It’s not the 11 Texans defenders on the field that will give Mark Sanchez the most trouble on Sunday. It’s the four or five extra ones the rookie will think he is seeing.
“It’s so difficult when NFL defenses disguise looks that rookie quarterbacks tend to see ghosts,” said former Jets quarterback and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason.
“They hallucinate on the field because they are not really sure about all the things they are looking at. There will be times it’s going to look like there are 15 players on the field for the opposing defense. Your mind plays tricks with you.”
The Rex Ryan and Sanchez era begins for the Jets in Houston on Sunday afternoon with heavy expectations on the outspoken rookie coach and his flashy quarterback. While Sanchez will certainly experience the growing pains that come along with being a rookie starter, Esiason said he has enjoyed what he has seen thus far.
“The two things that have really impressed me are his poise and presence,” Esiason said. “This kid is saying all the right things, doing all the right things; it looks to me like he has been in the pocket 100 years. And he’s very realistic about who he is as a player.”
Sanchez has grabbed many of the headlines this offseason, but if Gang Green is going to be in the hunt for a playoff spot it will be the other facets of the team that will have to carry them.
Most of the Jets’ free-agent dollars were spent on upgrading an average defense. Ryan brought in linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard from Baltimore, where he was a defensive coach for a decade, and the Jets also signed cornerback Lito Sheppard from Philadelphia.
“The strengths of this team are the offensive line, the running game, and their defense should be much better off than they were at any point last year,” Esiason said. “So, it’s not like Sanchez is inheriting the Detroit Lions. It is a team that is built to win now even with a rookie quarterback.”
It’s a formula the Ravens used to make a run to the AFC Championship Game last year with Joe Flacco running the offense.
“The only reason Flacco started was because the top two guys — Kyle Boller and Troy Smith — got sick and hurt in front of him,” Esiason said. “Their plan was to never have Flacco touch the field. Sanchez is not playing because he has to, he’s playing because he won the spot.”
But the Jets have a brutal start to their schedule with matchups against the Patriots, Titans, Saints and Dolphins following the opener. And don’t sleep on the Texans, who finished last season 8-4 after a brutal 0-4 start. The fact that the Jets will be without defensive lineman Shaun Ellis and linebacker Calvin Pace — both suspended — won’t help either.
“The Texans probably feel they are ahead of where the Jets are,” Esiason said. “The fact that they are going to Houston against young guys, who are ready to take the next step, could make it a long Sunday for the Jets.”
justin.terranova@nypost.com