Mark Sanchez had a rough couple weeks. After earning the Jets starting quarterback gig in training camp, and leading the team to 3-0 out of the gate, his rookie season hit a rough patch in October. In a loss to the Saints, Sanchez had a 27.0 passer rating, and last week against the Bills he mustered a JaMarcian 8.3.
The remedy: play Oakland. Sunday, the Jets hung 38 on the Raiders and JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Gradkowski. Sanchez, meanwhile, completed 9 of 15 throws for 143 yards, including a touchdown. Things were going so well that Kellen Clemens got a few late-game snaps allowing Sanchez to take it easy on the bench and enjoy a ballpark frank.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
There are some unusual circumstances surrounding the quarterback position as we enter Week 1 of the NFL season. There is still one team that has yet to formally announce its starter for Sunday, while others can expect to face questions about their signal-callers unless things go really, really well.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- An 8 AM meeting brought the news for which Mark Sanchez was hoping (and the news everyone was expecting) since the Jets traded up to pick him fifth in April's draft. Jets coach Rex Ryan summoned Sanchez and Kellen Clemens and broke the news that Sanchez (not Clemens) would be the team's starting quarterback.
"This comes with a lot of responsibility," Sanchez said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "So as happy as I am, I know this is just the beginning."
This is daunting, this thing he and the Jets are attempting. The 2008 success of Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Baltimore's Joe Flacco aside, things don't usually go well for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. That's why the best thing Sanchez has going for him may be that the Jets aren't going to ask him to do all that much. Not this year, at least.
Jets coach Rex Ryan has informed Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens that Sanchez has won the starting quarterback job, FanHouse has confirmed. A source said Ryan gave the news to the two candidates this morning, as first reported by Jay Glazer on FOXSports.com. Ryan's daily press conference is scheduled for 2 PM ET, after the Jets practice today in Florham Park, N.J., and he's likely to make his decision public at that time.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy FootballFanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.
Brett Favre obviously dominated the news today, and the injury to Chaz Schilens is also fantasy-worthy. I wouldn't touch Favre in any but the deepest of fantasy leagues, and I'd definitely suggest keeping Schilens in the back of our minds for the stretch run. You can read extended fantasy analysis on both moves further down the fantasy page.
What else is happening around the league? Read on.
From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from training camp. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster rocketing up the depth chart, we'll let you know the fantasy implications.
Buffalo Bills Wide receiver Terrell Owens returned to practice on Monday, but it was only in a limited fashion. He spent time doing station drills but when the team went 11-on-11, Owens took off his shoulder pads and sat out. He's still listed as day-to-day with a sprained toe. Getting extra time with the first team is veteran Josh Reed. Reed caught 56 balls last season and scored once but is forming a stronger relationship with quarterback Trent Edwards during training camp. CBS Sports reporter Mark Ludwiczak says that Reed has stepped up in Owens' absence. "I've had a chance these last couple of practices to work with him and I just love the way he carries himself, the way he plays the position," Edwards said. It's not terribly likely that Owens will miss regular-season time from this nagging injury, but he is missing out valuable bond-forming time with his new quarterback Edwards. The extra time it's taking Owens to get back to full strength could also foreshadow durability issues to come later in the season.
The Jets have made a decision that could foreshadow a permanent solution to their quarterback conundrum.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez, New York's first-round pick in the 2009 draft, will start the team's Aug. 24 preseason game against the Ravens, it was announced on Sunday.
The goal this summer was to bring Sanchez along slowly -- if he happened to beat out Kellen Clemens for the starting job, so be it.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- That first throw didn't go quite as smoothly for Mark Sanchez as it may have looked. That the Jets' rookie quarterback electrified the small preseason crowd at Giants Stadium with a 48-yard strike to David Clowney on the first professional pass of his career was the story of the night, but as cool as he appeared, there was more going on than you may have realized if you were watching on TV.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez was in the game for only eight plays, but he was good enough in that brief time to leave Jets fans wanting more. The former USC quarterback, picked fifth overall in this year's draft, easily outshined rival Kellen Clemens and made the New York Jets' supposed quarterback competition look like no competition at all.
The shame of it, for Clemens, is that he was in his two series exactly what the Jets need their 2009 quarterback to be -- solid, reliable, unspectacularly competent. But Sanchez ... well, he was awesome. And if Sanchez, as all signs indicate, can only lose the job if he falls completely on his face, then it's real bad news for Clemens if the kid is awesome.
Friday's NFL preseason schedule is all about the quarterbacks. Three teams with serious uncertainty at the position will take the field, while a well-known star makes his official return from an injury that ruined his and his team's 2008 season.
Not only that, but another team debuts a new starting quarterback Friday night.
Mark Sanchez had a rough couple weeks. After earning the Jets starting quarterback gig in training camp, and leading the team to 3-0 out of the gate, his rookie season hit a rough patch in October. In a loss to the Saints, Sanchez had a 27.0 passer rating, and last week against the Bills he mustered a JaMarcian 8.3. 
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- An 8 AM meeting brought the news for which 
From now until the regular season begins, 
The Jets have made a decision that could foreshadow a permanent solution to their quarterback conundrum.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- 
