Jets' experienced help keeps Sanchez's development on line

alngtheway · Jan 22, 2011

Didn't see this posted, sorry if it already was. Really liked the bit about him sitting down with Callahan...

Jets' experienced help keeps Sanchez's development on line

By Lisa Zimmerman
Special to CBSSports.com

When Mark Sanchez was drafted by the Jets in 2009 out of Southern California, he had just 16 college starts under his belt. At the time, New York's five starting linemen had 478 NFL starts among them.

With the expectations of the franchise placed on his shoulders, the depth and breadth of the experience of those in front of him, as well as their willingness to help him, immediately created an environment where Sanchez was able to develop without holding back his own or his team's progress.

Now in his second year, Sanchez not only didn't sink into a "sophomore slump," but instead has continued to improve and become more confident, comfortable and reliable in running the Jets' offense.

A main component in the young quarterback's development has been having the time to understand what he needed to thoroughly learn the offense and his role in it. In 2010, Sanchez has a more solid and complete grasp of the system. Much of this can be traced directly to his offensive line, which took a lot off of his shoulders as he learned to navigate all of his different responsibilities.

Right guard Brandon Moore explained how the offensive line most impacted Sanchez's growth and overall improvement.

"He doesn't have to press," Moore said, "and feel that he has to win the game, and he does feel like this. It's not all on him. He's got a bunch of guys rallying around him trying to make his day easier."

Backup quarterback and 18-year veteran Mark Brunell knows firsthand what a difference it can make in a quarterback's development to be able to rely on a veteran line, because of the impact it has on his confidence.

"What hurts the development is not having success and you can't have success if you're getting sacked, if you're getting hurried, if you don't have protection, if you're not getting a chance to see what's happening down the field. That can really hurt a young quarterback's confidence," he said.

If a quarterback doesn't have confidence in his protection, he is forced to think about a broader spectrum of issues. Where is the rush coming from? Is he going to get hit? Is he going to get sacked? All of those extra worries can put him in a situation where he hurries his throws and if he starts to get hit a lot it can affect his comfort level in the pocket.

"I've seen young quarterbacks shell-shocked," Brunell said. "It can really hurt a young quarterback's development."

Sanchez described how in some cases he was flying blind during his rookie season -- understanding the basics but not necessarily all the details as well as not being able to translate the terminology for it. He recalled a specific instance during the team's 2009 win over the Oakland Raiders.

"Last year, it was hilarious," Sanchez said. "The clock was ticking down on a play and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, what we should use. So, I said to [Nick] Mangold, 'We can run this, right?' He said, 'Yeah, go left.' So we went left and Shonn [Greene] scored."

Sanchez's relationship with center Mangold was a critical factor from the moment he stepped behind the line. Mangold described the progress he has seen this year.

"There were different checks I kind of helped him with last year and he doesn't need the help anymore. He's getting pretty good at it."

It was more than just a few checks. The offensive line as a whole took Sanchez under its wing, knowing that how the quarterback goes is often how the franchise goes. Coach Rex Ryan agreed there is a direct correlation between his young quarterback's ability to produce and the veteran experience and leadership of the team's offensive line.

"I think those guys gave him that opportunity to grow and let him know they've got his back," Ryan said. "Those guys are helping him with protections. Now this is really his offense."

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer agreed that the offensive line as a whole, and Mangold in particular, is critical to Sanchez's growth.

"He would have been responsible for a lot more of the calls, the IDs at the line of scrimmage," Schottenheimer said. "The most important thing to a quarterback is staying upright and not taking a lot of shots. [Without the support of the offensive line] he would have had to press in a lot of categories. He would have had to throw balls earlier than he wanted to. He's had a nice supporting cast."

Sanchez didn't just wait for the help to come to him. He continually sought out input from his linemen throughout the 2009 season and then in 2010, he took it a step further. Sanchez sought out offensive line coach Bill Callahan and sat with him for four days and had what he called "a crash course in protection."

Callahan also points to stability in the line as being helpful to the entire group.

"I believe that there's more continuity, there's more stability, more cohesion, so from a communication standpoint everybody's growing, everybody's on the same page. They know each other pretty well. He's grown into that system with them."

Sanchez described in humorous layman's terms his development from season one to season two.

"I have a lot more things in my toolbox this year," Sanchez said. "Last year, my toolbox was a panic button."
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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/14583512/jets-experienced-help-keeps-sanchezs-development-on-line

HighFlyingJets · Jan 22, 2011

D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold & Brandon Moore have been the glue thats made this offensive line stick sine 2006.

We all know Brandon Moore is the most underrated RG in the league. If the Jets can win a SB this year, maybe he'll get the type of respect, around the league, that he's deserved since 04 (the year Martin led all AFC backs in rushing). He's hands down, a top 3 talent @ the RG position. We all know about Mangold. Not only is Nick an All Pro center, but he's also, pound for pound, the most dominating center in the game today. In my eyes, he's been the best NFL center since 2008. It's a blessing that we drafted Ferguson back in 06. He's been a franchise LT since day one. Brick has started each & every game since being drafted, he's the best overall LT in terms of pass protection, & he's also turning into one hell of a run blocker. No one protects the blind side like Brick; he's exactly what you look for in a blue chip LT.

Adding Edwards, Holmes & L.T has also helped the development of Sanchez.

Rockefella · Jan 22, 2011

HighFlyingJets said: ↑

D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold & Brandon Moore have been the glue thats made this offensive line stick sine 2006.

We all know Brandon Moore is the most underrated RG in the league. If the Jets can win a SB this year, maybe he'll get the type of respect, around the league, that he's deserved since 04 (the year Martin led all AFC backs in rushing). He's hands down, a top 3 talent @ the RG position. We all know about Mangold. Not only is Nick an All Pro center, but he's also, pound for pound, the most dominating center in the game today. In my eyes, he's been the best NFL center since 2008. It's a blessing that we drafted Ferguson back in 06. He's been a franchise LT since day one. Brick has started each & every game since being drafted, he's the best overall LT in terms of pass protection, & he's also turning into one hell of a run blocker. No one protects the blind side like Brick; he's exactly what you look for in a blue chip LT.

Adding Edwards, Holmes & L.T has also helped the development of Sanchez.
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To think... They almost let Brandon Moore walk a couple years ago.

MexJetinBcn · Jan 22, 2011

And everyone was bashing D'Brick for ages...

HighFlyingJets · Jan 22, 2011

MexJetinBcn said: ↑

And everyone was bashing D'Brick for ages...
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Not everyone. Just the clueless "fans". You know, the types of fans who harp over each & every mistake a player makes. Those are the perfect example of fans who have no idea about the game of football.

Real Jet fans knew Brick was special since day 1. Yeah, Brick made mistakes during his rookie & sophmore seasons, especially against that Bills DE, but that still never changed the fact that Brick was learning on the fly, making progress, as well as learning from his own mistakes. Starting as a rookie, at the LT position, was good enough for me. One of the 3 most important positions in all of football. Right up there with the QB and 3-4 NT positions. Clueless fans will never understand though.

You will always run into fans who attack Brick for an allowed sack, harp all over guys like Edwards & Holmes for every dropped pass, bash Cromartie for getting beat by a WR with a HOF QB in #18 etc, etc.

NDmick · Jan 22, 2011

MexJetinBcn said: ↑

And everyone was bashing D'Brick for ages...
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only those who didn't understand he was still growing as a human being and wasn't a polished LT. All they saw was #4 overall pick and expected him to be Jon Ogden from day one.

Same with Sanchez - #5 overall pick and they want Elway already. Patience with this kid, he's going to be amazing

Jets' experienced help keeps Sanchez's development on line

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