Sanchez, Jets Ready to Take On Ravens

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Sanchez, Jets Ready to Take On Ravens

Published: Mon, August 24, 2009 - 7:57pm ET
Randy Lange

By Randy Lange

Lange is editor-in-chief of newyorkjets.com. He covered the Jets for 13 years for The Record of Hackensack, N.J.


File Under: Darrelle Revis, Baltimore Ravens, Rex Ryan, Jay Feely, Mark Sanchez, Parker Douglass, M&T Bank Stadium

08/24 — It’s primetime in the preseason. And Rex Ryan, who said he doesn’t remember the score of any preseason game he’s been in, including his first as the Jets’ head coach against St. Louis a mere 10 days earlier, said this one “is going to feel special.”

Not because Ryan, along with Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard and Marques Douglas, is returning to his home by the harbor of the previous 10 years. It’s because of that, and Mark Sanchez making his first pro start as the Jets’ quarterback, and one established defense vs. one that’s ready to be special under Ryan’s direction.

“You put Monday night on top of that and you’re playing against a great football team and you’re going to play against one that’s going to be great in the New York Jets so I think that’s going to be a great matchup.”

Sanchez has looked sharp in pregame warmups. Of course, he’s throwing against air, but his throws have been tight spirals and on target.

One switch that was announced earlier was that K Jay Feely stayed back in North Jersey to continue rehabbing his sore groin. Parker Douglass will do the Jets’ placekicking and kickoffs tonight.

Besides Feely, the Jets’ inactives include CBs Darrelle Revis and Donald Strickland, RB Jehuu Caulcrick, LB Josh Mauga, T Damien Woody and NT Kris Jenkins.

Dwight Lowery will get the start for Revis at LCB, Sione Pouha will start in place of Jenkins at NT, and Wayne Hunter will get the nod again for Woody at RT.

Not listed as inactive is Pro Bowl LG Alan Faneca. Ryan said Faneca would be out with his broken finger, but No. 66 was working with the first offense on Saturday at Florham Park in a no-pads, three-quarters-speed practice. Will Faneca get in a series tonight? We’ll let you know.

The Jets are wearing their green jerseys and white pants for the second time in their two games of the Rex Ryan era. Naturally, the Ravens had something to say about tonight’s Green & White attire — they’re dressed in their white uniforms with the purple numbers and trim.

This will be the Jets’ seventh primetime preseason game since 2000. They were 4-2 in their first six such games of the new millennium. The last time they played in the summer in a national game was in 2007, when Fox aired their 37-20 home loss to Minnesota. The last time they played in the summer on ESPN was in 2004, when they dropped the Colts at the RCA Dome, 31-7.

We’re using the CoveritLive chat interface again tonight to help us cover the Jets-Ravens for you. We’re going to be more selective on the comments tonight. Let us know how the experience goes and how it compared to the St. Louis game.

And now we’re less than 20 minutes away from the start of the game. M&T Bank Stadium isn’t full but there’s a good crowd already in their seats. The Jets special teams were announced and were booed. Rex Ryan’s first mention over the PA system drew a mix of boos and cheers. Pretty soon Preseason Game No. 2 will be under way. I’ll next speak with you in a postgame blog after we leave the Jets’ locker room and get on our train back to Newark, N.J.

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Fans Respond

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JettDogg Said:

Tue, August 25, 2009 - 3:36pm ET

" Sanchez is a rookie, hes the future of the team, let him start and learn, the more he plays the better he will get.. The Giants did it with Eli and it paid big dividends. The Jets have to be a running team to be successful, Jones has to get the ball 30 times a game, Leon has to get the ball somehow(run or pass) at least 20 times a game. Keller has to be used much more."

Offensive Comment?

Row Said:

Tue, August 25, 2009 - 7:27pm ET

"Schotty needs to call a better game, especially on 3rd down. Leon looked amazing, and TJ looked very good. I am very concerned with the Sanchez situation. We must start KC and make Mark work to pull for the starter. If Sanchez started this as a regular season game, we would have lost, period! Look to see more of Clemens like tonight. Liked the 4th qtr call to go for 2, it's a scratch game anyway!"

Offensive Comment?

Jets Fan Since '64 Tom Said:

Wed, August 26, 2009 - 7:59am ET

"Row, if you think you're being tough by saying MS needs to sit behind KC, think again. KC's shown nothing and if you factor in that a guy of his experience shouldn't look so bad in the pocket and move so badly, he's shown less than nothing. What would REALLY be tough is for Rex to say, "MS doesn't look ready yet, KC looks lame as ever, but EA looks promising, I'm giving him a look with the ones.""

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