Monday, October 15, 2012

Rout of Colts allowed Jets to 'save a ton of calls'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The New York Jets' offense got a much-needed boost Sunday with the return of rookie receiver Stephen Hill and veteran tight end Dustin Keller from injury.

But while the re-addition of quarterback Mark Sanchez's top two targets -- minus Santonio Holmes -- expanded New York's playbook, Gang Green wasn't forced to dig too deep into the reservoir.

In rolling to a 35-9 win, Gang Green ran the ball 44 times, taking everything the Indianapolis Colts gave them and more while throwing only when they needed to. Sanchez did connect with Hill and fellow receiver Jason Hill in the end zone, but the offense didn't give too many looks in the passing game.

"It’s nice we got to save a lot of calls. We got to save a ton of calls," Sanchez told the media after the game. "We’ll hopefully have some carryover, we’ll get plenty of time on task, as (offensive coordinator Tony Sparano) always likes to say. The more time on task you have on specific plays, the better you feel about them."

The Jets travel to Foxborough next Sunday to face the pissed-off New England Patriots, who suffered an upset loss to the Seahawks in Seattle.

New York's offense will be working hard throughout the week to make sure the plays Hill and Keller allow Sparano and Sanchez to call will be fully-integrated back into the offensive gameplan.

"Going up to New England next week, that’s big to have those plays and we’ve repped them already," Sanchez said. "To have Dustin and Stephen back, that’s huge for the passing game, for the running game."

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