Boos may rain down on Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez if he is unimpressive against the Buffalo Bills. Just don't expect head coach Rex Ryan to do anything about it.
"I don't care what I hear," Ryan said Thursday (per the New York Daily News). "So it doesn't matter. They can yell, they can do all they want. Mark is our quarterback and that's just the way it is. Am I excited to have Tim here? Of course. Because I know we brought in an outstanding football player. I knew that from day one and that's the way it is."
This makes my bold prediction that Sanchez would still be the Jets starter come Week 17 look a bit better, but more importantly, it's another affirmation that Ryan isn't beholden to the will of the media or the fans.
While this is yet another ringing endorsement of Rex's confidence in Sanchez, a dose of reality is needed: If the Jets offense continues to struggle as it did in the preseason, and if Sanchez is the one to blame for those struggles, Rex's patience will be tested. Furthermore, if Tebow is working and Sanchez isn't, it will be interesting to see how much Tebow's snaps cut into Sanchez's, especially considering the struggles of the offense in the preseason.
But barring an injury, alien abduction or some other unforeseen circumstance, it's 99.9 percent likely that Sanchez will be the starting quarterback Week 2.
Here are some more links around the AFC East.
Buffalo Bills
Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson was held out of practice on Thursday with a groin injury, but according to Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News, head coach Chan Gailey is optimistic on his condition.
Bleacher Report Bills featured columnist Chris Trapasso writes about the unusual amount of pressure the Bills face in their Week 1 contest against the Jets.
Ben Volin of The Palm Beach Post talks about the adoration for quarterback Ryan Tannehill from Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin and Texans head coach Gary Kubiak.
Sean Donovan of AFC East Daily touches on the tough task at hand for the Dolphins secondary against the Texans offense.
Jackie MacMullan of ESPN talks about the closing window for wide receiver Wes Welker.
Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald writes about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's track record against young quarterbacks.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York, Rex Ryan thinks the Jets are a lot better than people are giving them credit for.
According to Conor Orr of the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, tight end Dustin Keller's hamstring injury is progressing well and shouldn't keep him out of action against the Bills.
Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates. Unless specified otherwise, all quotes are obtained firsthand.
No comments:
Post a Comment