FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez balanced his duties
last week as the scout team quarterback for his old high school and the starter
for the New York Jets.
That meant 16-year-old receivers running the same routes
Jets players did in recent games.
Sanchez spent his bye-week break watching video of the
first half of his rookie season. When he'd see an errant throw, a missed read,
poor footwork, he wanted to run out onto the field and redo the play — and get
it right this time.
"Man, I know that read," Sanchez would think. "I know how
to take a seven-step drop, reset, look at my first progression, look at the
second progression, and just drill it down the middle of the field. I can do
that."
So he enlisted some kids from his alma mater, Mission
Viejo High in southern California, to help. Sanchez returned the favor by
impersonating San Clemente High quarterback Chase Rettig, who has committed to
Boston College, at the Diablos' practice.
He must have done a good job — Mission Viejo beat San
Clemente 55-7 on Friday.
Everything Sanchez touched seemed to turn to victory
earlier this NFL season, when his career with the Jets got off to a 3-0 start.
But now they're 4-4 at the midway point, a skid that includes Sanchez's
three-interception game at New Orleans and five-INT day against Buffalo.
Sanchez celebrated his 23rd birthday Wednesday, which
depending on how you look at it is a symbol of how young he is — or how quickly
he can mature.
"Don't we wish we can all go back to being 23?" coach Rex
Ryan joked. "Golly, he's a young dude. What were we thinking drafting him that
high?"
What they were thinking, of course, was this was a young
quarterback capable of starting in the NFL.
"It's funny, he's got such a huge responsibility, you
forget that this guy is 23 years old," Ryan said. "It's pretty amazing."
As right tackle Damien Woody said, "He's not doing bad
for himself right now."
"He has everything in front of him — that's the exciting
part," Woody said. "The guy's only going to get better. As long as he continues
to keep working at it, keep those same work habits that got him to this point,
just continue to improve, then he's going to be a heck of a football player."
Sanchez has done a far better job "managing the game,"
as Ryan put it, in his last two outings. Then again, it's also the time of year
to start fielding questions about the dreaded rookie wall, and whether he'll
crash into it.
"This is about that time," Sanchez conceded. "It's
important to not shy away from it or hide from it or not talk about it, but what
ways can you avoid it?"
That means continuing to lift weights and run during
practice. But he has stopped throwing passes during pregame warmups to rest his
arm, a trick suggested by backup Kevin O'Connell, who picked it up from Tom
Brady while with the Patriots.
November also means questions about how this southern
California kid — and University of Southern California alum — will fare in the
cold of the Northeast. On a chilly, windy day, Sanchez was one of the few Jets
practicing in short sleeves Wednesday.
With temperatures in the low 50s, it wasn't exactly
preparation for a January snowstorm. But as Sanchez said with a laugh, "It's
cold for me." And it'd be cold to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who visit the Jets
on Sunday.
"It's just something you've got to start to embrace and
understand we need to use it to our advantage," Sanchez said, "especially when
we get teams from Florida or warm-weather teams coming in."
And he knows he needs to increase his completion
percentage even as the winds pick up and hands get colder. Sanchez ranks 30th in
the league at 53.3 percent. He believes 60 percent is realistic for a rookie —
with hopes of eventually reaching 70 percent.
The intangible quarterback stuff Sanchez already seems
to have down. Trust in the huddle is built in the summer, he said, during casual
chats with teammates between workouts.
"Talking to them about where they're from, where they
went to college, how many brothers and sisters they have," Sanchez said. "Not
just to make conversation but to kind of find out, learn about these guys, know
what they're all about. Who's got kids, how old are they."
Sanchez has "done everything right," Ryan said. Then the
coach paused, remembering the moment Oct. 25 in Oakland when television cameras
caught the rookie trying to discreetly put mustard on a frankfurter and eat it
late in a 38-0 win.
"With the exception of the hot dog," Ryan quickly added.
"He's done almost everything right."