25-year old QB Mark Sanchez improved a little bit in 2011, but not as much as the Jets were hoping he would.  Sanchez led the Jets to an 8-8 record.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 308 of 543 passes (56.7%) for 3,474 yards with 26 TD passes and 18 INTs (78.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 37 times for 103 yards (2.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs last year.  Sanchez has now played in 47 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Jets and he has completed 782 of 1,414 (55.3%) for 9,209 yards with 55 TD passes and 51 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 314 yards (3.0 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his NFL career.  Sanchez is 27-20 (57.4%) as the starting QB of the Jets during the regular season.

Even if the Jets wanted to bench Sanchez last year, they really couldn’t as 41-year old Mark Brunell was the backup QB.  Brunell played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 1 of 3 passes (33.3%) for 27 yards without a TD pass or INT (67.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) last year for the Jets.  Brunell has now played in 193 games (151 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,761 of 4,640 passes (59.5%) for 32,072 yards with 184 TD passes and 108 INTs (84.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Brunell is 78-73 (51.7%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  The Jets will likely be looking for a upgrade over Brunell as Sanchez’ backup in 2012.

The New York Jets need more out of 25-year old QB Mark Sanchez.  He has played in 10 games for the Jets so far this year and he has completed 193 of 338 passes (57.1%) for 2,333 yards with 14 TD passes and 10 INTs (79.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 23 times for 75 yards (3.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  Sanchez has been really inconsistent this year and that has allowed opposing defenses to to gang up and stop the Jets’ running game.  Sanchez is still making the same mistakes that he has made since his rookie year as he just hasn’t got any better.

The Jets have had problems stopping the run this season and 27-year old David Harris is part of the reason for that.  He has played in 9 games for the Jets this year and he has 48 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and 4 passes defensed.  Harris has now played in 68 games in his first five years with the Jets and he has 476 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, 5 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 14 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  The Jets need Harris to step up starting tonight in Denver against the Broncos.

32-year old RB LaDainlian Tomlinson is going to miss at least a couple of weeks due to a sprained left MCL.  Tomlinson has played in 9 games for the Jets so far this year and he has carried the ball 46 times for 167 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 25 passes for 312 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The Jets will need 23-year old Joe McKnight to step up while L.T. is out of action.  McKnight has played in all 9 games for the Jets so far this year and he has carried the ball 19 times for 53 yards (2.8 ypc).  He also has caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg) in 2011.

The Jets’ WRs have not lived up to their potential so far this year and it’s hurting the offense.  Santonio Holmes has caught 22 passes for 311 yards (14.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  He has been blaming the offensive line for the offense’s problems instead of stepping up his game, which is what he needs to do.  Despite catching 3 TD passes last weekend against the Chargers, Plaxico Burress has been a disappointment overall in 2011.  He has caught 18 passes for 243 yards (13.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs for the Jets so far this year.  Rookie Jeremy Kerley has stepped into the role of #3 WR Derrick Mason, who was recently dealt to the Texans.  Kerley has caught 9 passes for 82 yards (9.1 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The Jets need this trio of WRs to step up.

The New York Jets will be without 27-year old center Nick Mangold for the next 2-3 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  This is really going to hurt the offense as the Jets only have undrafted rookies Colin Baxter (Arizona) and Taylor Boggs (Humboldt State) behind Mangold on the depth chart.  They might look to bring in a free agent.  No matter which way they go, they are going to miss Mangold who is one of the best centers in all of football.  The Jets are only averaging 73.0 yards rushing per game and 3.0 yards per carry, and I think that’s where they are going to miss Mangold the most.

The Jets just couldn’t run the ball last weekend against the Cowboys.  Shonn Greene carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  With the Jets playing catchup ball most of the night against the Cowboys, they used LaDainian Tomlinson a lot more than Greene.  L.T. carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 73 yards (12.2 avg) last weekend.  The Jets want to get back to pounding the ball with the running game more this weekend against the Jaguars, but that might be wishful thinking.  That’s because the Jaguars only allowed 43 rushing yards on 13 carries (3.3 ypc) for the Titans last weekend.

The Jets acquired 26-year old WR Santonio Holmes from the Steelers last summer for a 5th round pick!  That was a gift that keeps giving for the Jets.  Holmes wants to make the Steelers pay for letting him go and he will get multiple chances to do just that at Heinz Field tomorrow.  Holmes has only caught 7 passes for 66 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab in his first two playoff games.  I expect Holmes to be much more motivated than he was last month against the Steelers when he caught 6 passes for 40 yards (6.7 avg).  The Jets would like nothing more than to see Holmes flying like an airplane early and often tomorrow!

24-year old Mark Sanchez improved a little bit over his rookie season in 2010.  Sanchez played in all 16 games for the Jets this year and he completed 278 of 507 passes (54.8%) for 3,291 yards with 17 TD passes and 13 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Sanchez also carried the ball 36 times for 106 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs this year.  Sanchez has now played in 31 games in his first two years for the Jets and he has completed 474 of 871 passes (54.4%) for 5,735 yards with 29 TD passes and 33 INTs (70.2 QB Rating).  Sanchez has also carried the ball 66 times for 211 yards (3.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan probably wanted to bench Sanchez at some point during the year but he couldn’t because he didn’t have a lot of confidence in either 40-year old Mark Brunell or 27-year old Kellen Clemens.

40-year old Mark Brunell played in 2 games for the Jets this year and he completed 7 of 13 passes (53.8%) for 117 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (92.0 QB Rating).  Brunell also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) but those were kneel downs at the end of games.  Brunell has now played in 177 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,760 of 4,637 passes (59.5%) for 32,045 yards with 184 TD passes and 108 INTs (84.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs in his NFL career.  Brunell is nearing the end of his career and the Jets will likely try to upgrade at the #2 QB slot.

27-year old Kellen Clemens has been a huge disappointment to this point in his NFL career.  Clemens played in 1 game for the Jets this year and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 6 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (56.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc) with a TD run this year.  Clemens has now played in 25 games in his career for the Jets and he has completed 147 of 284 passes (51.8%) for 1,686 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 46 times for 128 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.

VERDICT:  I look for the Jets to release both Mark Brunell and Kellen Clemens in the off-season.  The Jets need a backup QB that Rex Ryan is comfortable with playing if Mark Sanchez continues to struggle.

The Jets have lost starting right offensive tackle Damien Woody for the rest of the season due to right knee surgery.  Woody played in 13 games (all starts) for the Jets this year.  Woody has now played in 45 games (all starts) in his first three seasons with the Jets.  29-year old Wayne Hunter is going to replace Woody and the Jets better hope he plays better than he did last week when he gave up 3 sacks.  Hunter has played in 11 games (1 start) for the Jets so far this year and he has played in 41 games (2 starts) in his first three years with the Jets.  At least Hunter won’t be blocking Sanchez’ blind side so he will at least be able to see the pass rush coming at him.