Mark Sanchez Injury Leads to Jets Quarterback Change

An injury to Mark Sanchez's knee will keep him out of the Jets game. The Mark Sanchez injury also means that Kellen Clemens will get the start in the New York vs. Tampa Bay game this Sunday. This decision probably isn't one that's going to sit well with fans, but for the long-term taking it easy for any injury to Sanchez will help the team. For right now though, the Mark Sanchez injury is going to displease quite a few players and fans because of the way he injured himself. For now, Coach Rex Ryan just wasn't ready to put his franchise quarterback back on the field just yet.

The reason that Sanchez got hurt, was due to a bad move that he made in last week's NFL game against the Bills. Now Mark Sanchez is going to see the first real repercussions of not sliding in the game, and it was because he went head first into the Bills defense that he ended up getting hurt. Now Mark Sanchez could end up missing the most important game of the season for the Jets, as New York is now in a must-win situation if they have any plans to make it to the post-season this year. Instead of Sanchez on the field, the Jets will be placing a back-up quarterback on the field in a playoff type atmosphere.

Quarterback Kellen Clemens will take the snaps for the New York Jets on Sunday, giving him just his ninth total start in the NFL, and his first start in several years. It's unclear what type of a game plan they are going to go with when Clemens takes the field, but a safe guess could be that the Jets are going to go with an abbreviated play-calling and try to run the ball far more often than usual. Thomas Jones already has 1,068 rushing yards for the Jets this season, as well as nine touchdowns that state he can indeed carry the load. The only trick will be trying to convince the opposing defense that they will spread the field.

The Jets have one really positive thing going for them on Sunday, and it's that they get to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Jets may be 6-6 and third place in the AFC East, Tampa Bay sits at 1-11 and last place in the NFC South. The Jets defense could possibly out-score a Buccaneers team that has only put up 187 points through the first 12 games, and it may not even matter that Sanchez is on the shelf. Right now the team can look at it as a way to rest Sanchez for a week, but if they do get upset by Tampa Bay, there are going to be many more questions that need to be answered.

Sources:

Clemens to Start Sunday

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