New York Jets fans have spoken and they are not too happy with quarterback Mark Sanchez. Given the path his career in New York has taken, it is not surprising that he is not exactly a fan favorite. Jets fans seem to remember Sanchez for the infamous butt fumble instead of those few years of playoff trips, but that is to be expected.
During Saturday's team scrimmage, Sanchez was asked to score points for the team and he failed miserably. The second the quarterback threw an interception, he was greeted with a shower of boos from the fans. When he tripped over his own feet, the catcalls started. None of this sat well with head coach Rex Ryan.
"Our fans have the right to do anything," Ryan said. "I'm not going to say I'm disappointed in our fans. ... But I think we need to move forward. The things from the past are in the past. So let's just focus on what we have in front of us. We're all going to make mistakes. We're all going to turn the ball over. We don't like to, but those are things that are going to happen. Obviously, we're going to try to minimize that. We're going to try to get more of them. We're trying to get more of them on defense."
Ryan is asking the fanbase to stand behind the team at all times. He recognizes that the team is coming off a bad season, but he wants everyone united no matter what. The head coach is hoping to move forward from a season that was filled with negative headlines and poor playing.
"There should be some excitement based on that fact... I like focusing on what's in front of us and the positives that this football team's going to bring. Of course we 'd like to have 100 percent backing from our fans. With that being said, our fans can do what they want. They earned that right. They purchased a ticket...," Ryan said.
Around 6,000 fans showed up to the intrasquad scrimmage which was free. Frustration grew when Sanchez overthrew receivers, leading to more turnovers. Considering the fifth-year quarterback created 52 turnovers in the past two seasons, the anger is warranted.
The problem is the rookie Geno Smith is not immune to turnovers either. The two quarterbacks are in a race to get named the starting quarterback and have had rocky performances so far. On Monday, Smith threw two interceptions during 7on7 drills. However, if the fans continue to react like this, going with Smith over Sanchez might be the ultimate decision.
