Sanchez and Jets fail in Baltimore, Ravens take the Win

NFL News - August 25th, 2009 - Written by Glen

Monday night football in Baltimore held an exciting game, a riveting battle between the Ravens and the Jets. The Jets could not have been expecting an easy night, not with Sanchez pushing against the defensive squad that Rex himself had coached. The Ravens defense is considered one of the best in the league, and they kept the pressure on Sanchez all night. The 22 year old quarterback is a large investment for the Jets, and if the investment is going to pay off, he is going to have to get used to the clutch decisions that powerful defenses call for, and do his best to avoid the choke.

The game opened, a couple of plays were made. The second play would prove to be a morale breaker, as Sanchez through an interception on his second down of the night. Defensive Tackle Haloti Ngata picked the ball and took it for a 25 yard touch down. At least Sanchez through a touchdown, even if it was for the other team.

Sanchez has the arm, he has the talent, but he does not yet have the experience of the attentiveness that a good quarterback requires. It is worth stating, however, that the defense, particularly those as solid as Baltimore's, realizes this, and capitalizes on the opportunity. While his recent performances were less than stellar, Sanchez could very well improve over time.

Sanchez kept taking hits, losing yards, and missing his target - on both passes and hand offs. He almost lost a fumble, then threw yet another interception just seconds before half time. The Ravens held the ball midfield, were stopped until their fourth down, then punted the ball with under a minute remaining. At first this looked like a foolish idea, but ended up profitable with another interception was thrown by the Jets, this time by Kellen Clemens, to be returned for another touchdown added to the Raven's score card.

The Jets had an uphill battle, but managed to pull some points after the Ravens dropped some of the starters on their defense. A 21-7 come back from half time is no laughing matter, bu the Jets managed to pull ahead. The last point was made with twenty two seconds to go. Rex called for the two point conversion, either out of admission of defeat or out of desperation, but the attempt failed, sparing the teams from an overtime situation.

The battle between Sanchez and Clemens will continue it seems, into the next preseason game. Sanchez completed three passes last night, out of eight attempts. Forty-three yards were thrown, and Sanchez attributed one touchdown to his team and one interception, and subsequently a touchdown, to the Ravens.

The Ravens will have their next opportunity to crush offensive lines on Saturday, August 29th, against the Panthers, in Carolina. The Jets get another opportunity to hone the skills of Sanchez with on-the-field experience, also on the 29th, this time against the Giants. A double blunder against the teams New York? Only time will tell.

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