New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan has been under constant attack since he decided to place quarterback Mark Sanchez into play during Saturday’s fourth quarter. Sanchez was injured during his last minute addition, and fans are none-to-happy about the situation that injured their likely QB1.
Despite fan outrage, Mark Sanchez continues to stand beside his coach. On Monday, Sanchez said he hasn’t second-guessed his coaches decision. According to the team’s quarterback:
“I’m not here to second-guess the coaches. If they call you to play, you better be ready to play, and I was. So I went in and played and tried to win.”
He added: “Look, I’m a competitor. And as a player, it’s not my job to worry about when you’re going in, who’s in, what string, this or that. If they call your number, you’ve got to play and that’s what I do, that’s what I’ve always done. That’s not my call. That’s the coach’s decision.”
That decision led to soreness in Mark Sanchez’s throwing shoulder, an injury that could keep him out of the Jets’ season opener September 8 against Tampa Bay.
The Jets could now be forced with starting the turnover prone Geno Smith, a QB who gave up three turnovers in a 12 pass span on Saturday. Geno also made a rookie mistake when under pressure he stepped out of bounds in the end zone for a safety.
After the game on Saturday, Rex Ryan stood by his decision: “From my standpoint, I have to move forward, we have to move forward and that’s where we’re at. What’s happened in the past, you can’t do anything about. You’ve got to focus on the present and the future, and that’s where we are right now.”
Ryan added:
“There’s still one more preseason game to be played and I’m not going to put myself or anybody in a box here to say that, specifically, it’s going to be this or this … We’ll let it play out and when we’re ready to name a starter, we will.”
At this time, the New York Jets staff has refused to comment on the condition of Mark Sanchez’s shoulder.
