FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -The Sanchise is taking a seat this week.
Mark Sanchez will not play in the New York Jets’ game at Tampa Bay on Sunday because of a sprained right knee, and Kellen Clemens will start in his place.
“If it was up to Sanchez, he would play, without question,” coach Rex Ryan said Wednesday. “I mean, he’s competitive. He’s put in everything we’ve asked and more, but this is what I get paid for. This decision, I’m comfortable with right now.”
Ryan said he consulted with team doctors and made the call to sit Sanchez, who’s “mad as a hornet” at him.
“He wants to play in the worst way and he’s going to play,” Ryan said. “It’s just not going to be this week. I have a lot of confidence in Kellen Clemens and I think that instead of delaying this decision, I’m just going to make it now.”
ile diving for a first down in the third quarter of the Jets’ 19-13 win against Buffalo last Thursday in Toronto. He has started every game this season since beating out Clemens for the job.
The injury came two days after the Jets brought in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to help Sanchez learn how to slide better. Sanchez frustrated Ryan on the play as he was injured by diving headfirst, with the coach calling him a “knucklehead.”
“I watched the sliding lesson from a distance,” Clemens said with a laugh, “but I’ve got a little baseball background, so I’m hoping that won’t be an issue.”
Sanchez didn’t practice Monday or Wednesday, and is expected to get a fitted knee brace Thursday. He already wears a brace on his left knee from a previous injury. Ryan, who seemed optimistic about Sanchez’s chances Monday, said there were no setbacks in the quarterback’s recovery that swayed him.
“Just realizing that the timetable might not be in Mark’s best interest to play this Sunday, that by having some more time I think is the best decision,” Ryan said. “Could he get through the game, all that kind of stuff? That’s a bunch of what-ifs.”
Ryan said Sanchez will be “shut down completely” and not travel with the team to Tampa Bay.
uality of the opponent was not a factor in deciding to start Clemens.
“This is about us going in and playing our game, regardless of whether we’re playing Tampa Bay in their cream-sicle uniforms, whatever uniforms they are, makes no difference to us,” Ryan said. “We’re going out there to win.”
Clemens will make his ninth NFL start Sunday, and first since 2007 when he took over for a struggling Chad Pennington.
“I think I’d be a little bit more concerned if it was my first start ever,” Clemens said, “but I have some experience under my belt and I know that I have a lot of support from my teammates around me and a very talented cast around me.”
Clemens came in after Sanchez was injured and was 1 for 2 for 14 yards, helping lead a scoring drive against Buffalo.
“You never like to see a teammate that’s injured, but it’s a good opportunity for me,” Clemens said. “I’m excited to be out there playing again. I don’t think a whole lot’s going to change, but it’s exciting to be getting some reps during practice and have a chance to be back out there with the guys.”
Clemens was drafted in the second round out of Oregon in 2006 and was considered the Jets’ quarterback of the future. He sat for most of his rookie season, but started half the games the following year with mediocre results. Clemens barely got on the field last season with Brett Favre in town, and has only thrown three passes this year.
easy road sitting on the bench on Sundays,” he said. “You put the team first. It’s a team sport and that’s what you do.”
This is the last year on Clemens’ contract, and there’s some speculation that he won’t be back next season.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to show for the last 13 weeks that I’ve been working hard and I didn’t pack it in when Mark was named the starter. As far as other teams, it’s about us going out and getting our seventh win and getting above .500 and getting one step closer to the playoffs.”
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