No, you rock on, L.T.
In this week's game preview, The Likely Lad shared with you F. Scott Fitzgerald's definition of first-rate intelligence. It read, "The ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."
Pardon me, but for the next 5-10 minutes (five if you're not distracted, ten if you're pooping), I'm going to sound very unintelligent.
The memory of last Monday's traumatic loss in the rearview mirrow. As the Jets showed today, everything you and I want from this team, everything they want for themselves, it's all right there---they just have to make it happen on the field.
After a less than auspicious start to the game, which was capped by an early second quarter touchdown, the Jets embarked upon a virtuoso performance that left your jaw dropped for all the right reasons.
-Naturally, it started with the straw that stirs the Jets' drink: Mark Sanchez. On this day, the Jets' franchise quarterback outplayed Tom Brady. It was undoubtedly the best regular season performance of his young career, coming versus a team and a defense that have befuddled Jets quarterbacks for the past decade. The 220 yards and three touchdowns were fine and dandy, but it was his decision-making that made you gleam with excitement. His improved play was perfectly illustrated on the shovel pass to LT that set up the Jets' first touchdown. There was no panic, no conceeding the sack, no throw away---he let the play come to him (sorry for the vomit-inducing cliche use there). Sanchez is like a sensitive dog. If you shower him with love and affection, he will trust you and behave well. So Schotty, my man: Pet your dog! Take him to get groomed everyday! Let him sleep in your bed! He just wants to be loved (or just let him throw the ball, that'll work too).
-The signature performance and signature play of the afternoon were authored by the same man: LaDainian Tomlinson.
When he was with the Chargers, I thought of LT as a shifty, quick, elusive back (I may have been wrong). On the Jets he runs with a purpose---a mean, angry, EFF YOU SAN DIEGO FOR CUTTING ME AFTER I GAVE YOU THE BEST NINE YEARS OF MY CAREER purpose. Whatever the reason is, Tomlinson electrified the Jets offense today. LT rushed for 76 yards on 11 carries and added 26 yards on four receptions. His performance resonated with the Meadowlands crowd, as they chanted the Hall of Fame running back's initials throughout the fourth quarter. Did you ever think you'd hear Jets fans chant those two letters?
(As for Shonn Greene, umm, well, gee golly, uhh...I guess he'll be fresh for the playoffs!)
Tomlinson's signature play came on a fourth-and-1 from midfield, late in the fourth quarter with the Jets leading 28-14. Rex Ryan, who was criticized for settling for a field goal on a fourth-and-short last week, decided to let Tomlinson take the carry and soar over the Patriots defense for a victory-clinching first down. The Jets head coach let his offense win the game, not protect it---the difference in today's dominating performance.
-Speaking of sights you thought you'd never see, how about Jets fans giving Jason Taylor a standing ovation as he left the field following his sack-strip of Tom Brady. The ex-Dolphin pretty boy really showed some cajones today, returning from what looked like a painful elbow injury to record the Jets' first and only sack of the day. As I said when the Jets signed him, all previous transgressions against Jets Nation would immediately be forgiven the first time he laid the wood on Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of a big game. He did exactly that today
-It was nice to see the Jets utilize Edwards and Keller the way they should have last week. The Jets dynamic receiving duo combined to record 11 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. When Sanchez is rolling, Keller is his boy. It worked that way in the playoffs and it definitely worked that way today.
But on a side note, you really have to wonder if one of Braylon's chromosomes isn't extremely bent or misshaped. He was dumb enough to get the taunting penalty after his touchdown, and then he proceeded to taunt the same guy on the two-point conversion! Luckily, he was not flagged the second time. The only positives the came out of his idiocy were David Clowney (!!!) rushing over to Braylon after the touchdown to tell him to knock it off, and watching Brandon Moore simulate Edwards' dance when pleading with the officials to not penalize him.
-Randy Moss' touchdown catch was absolutely breathtaking. And that's all I have to say about that.
-My reason for copping out and naming this post, "Play Like a Jet," was that today's victory exemplified what Rex preached during training camp. Every player at every position contributed in some way to today's victory (except John Conner; whatever happened to that guy?). Whether it was Robert Turner helping pave the way for the Jets go-ahead touchdown with Mangold sidelined, or Antonio Cromartie elevating his game when Revis aggravated his hamstring injury, you sensed that every person on the Jets sideline wanted and needed to win this game.
A special tip of the cap to No. 31 who formally opened the doors to Al-Cro-Traz after he was assigned to Moss. With Revis in the game, Moss caught two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. With Revis out of the game, Cromartie held Moss catchless. Let's hope both Cromartie and the team's second half performance is a harbinger of things to come.
(Quick note on Revis: He said after the game his hamstring is neither pulled nor torn, but he will have an MRI tomorrow (as will Mangold on his shoulder). I know there's no way to prove his skipping of training camp led to the injury, but you could certainly jump to that conclusion. Much like how I feel about the Mets, I still love Revis, but I just don't want to see him right now. We need some time apart.)
I hope the Jets aren't as content with life as I am right now, because a shitstorm awaits them Sunday night in Miami if they don't show up ready to win.
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If, as F. Scott Fitgerald suggested, "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function*," then the Jets have put us all to a great test this week. Their performance on Monday night provoked a few unplanned bowel functions from this observer, but that’s about it, thus belying any claim to a first-rate mind. Instead, I’ve cracked-up, paralyzed by a familiar realization.
Troubling too, in less fatalistic terms, has been an inability to reconcile competing ideas about what this Jets team is meant to be... or in less poetic terms: what the fack they're good at.
For instance-- Can a great defense fail on 11 of 17 third downs, struggling to rush the passer even with seven men free to attack? Can a ball control offense be afraid or incapable of throwing enough to keep the opposing defense from putting nine in the box? In both cases, the only possible adjustments run counter to the much blabbed-about idea of what it means to, gulp, Play Like a Jet.
Lessening the blitz-load and trying to confuse the quarterback with zone coverage in the secondary would dilute “controlled chaos.” On offense, Sanchez could be called upon to make more deep (or medium-range) throws. But with that, you’re going to have more turnovers, and not just interceptions, as strip-sacks are sure to be a problem on longer drops. Can the defense withstand those turnovers? Are we essentially left to choose between 10-9 and 28-27?
If Rex Ryan is, in fact, the first-rate football mind he claims to be, he’ll need to work out those issues, and pretty soon. A loss this week might not be worthy of the panic/resignation it’s sure to inspire, but damn, 0-2 with this team’s schedule and hang-ups? It’d be a Cormac McCarthy-esque road to the playoffs.
Existential crises aside for a moment, let’s take a more detailed look (if you dare) at tomorrow’s game against the Patriots…
*That, from his essay entitled, “The Crack-Up.”
Matchup problems.... and a few solutions.
Mark Sanchez & Shonn Greene: Listening to him explain (controlled confusion?) the decision to pull Greene from the game after the back's second fumble Monday night, you had to wonder if Ryan is even remotely engaged with the offense. That doesn't mean he's disdainful of them, like his father might've been, but it sure feels like Schottenheimer and Co. are playing their own tunes in a spare room, and Rex only pops his head in when a cluster of sour notes make their way out.
And what of Sanchez? What is his directive from the coaches? Is he meant to play the game, to develop, to fail on occasion... or simply to never turn the ball over? I don't think the message has been consistent, in fact, I'm pretty sure it changes from week to week, possibly from play to play. Managing two opposed ideas, as we noted earlier, makes it hard to function, especially if you're a young quarterback.
Belichick: That's a whole lot of uncertainty, and we haven't even started with the Patriots pass defense. With most teams, you look at the corners and safeties. With the Patriots, everyone is a threat to step into those precious throwing lanes. Gary Guyton returned a pick 59 yards for a TD last week against the Bengals. In Pat Chung and Brandon Meriweather, Belichick has a competent, if not exceptionally physical pair of safeties. The corners are good enough, and that's all Belichick needs-- a group smart enough to color within the coach's lines. Match an underrated secondary with a few clever 3-4 style linebackers and I'd guess the Pats will gamble on their big boys down low to to slow LT and Greene enough that Sanchez will be made to confront the mystery unfolding up the field.
Slauson!: This one is on Tannenbaum. For the second time in his tenure as GM, he's put together a roster without a guard to competently defend his quarterback's blindside. And this time it's not a wily (if brittle) Chad Pennington, but a 2nd-year guy who's first year would probably have been a full born disaster had it not been for the soothing effects of a league-best O-line.
Haloti Ngata steamrolled Slauson on multiple occasions last week (not just that much-replayed sack). Sanchez rarely had more than a beat or two to look over his left shoulder, and by the fourth quarter it "LT to the right" or bust. There's a lot of talk about the offensive tackle position and how it's evolved over the years (Thanks, Michael Lewis), but even with the best past rushers coming from the outside, the most devastating pressure comes right up the middle. Vince Wilfork, who usually lines up toward the right guard will undoubtedly flip for Week 2. It will be down to Bill Callahan and Mangold to design and execute, respectively, some kind of clever rotation to give the quarterback at least a moment to see the field.
Third down, and the two before it: As bad as the offense was last week, the inability of the defense to get a hold, metaphorically, on third down did them no favors. It's hard to find a rhythm when punting is the precursor to at least 15 or 20 minutes of downtime on the sideline. The Patriots were 9 of 13 on third down against the Bengals, and it would've been double-digit conversions if not for a holding penalty. Seven were completed passes. Only two were to true wide receivers. The rest were caught by the running back Faulk, Welker in the slot, and Gronkowski, the young tight end. Forget Moss vs. Revis, the real battle tomorrow will come in finding Pats receivers as they scatter off the line of scrimmage.
It's giving me a headache just sitting here... Third down and eleven. Brady in shotgun. Faulk in motion in the backfield with Welker in the slot. Moss wide right and Tate wide left. Oh, and there's crafty old Alge Crumpler at tight end. The temptation is to erase Moss with Revis, assuming Darrelle is fit. But wouldn't it make more sense to go with convention here and line up Cromartie against the big dog, with safety help, and let Revis dance with Welker? Tate and Wilson seem like a good matchup. Now it gets tricky. Either Faulk or Crumpler-- one, you'd assume will be left in to block-- will end up out in the flat or cutting up the seam. And that's where it gets extra dicey. David Harris is instinctive in coverage, but after him I'm not sure the Jets have a big enough safety or agile enough linebacker to keep pace with the Pats storehouse of big, pass-catching tight ends (Hernandez, Gronkowski, and Crumpler all got on the sheet last week). Alas, if everyone else hits their mark, will there be anyone left to put a paw on Brady?
I think I just broke the question mark key on my laptop.
Prediction:
Patriots 23, Jets 13
The Pats will jump out early, I'm afraid, with a couple long drives. Down a misleading 10-3 at the half, the Jets will come out and promptly drive down to the 20, where they'll face a fourth-and-inches. Unlike last week, Rex will keep the Sanchize on the field... only to watch LT trip over Wilfork's shadow. No gain. Brady comes right back down the field to make it 17-3. At 20-3 we're in the parking lot and no one save for a few fantasy owners are even aware Braylon Edwards caught a TD pass with 1:23 to play...
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Happy birthday, Rex Sanchez!
It's hard to believe our beautiful, little Rex Sanchez celebrates the one year anniversary of his birth today. He was something of an accident, as the Jets surprising beatdown of the Texans in Week One last year provoked me to create this abortion of a blog. Needless to say, had the Jets performance Monday night occurred in last year's season opener, the URL of "www.rexsanchez.com" would still be available.
Also, somewhat ironically, it was the Patriots who the Jets faced at home in Week Two of last season. That glorious, sunny Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands set the tone for where we are today. It started with Rex's phone call to season-ticket holders, imploring them to be as loud as fack---they obliged, and it ended with the Jets defeating the Patriots, 16-9, as the Jets defense battered and bruised Tom Brady & Co. all afternoon.
What a difference a year makes.
Whereas last year's game was a measuring stick to determine if the Jets were ready to join the NFL's elite, this year's contest is a test to see if they still belong in the conversation. One thing is for certain though, if they win Sunday, there will be the same jubilant, effusive celebration we saw after last year's season-defining victory.
Check back tomorrow for The Likely Lad's full preview of Sunday's make-or-break game. (It is make-or-break, you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.)
On a side note, I really haven't given a crap about the Ines Sainz story, mainly because I can't pronounce her name, but after watching this interview with her on Fox News...
Enjoy the video!
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Maybe it wasn't a fashion statement...
Fine, maybe he doesn't love New York but he clearly appreciates Jets fans. This surprising excerpt from today's Boston Globe.
Tom Brady took the occasion of being surrounded by media to talk about Patriots Nation. The Patriots quarterback spoke to a large assembly of media in the locker room [Wednesday] about the challenges the team faces this Sunday against the New York Jets, and the disappointment he felt when he saw so many empty seats in the second half at Gillette Stadium in the season opening win over the Bengals. "The road environment is very different than our friendly home crowd, who when I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points early fourth quarter, which I wasn't so happy about," Brady said. "I don't think the Jets fans leave early. They're going to be loud the whole game."
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Not again...
As you have noticed, Rex Sanchez is now part of a wonderful blog network. One of the perks of the new digs is having easy communication with other football bloggers. So, with the Jets hosting the hated Patriots this Sunday, in a show of goodwill, I decided to interview Pats writer, Derek Hanson, of the renowned Foxboro Blog. (Click on the link to see hi
s interview with me.)
Here's what our Bloguin brethren had to say...
-You guys are on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week? Does it conjure up memories of your early-season cover during the 18-1* season?
It's interesting that you brought this up, as I was thinking myself that last Sundays' game was eerily similar to the Patriots' Week 1 game in '07. Both were explosive and dominating performances. The Patriots scored 38 points in both games as well. I think there are some key differences between the 2007 and 2010 Patriots, though. In 2007, everyone was expecting a phenomenal season from New England. Maybe not a 16-0 regular season, but most people had the Pats pegged as a prime Super Bowl candidate. This year, most people didn't even have New England slotted for the top spot in the AFC East. Another big factor is that the '07 were a veteran-heavy team. Players like Bruschi, Seau, and Rodney Harrison were all battle-tested and knew what it took to win in this league week in and week out. I have a hard time imagining all the youngsters on this team being mentally tough enough to pull out another undefeated season.
-Since that season the Pats have been stuck in neutral. Brady missed all of '08 and they were old and emotionless last season. Do you feel a re-discovered sense of confidence and desire to win? Overreact based off last week's win, will you?
-Do you consider the Jets or Dolphins more of a threat to dethrone the Patriots atop the AFC East this season?
-Are the Jets the most hated team in the NFL for Pats fans?
-How do you see Sunday unfolding?
I think the top difference maker between last year's Week 2 contest, where the Jets won 16-9, will be the new-found versatility of the Patriots' offense. In 2009, Brady had two targets: Moss and Welker. With Revis shutting down Moss, that left Brady with a single receiver that he could count on. This year, if Moss is taken out of the game, Brady has far more targets to look to and I don't expect to see the offense stall out the way it did during the second half last year.
Overall, I expect some solid defense from both sides. Unlike the Jets though, I think the Patriots have the weapons to put up a decent amount of points no matter who's guarding them.
-Do you have dreams of Sanchez dropping back to pass in your sleep? Do you need to change your sheets when you wake up?
-What area of the Pats' defense could the Jets IN THEORY exploit?
-Final score...
24-10 New England no comments
False advertising. I felt worse than I did last night.
I woke up Tuesday morning with a terrible hangover.
No, it wasn't from drinking, nor was it from the disgustingly delicious roasted pork sandwich with giant jalapeno pepper I ate inhaled at halftime (although it certainly didn't help). Instead, it was from the Jets' semi-traumatic, 10-9, defeat.
When I went to sleep Monday night I was at peace with the loss, but when my nightly coma ended this morning, I woke up in pain. It hit me how many chances the Jets had to score, how the Ravens' lone touchdown was the direct result of a pass interference penalty, and I remembered that Kris Jenkins was likely out for the season (which has since been confirmed).
That is the power of football: You win on Sunday (or Monday) and your outlook on the week ahead becomes infinitely rosier. Each day's misery is conquered by your anticipation of next weekend's game. If you lose though, the work week (not applicable to college students) becomes a slow death march. Anything and everything that bothers you is exacerbated beyond imagination.
For example, take this conversation The Likely Lad and I had this morning outside his apartment...
TLL: Ugh. I know it's not cold out yet but it's definitely not warm.
BC: I know. Summer's getting ready to move out. He's packing his bags.
TLL: He's standing in the doorway with his fedora on, awkwardly smiling as he watches Fall move in his stuff.
BC: Summer probably had to explain he's only still there because the moving guys hadn't got his big boxes out of the basement yet.
(Both of us nodding)
See! We're losing it! You can't personify seasons! (If you did though, and you applied it to Sunday night's Mad Men episode, (the new) Don was definitely summer and Henry was definitely winter---you know, with the whole moving in and out of the house thing.)
So, after one week of football the Jets's Super Bowl roster is in flux. Danny Woodhead has been released. Jenkins is out for the season. David Clowney has been re-signed (no joke!). Adailus Thomas was brought in for a visit due to the team's invisible pass rush after Ellis' sack (he was not offered a contract). And Mark Sanchez was tested for Attention Deficit Disorder.
Sadly, I only made up one of those headlines.
If the Jets lose Sunday to the Patriots, iz gawna get late errrly 'round hee-yuh.
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"No! Not another deep pass towards Cromartie! Please, no!"
I rarely get embarrassed by a loss, let alone a one point defeat to a Super Bowl contender.
Tonight was an exception though.
The Jets did their best New York Jets performance, finding new and imaginative ways to lose a football game they had countless opportunities to win. If you were one of the people who bought into the Super Bowl talk (raising hand), tonight's game was hard to digest. The offense's struggles can be explained, even justified to a point, but the 14 penalties for 125 yards were disgraceful. Had they been fouls of aggression, like roughing the passer, you could tell yourself they were heat-of-the-moment infractions that will not be repeated. Instead, they were penalties of laziness, carelessness, and most worrisome, poor play.
Here are the key fouls:
Ravens on offense: 1st quarter- 3rd and 9 at own 31, pass incomplete, Revis called for defensive holding. 3rd and 28 at NYJ 47, pass incomplete, Wilson called for defensive holding. 2nd quarter- 3rd and 9 at BAL 37, pass incomplete, Cromartie pass interference. 3rd and 10 on NYJ 23, pass incomplete, Wilson called for pass interference (Ravens score TD three plays later). 3rd quarter- 3rd and 10 from own 1, pass incomplete, Cromartie called for defensive holding.
Jets on offense: 2nd quarter- 1st and 10 at BAL 37, 33-yard completion to Keller, Braylon called for illegal shift.
Wow. Typing those out actually made me nauseous. The Edwards' penalty doomed the Jets one real chance at touchdown, but it was the Wilson-Cromartie fouls that were the most troublesome. They were constantly beat on long passes and had to resort to tugging and grabbing the receiver to prevent long touchdown after long touchdown. I'm afraid to think what Wes Welker will do to them next week. I'd give serious consideration to having Revis take Welker and hope a disgruntled Randy Moss takes it easy on Cromartie.
As for the offense, yes they played like shit, but it was versus the Ravens defense, who even without Ed Reed are one the league's elite units. Their biggest failures of the evening were failing to score a touchdown after Ellis' earth-shattering sack of Flacco (more on that in a second) and Shonn Greene's fumble in Baltimore territory after Cromartie's interception. The former was far more problematic. It had an eerily similar feel to when the Jets settled for a field goal after Joseph Addai's fumble in the AFC Championship game.
You need to stomp on the throats of great teams, not just give them a kick in the stomach.
I understand people are going to freak out about Mark Sanchez this week. The Alex Smith and Matt Leinart comparisons will start to make their way into naysayer's conversations. I obviously do not think that is fair or accurate. Knowing your left guard is essentially a garbage can (check out the replay of Ngata's sack; he simply tipped over Slauson), creates huge doubt and fear in your play. Never was that more apparent than in the fourth quarter when Sanchez checked down to Tony Richardson for a four-yard pass when Braylon was wide open 15 yards farther downfield. He just wanted to get rid of the ball.
And don't freak out on Keller for stepping a half-yard out of bounds on the game's final play. The man had no idea where he was---and I mean in life, not on the football field. Sanchez totally left him out to dry two plays earlier when Ray Lewis nearly committed his second career homicide. (Oh, right, he was acquitted back in 2000.)
On a positive note, Shaun Ellis' sack of Joe Flacco on the Ravens' first possession was one of the most incredible in-stadium moments I have ever experienced. Every person reacted with the excitement and zeal of an insane, malnourished barbarian killing a wild boar prior to a feast. I lost it. My dad lost it. The possibly mentally disabled, Rain Man-sounding guy next to me lost it. I told pops, "I haven't felt like that at a sporting event since Endy Chavez's catch..." We should have known the end how the night would play out; it was all downhill from there.
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This is it.
Championship teams come in many forms.
The Cinderella story takes shape when a team emerges from complete oblivion to climb the Sports Mountain. For our New York-centric reasons, we'll call that team the '69 Mets. Then there is the team who puts together a respectable regular season, makes the playoffs, and then transforms into the best team in their sport for four-to-eight magical weeks when nothing goes wrong and everything goes right. You saw that team with the '07 New York Giants.
And then there is the team that kicks everyone's ass.
The prime examples of this champion are, in my mind, the '86 Mets and '94 Rangers. The former entered their Glory, Glory campaign with a stern message from their manager. "We're not just going to win," Davey Johnson told his team in spring training, "we're going to dominate." The Mets won 108 games that season, the most by any National League team since the 1909 Pirates, and were crowned World Series champions in October. The '94 Rangers arrived in London for their first preseason game with an equally clear message. Head coach Mike Keenan had hung of a poster of the Stanley Cup in the team's locker room. Ten months and a franchise record 52-regular seasons wins later, that trophy came to life in the hands of captain Mark Messier.
The 2010 New York Jets can only follow one of those three scripts: Dominate.
As you saw each week at the end the Hard Knocks opening montage, Rex Ryan would stare down the Vince Lombardi trophy as he made his way to his office. Rex understands if this season ends with anything less than a championship, he has failed as the team's head coach. That may be an unfair burden, but it is one he and general manager Mike Tannenbaum have created. It is the best and worst thing that has happened to the Jets this offseason.
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Following last season's playoff loss to the Colts, there was an unadulterated sense of optimism surronding the Jets. The team had grossly overachieved and came within 30 minutes of the Super Bowl. Polygamist New York football fans threw out their Giants wedding ring and fell in love with the team boasting the league's best defensive player, most charismatic head coach, and brightest future. Through the early spring that feeling persisted as the Jets added world-class talents like Antonio Cromartie and later Santonio Holmes.
But some time around early March, all that goodwill and positive emotion started to dissipate. The departures of Thomas Jones, Jay Feely, and Alan Faneca rocked the boat. The signing of former Dolphin Jason Taylor ruffled some more feathers. And finally it was Darrelle Revis' 36-day holdout that threatened to implode the most anticipated season in Jets' history before it could even launch. All the while the Jets kept talking trash, belittiling their opponents and inflating their own egos. The press turned on them and the fans began to question their sanity.
Now, on the eve of a Monday night contest we have waited for since blue and white confetti rained down from the Lucas Oil Stadium rafters, there seems to be a consensus among reporters and supporters that the Jets are overrated and will be lucky to make the playoffs.
That's fine. The media and Jets fans are inherently pessimistic people. You can only wax poetic about a team for so long before you tire of writing the same story. You can only see a team fail with such high expectations over and over again until you lose faith. You can only overanalyze a team for so long before you get sick of them.
The Jets will take the field tomorrow night knowing they are the best football team in the world. They may have moments where their play is not on par with their ambition, but come Feb. 6 in Dallas, there will be no more need for doubt or denial.
The New York Jets will be Super Bowl Champions.
Predictions
BC: Jets 13, Ravens 10, 11-5 record, Super Bowl Champs: Jets 22, Saints 17
TLL: Ravens 17, Jets 13 (NYJ down 10-0, ten minutes into 1st quarter), 10-6 record, lose to Steelers in Divisional round.
BC and TLL's male creator: Ravens 22, Jets 13, 9-7 record, no playoffs.
no commentsWe learned from Hard Knocks the all members of the Jets' coaching staff have dirty mouths, well, apparently they have dirty thoughts, too.
(Note: Why is she holding a tape measure in picture? Hm...)
From the Huffington Post...
NEW YORK — The NFL is looking into how a female television reporter was treated at Jets practice Saturday.
Ines Sainz, a reporter for Mexico's TV Azteca doing a story on quarterback Mark Sanchez, had footballs thrown in her direction by a Jets coach during practice and players later called out to her in the team's locker room.
League spokesman Greg Aiello says Sunday that the NFL and the Jets began looking into the situation when they were made aware of it Saturday night.
The Jets issued a statement, saying owner Woody Johnson spoke to Sainz on Sunday to discuss the incident. The team also said it would work with the league to gather facts and "take any appropriate steps necessary to maintain a respectful environment for the media."
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