Mark Sanchez On His Receivers

Mark Sanchez spoke to the media about his wide receivers and the progress he feels they are all making together…

On having Dustin Keller back…
(It’s) great, and then we lose Jeff (Cumberland). It’s this injury bug we’ve hit a little bit this year. Dustin, he’s one of my best friends off the field, one of the best guys to play with (and) a great teammate. He studies his butt off and he makes big catches for us always. He’s been my guy for four years and we just have to keep feeding him.

On the improvement in Kerley’s route running…
Just the experience, it’s something that’s constantly growing. His communication has gotten better, just on the sideline talking through stuff. His recognition of defenses has gotten better. That’s one of the first things you see with an improving receiver, he knows what specific routes (he has to run). He always has known what route to run against a specific coverage, but if you can’t see it right away, you have to play slower and then you don’t run as fast. You’re thinking too much. Now, the game is really coming to him. He’s trying to be one of the fastest mental players out there. Especially going through an offensive change like he did, coming in and learning one system than the very next year (learning a new one) is a little different for someone like me, who has been here for a while. He’s doing a great job, all things considered. He had his first 100-yard game, which is pretty cool.

On the receiving corps without Holmes…
Guys don’t respect them enough to be honest. I think it’s an explosive group. I think they’ve shown that. The reason the ball is going around is because all of them have the ability to get open. I love Tone. We’d love to have him playing, but when someone says, “How do you feel playing without a number one?” That’s not right for the guys that we have. I think they’re all capable of being in that role and they’ve all shown it from time to time. Nothing (has) really (changed). I’m trying to go through my progressions and get it to the right guy. Like (Mark) Brunell always said, “It’s an easy game, just throw it to the open guy.” I’m just working on that.

On if the receivers have chips on their shoulders…
Maybe, and part of it is just a little bit of experience. That’s a group that hasn’t caught many footballs to this point really until the last game. It’s constantly getting better. I’ve said it before, but we’re an improving bunch. I still think we have some of our best football ahead of us, we just have to get it to happen on Sunday and really build off of last week.

On what he said to Stephen Hill after his drop at New England…
I just said, ‘Don’t even worry about it. There’s no time because you’re going to get another shot. You’re going to get another shot to catch the ball. Just forget about it. (It) never happened, move on.’

On if Stephen Hill took his advice…
He was fine. That was one of the things I put a lot of emphasis on, making sure he’s good to go, especially after a tough situation like that. You categorize your mistakes. My interception was late and  a bad decision. His drop was a physical mistake. He ran the right route. He got himself open. He knows how to catch the football. He had a heck of a game, so I’m not worried about him at all.

On his touchdown pass to Keller…
It was tight in there for sure, but I trust him. I trust him to be in the right spot at the right time. He knows that if there’s a window, I’ll get it in there to him and he’ll do the rest. He did more than I did and he deserves the credit for it. It was a great catch.

On if it’s easier to control the huddle with younger receivers…
I wouldn’t say one’s easier or harder. I feel confident either way. It doesn’t matter to me. I love having Tone in there. I love playing with these guys. That doesn’t matter.

On the interception…
I threw it late. It was way too late. I was looking the other way. I shouldn’t have been looking the other way. I just went to the wrong guy. I thought it was something different and missed it. I really did. I tried to make up for it and shouldn’t have done it.