Sanchez takes first team snaps at Jets camp

Thursday’s Jets intrasquad scrimmage may turn out to be the moment when Mark Sanchez became the team’s starter.

In the team’s first practice since on Saturday morning, Sanchez worked with the first team, while Kellen Clemens worked with the second team.

While teams often take turns giving their quarterbacks a turn with the ones, Clemens worked almost exclusively with the first team until now.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if Clemens practiced with the starters again soon, perhaps this afternoon, but the tide is turning.

Sanchez completed 10-of-19 passes for two touchdowns and an interception in the morning session.  Clemens completed 4-of-12 passes with an interception and two other near picks.

Preseason play will be the next step for Sanchez.  As our Tom Curran wrote this week after watching the scrimmage, Sanchez must be careful while campaigning for the starting gig.  He must prove to his teammates, not only his coaches, that he deserves the job.

As Sanchez tries to live up to his first round billing, we’ll leave you with a classic comment from the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dave Hutchinson, who said that Sanchez’s ascension wasn’t the only surprise of the morning.

“LB Vernon Gholston notched a sack and was a factor,” he wrote.  “Another bombshell for the morning practice.”