Thoughts on Mark Sanchez's Night

I couldn't help but come away impressed. This was a tough spot for Sanchez. He had to recover from a pretty rough night in Baltimore last week. He had to keep getting named starter this week from going to his head. He also had to face a great defense. Mark passed with flying colors, posting a 13 for 20, 149 yard, 1 touchdown game.

I'll give Brian Schottenheimer credit. His playcalling was good for the most part. Early in the game, there were a lot of safe, simple, short throws. These easy throws got Sanchez into the flow of the game and his confidence level up. As the game moved, the Jets opened up the playbook.

Sanchez showed a few skills that really stuck out to me when under pressure. First was his poise. He did panic when the Giants had a big pass rush. Second was his mobility to buy himself time. Third was his ability to keep his eyes down the field and throw while on the run. Chansi Stuckey's long touchdown embodied all three, but they were on display all night. These attributes are going to be important during the regular season. Considering what the Jets have at receiver, Mark might have to buy himself some extra time because nobody may be open immediately. Fortunately, Stuckey does his best work breaking off his routes when this happens. His big game wasn't an accident.

Bottom line is you have to be happy with Sanchez's development to this point. He's definitely ahead of where I thought he would be. He actually looks pretty refined at this point.