Breaking Down Mark Sanchez’s Saturday Night Dropbacks

August 18, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws a pass during the first quarter of a preseason game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-US PRESSWIRE

We continue with a Mark Sanchez Monday here at the Jet Press. Specificially, we are going to take a look at each of Mark Sanchez’s dropbacks from Saturday night and breakdown what happened, in order:

• First and 15 from the Jets 26.  Mark comes under center, two wide receivers left, one to the right.  Mark takes the snap and throws a quick wide receiver screen to the man in the slot, Jordan White.  He makes the catch around his waist and takes it forward for 3-4 yards.  Good throw, well designed, safe play to get some penalty yards back.
• Second and 12 from the Jets 29.  Sanchez is in the gun, three receivers bunched to the right, one to the left.  Sanchez takes the snap, a three step drop, and hits Jeff Cumberland over the middle for 10 yards.  Good play to set up third and short.
• Third and 3 from the Jets 14.  Two receivers left, one right, Shonn Greene is beside Sanchez in the shotgun.  Sanchez takes the snap, and Jason Pierre-Paul pushes Wayne Hunter out of the way, and sacks Sanchez in under two seconds.  Mark never had a chance.
• First and 10 from the Jets 20.  One receiver left, one receiver right, one back behind Sanchez.  Mark takes the snap, takes a 5 step drop, and hits Patrick Turner on the right on a comeback route for approximately 12 yards.  A good throw to one of the few wide receivers that has been available to Mark Sanchez for the entire camp so far.

• Second and 14 from the Jets 27.   Sanchez is set up in the shotgun, one receiver to the left that motioned from outside to close to the line.  Two receivers are set up right, and one back next to Sanchez.  Sanchez takes the snap, and a five step drop.  He finds nobody open, tries to step up, but is sacked.  This one is on Sanchez, as he held the ball too long.  He’s got to find someone, get rid of it, or throw it away, and not hold the ball nearly that long.
• Third and 16 from the Jets 25.  On the ensuing play, Sanchez is again working in the gun, same formation.  Mark takes a quick three step drop, and hits Patrick Turner in the hands on a slant route, but Turner drops it.  You have to make the catch there, as the throw was good, and there were yards after the catch to be had.
• First and 10 from the Giants 45.  Following the LaRon Landry interception, the Jets are in business in Giants territory.  One receiver to the left, one to the right, and two backs with Sanchez under center.  Mark takes a five step drop, hits a checkdown in the center of the zone for 7 yards to Shonn Greene.  This one you could make an argument that Mark checked down too fast, as it appeared that someone was open over the middle about 10-15 yards deeper, but still a positive play on first down.
• First and 10 from the Jets 46.  Following the Aaron Maybin blocked punt, the Jets are set up with five wide.  Sanchez is in the gun, three receivers left, two right.  Mark takes the snap, drops back 3 steps.  Wayne Hunter basically watches Justin Tuck run past him for a quick sack on Sanchez (play nullified by an offsides penalty).
• First and 10 from the Giants 40.  The Jets are set up in a tight formation with two backs in the I behind Sanchez, and one receiver set to the right.  Mark takes the snap, runs a play action fake, drops back 7 steps, hits John Conner in the flat who takes it and runs for an eight yard gain.  A safe play, but well designed, for positive yardage on first down.

• Second and 8 from the Giants 22.  Mark is operating out of the gun, one receiver is in the slot to the right, and one is wide left.  One back is with Sanchez.  Mark drops back three steps, throws a screen to Shonn Greene in the left flat, who takes it almost to the first down sticks.  Unfortunately the play was nullified by a holding call, but the screen was well designed and executed.
• Second and 16 from the Giants 30.  On the ensuing play, Sanchez is again operating from the shotgun, two receivers left, and two to the right.  Mark takes the snap and drops back three steps.  The outside right wide receiver runs his man deep, while Keller, from the slot inside right, sits in a hole, and Mark hits him for a six yard gain.  Safe, but picked up some positive yardage to keep it from third down and forever.
• Third and 10 from the Giants 24.  The Jets set up in the gun, one back with Sanchez, and two receivers to the left.  This was the big one that Mark wishes he had back.  Mark Sanchez takes the snap, and drops back approximately  steps.  Patrick Turner is running a crossing route across the middle, and doesn’t get much, if any, separation from his man.  Sanchez throws the ball behind Turner, and Jarrod Hosley makes the pick and takes it to the house.  Just not well done on either end, by Mark or by Patrick.  A completion could have been had if Mark leads his man there.
• First and 10 from the Giants 44.  After the ensuing kickoff, the Jets line up two receivers left, one right, one running back behind Sanchez.  Mark takes a quick drop, and hits the slot receiver, Jordan White, who takes the ball up field for seven yards.  Safe for positive yards, but you would like to see a bigger call here, down 13 points., even in the preseason.
• Second and 3 from the Giants 37.  Mark is in the shotgun, two receivers to either side and one back beside him.  Mark takes a quick three step drop, but again the great Wayne Hunter can’t hold his block against JPP.  The pocket collapses in front of him, and Mark is sacked.  Again, Sanchez had no chance.
• Third and 7 from the Giants 41.  Sanchez again is in the gun, two receivers right, one left, two backs in the backfield.  Mark takes a five step drop, and hits Dustin Keller short on the right side for a three yard gain.  Again, playing it safe, but it’s hard to tell from the replay if anyone was open downfield.

So Mark Sanchez, all in all, played an efficient game, other than the one throw he, and the rest of us, want back.  He needs time to throw if we want to see him throw deep.  Hopefully this will improve.