Rex Ryan Says Sanchez is “Definitely Our Guy”

Sept. 30, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) runs off the field after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium. 49ers won 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Talk about an embattled QB, that’s what we have in Mark Sanchez. If anyone in this town has been subject to criticism, it’s this guy. Some of it is warranted, as he has been terribly inconsistent. Some of it is not warranted, as Mark has not had his weapons help him out at all.

The cries have started to come for Tim Tebow. It started right after the game when coach Ryan was asked about the situation repeatedly, until he left the room. He was unwaivering in his support of Sanchez on Sunday, and he stayed that way in his meeting with the media on Monday:

I think he’s definitely our guy. We’ve had some poor performances in the past, and not just from our quarterback, from our team, and been whipped pretty good. I’m confident we’ll come back, I’m confident we’ll respond and play much better. That goes across the board. It’s the group on offense, the group on defense, we have to get better and I’m confident we will. Right now, I can’t tell you the answers, how we’re going to get better and all that, but that’s kind of why I wanted time with the coaches for these two days. We have to come up with some solutions because if we just keep repeating the same things or whatever, than how can we expect the results to change. I think that’s the challenge to the coaching staff. We have to put our guys in the best situation to be successful and we have to find out what that is and move forward. Do I think Mark has the talent to be an excellent quarterback? I do, absolutely. We just have to find a way to get that done and each player has to challenge themselves of getting better also.

He also talked about if pressure will help Sanchez:

I think as competitive as Mark is, I know this is killing him. He’s going to want to respond. You have to stay within the structure of what we need. You can’t just go out and say, “Well I’m going to throw.” It’s a guy looking for a three run homer with one guy on base. We can’t have that. He just has to do his job and when guys are open, get them the football. Don’t force the issue, and (Mark has to) protect the football, and I think he will. We’ve seen him before and he’s responded. Let’s go back to the Buffalo game his first year when he had five interceptions. I know how he responds. We just need him to be the guy we know he is. He’s competitive and I think he’s going to respond.

You have to wonder how pressure is going to affect Mark. It seemed to be helping during training camp, but now, as the pressure has built up, his play has gotten worse. This is what I was afraid of. Anyone who reads this site knows that I was afraid that this situation would make Mark crumble, and that Tim will step in as the starter, and the season goes down the bowl.

Seems like we are heading that way. I hope I am wrong.