Mark Sanchez isn’t going to respond to the latest barrage of attacks against him. A Jets spokesmen told ESPNNewYork.com that Sanchez doesn’t comment on anonymous sources.
What Sanchez says publicly doesn’t matter. He needs to show he can play, and he won’t be able to do that for a while.
Rich Cimini writes about the challenges Sanchez will face in the locker room and the direction of the team’s offense. New offensive coordinator Tony Sparano emphasizes power running and max protection.
“Look for Sparano to scale back the playbook. Schottenheimer ran a high-volume offense and it overwhelmed Sanchez at times,” Cimini writes. “Sanchez also needs a quarterback coach who can help him better understand pass coverages. Too often he doesn’t know how to react when his first read is covered.”
Well, there you go. Schottenheimer sure seemed to try to simplify things for Sanchez; all they threw were slants. The team showed how little they trusted Sanchez with their playcalling. When they did trust him, it didn’t go well.
Sparano seems likely to make the Jets offense even more conservative. That may be an attractive approach to Rex Ryan and it may even be the best idea for Sanchez. They can coach around him like they do with Alex Smith in San Francisco.
The problem with this idea: Tony Sparano is no Jim Harbaugh and this approach isn’t going to turn the No. 5 overall pick of the 2009 draft into a difference maker.