' offense, thinking the issues begin with the quarterback. Bill Parcells said this week that he doesn't think Sanchez can shoulder the load by himself.

Even as he fends off constant criticism being fired from all angles, Sanchez believes he can carry the team for stretches if need be.

"That's a part of this job and what you sign up for playing in New York," Sanchez said. "If you can handle the praise and everything going well . . . you've got to be able to handle the flip side.

"And when things don't go right, you're still the guy that takes the praise or the blame. So that's the way it goes and I just need to play better and help these guys execute.

"It's not about setting the record straight or anything. That's the last thing on my mind."