Mark Sanchez: 'No doubt' I won Jets' QB competition

If you ask Mark Sanchez, the only reason Geno Smith is lining up behind center against the Patriots Thursday night is because of Sanchez’s injured shoulder.

The New York Jets quarterback told NFL Network's Rich Eisen on the Gillette Stadium field Thursday that "I won the competition. There’s no doubt."

According to Eisen, Sanchez told him he is eager to be there for Smith, but is disappointed about not starting the regular season since he thought he won the job until he was injured Aug. 24 in a preseason game against the Giants.

He has a separated shoulder and also reportedly has a partially torn labrum. But Sanchez would not confirm that to Eisen.

"I really can’t get into that part," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said the doctors who examined his shoulder are "pleasantly surprised" by his "progress."

Contrary to some reports, last year's Jets starter stated that his plan is to rehab the shoulder — instead of undergoing surgery — and get back on the field. After incorrect reports surfaced Thursday that Sanchez was out for the season, it's interesting to hear him now try to get out in front of the story. He's making it clear that he doesn't want the Jets to end his season. Sanchez said he's not angry with the Jets, but he believes he earned the right to play with a better August performance than the rookie quarterback.

Rex Ryan must be happy to hear that.

Joe McKnight challenges fan he thought was a reporter to a fight on Twitter: Report

Joe McKnight’s bizarre training camp took a turn for the worse on Monday when the beleaguered Jets running back apparently threatened to fight what he thought was a reporter on Twitter, reports The New York Daily News.

McKnight, who has had legal and health-related issues in the past two weeks, had trouble even getting on the practice field today. He stopped three times on his way to the field, got on bended knee and had to be carted off the field with an oxygen mask.

“If the trainers thought that he was at risk, he would never be out there. Ever,” Rex Ryan said. “For whatever reason he stopped. But no chance would any player be on the field if the trainers or doctors felt that it wasn’t safe for that person to be there. There’s no chance that that would happen.”

Then, McKnight was injured on a 1-on-1 pass-catching drill.

“I saw Joe go down,” Rex Ryan said. “But there was no contact. He just went down and stayed down.”

McKnight suffered a head injury in practice last week – the team won’t say whether or not he suffered a concussion – and appeared wobbly as he slowly left the field.

Things got bizarre when he went into the trainers room when he tweeted the following:

@Joejetlife about time you get released. Good luck. And stay healthy .
— moonwalker (@bleedgreenjetz) August 12, 2013

JOE MCKNIGHT ‏@Joejetlife 3h
Now I'm trying to keep my cool but now it has gone too far with these reporters. Just let y'all know I'm not the one. I know who you are

Now I'm trying to keep my cool but now it has gone too far with these reporters. Just let y'all know I'm not the one. I know who you are
— JOE MCKNIGHT (@Joejetlife) August 12, 2013

JOE MCKNIGHT ‏@Joejetlife 3h
I don't care anymore

JOE MCKNIGHT ‏@Joejetlife 3h
Now I'm getting into that

The third tweet was apparently a reference to a strange media interaction he had on Sunday when he repeatedly said “I’m not getting into that right now” when asked about his recent arrest and health issues.

Then, an apparent fan tweeted this at McKnight: @Joejetlife about time you get released. Good luck. And stay healthy

McKnight responded with this tweet:

@bleedgreenjetz are you outside
— JOE MCKNIGHT (@Joejetlife) August 12, 2013

JOE MCKNIGHT ‏@Joejetlife 3h
@bleedgreenjetz are you outside
 
A team public relations official confirmed that McKnight did indeed tweet from that account. According to the PR rep, McKnight believed that the person antagonizing him on Twitter was a member of the media.

So, the running back responded "are you outside," which was a clear implication that he wanted to fight him outside the training room.

McKnight has underachieved since he came into the league due largely to injuries.

“We’ll see how everything plays out,” Ryan said. “There’s still a long way to go before we’ve made the final decisions. Joe’s led the league in kick returns… He has plenty of talent, but there is a concern about durability.”

 “If a young man’s injured, he’s not going to be able to take advantage of whatever opportunity he has,” Ryan added. “I’m certainly not going to put anyone out on the field if he’s injured.”