Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Plaxico: 'Mark Sanchez played hurt last season'

While New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez may have Tim Tebow breathing down his neck this season,  Plaxico Burress is watching his former-teammate's back.

Burress— who played last season with the oft-criticized Sanchez— had an explanation why the Jets fizzled down the stretch last season and missed the playoffs after being AFC finalists the previous two years.

He said the quarterback may have been hindered by a shoulder injury that was never made public.

"He definitely has the arm," Burress said on WFAN radio on Monday.  "He was battling some injuries last year, shoulder -wise , that a lot of people didn't know about. . . different things like that.  But I really think he turned a corner."


Sanchez now has to deal with the popular Tebow in training camp after he was acquired form the Denver Broncos.  A lot of the Jets failures last season were put on Sanchez's shoulders after he finished the season with an unimpressive 78.2 QB rating.

Burress knows Tebow was brought in to serve as Sanchez's backup, but said the starter is hanging on by his first bad game.

"When they bring in somebody at your position, you don't have no choice but to go up and either perform or go home," said Burress. "It's that kind of deal in thew NFL.  It's a dog-eat-dog league."

Burress— who is still looking to hook with an NFL team this season— thinks Tebow's presence could push Sanchez to the next level.

"It's a possibility, you can't rule it out," he said.  'I mean, they did bring him in for a reason.  I think he's going to make Mark Sanchez a better quarterback.

"When they bring in somebody at your position, he's going to compete for it."

Last season was Burress' first and only season with the Jets after being released from prison but the team has shown no inclination to bring him back.

At least now Plax might have one Jet player who would give him another chance with Gang Green.






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