Projo Pats Blog

By ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez is looking forward to playing the Patriots in the Meadowlands on Sunday.

But rookie quarterbacks haven't had too much success against a Bill Belichick coached defense. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Patriots, under Belichick, own a 5-1 record against opponents who start a rookie quarterback, outscoring them by the tune of 187-103, or an average of 31.2 points to 17.2.

When asked about facing the Patriots defense, led by both Belichick and defensive coordinator Dean Pees, Sanchez said: "Well, [Belichick] is a renowned defensive coach, him and coach Pees, they are great at scheming. They know how to give quarterbacks fits and disrupt game plans so we need to be prepared for the best. They have a great situation going over there. They've been tough for a long time since I've known them. So it's going to be a fun match up for us and an exciting match up, a big challenge and we're excited about it."

When asked about the Patriots' defense as a whole, Sanchez said: "I know I've seen a lot of great athletes. Guys like [Vince] Wilfork in the middle and man, is he a great run stopper and he does well on the pass rush as well. [Jerod] Mayo was a big time playmaker for them and seemed to be all over the field; anywhere the ball was at the end of the film, he's right there either making the tackle or assisting on a tackle, tipping the ball.

"People are talking about how they lost all their great players in [Tedy] Bruschi, and [Mike] Vrabel and Rodney Harrison, but this kind of team, and the kind of coaching staff they have, they're the kind of team that rebuilds and plugs another guy into their system and they just know how to play and they draft the right players with the right attitudes.

"They know how to play in big games and that's a tribute to their coaching staff. They're a phenomenal group and well schooled in the secondary, especially [Shawn] Springs. He's a tough player. He's smart; he's been around a long time and really knows how to play. He knows how to read quarterbacks so it's my job to play at my very best and be smart with the football and this is a phenomenal group we're playing."

Jets coach Rex Ryan said that he told his quarterback to just go out and have fun and not worry about the history that other rookies have had against Belichick and the Patriots.

"Sanchez needs to go out and play quarterback," Ryan said. "Don't worry about this, that or the other. Don't be chasing ghosts, just play the game. And it's something he's played ever since he was a kid. And go out and have fun and compete. That's all we want from him."

In his first regular season start Sanchez led the Jets to 24-7 upset victory in Houston by completing 18-of-31 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

Belichick was impressed.

"He's been good," Belichick said of Sanchez. "He's got a good arm, athletic guy. [He's] getting the ball to all his receivers. He seems to manage the team well. They run check-with-me's and a lot of different personnel groups and all that. [Brian] Schottenheimer's offense is a pretty sophisticated one and he looks pretty comfortable handling it. He's done a good job."

The only rookie quarterback to beat the Pats with Belichick as head coach is Steelers star QB Ben Roethlisberger (34-20, Oct. 31, 2004). Roethlisberger helped the Steelers snap a 21-game Patriot win streak on Halloween night by completing 18 of 24 passes for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns with zero interceptions.

New England would avenge that loss in the playoffs, 41-27, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and go on to win Super Bowl XXXIX.

 Tags  Bill Belichick Jets Mark Sanchez New England Patriots New York Jets Patriots Rob Lee Robert Lee

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