NEW ORLEANS — Though the Saints sacked Mark Sanchez four times, intercepted him three times and forced him into surrendering two touchdowns in a 24-10 victory over the Jets yesterday, they came away impressed with the rookie from Southern Cal.
“This being his fourth NFL game, we felt we could affect him by giving him different looks,” said DE Will Smith, who caught Sanchez from the back side in the end zone and forced a critical fumble that was recovered by DT Remi Ayodele for a touchdown that gave the Saints a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
“He really had nobody to throw to, and I think after the interception he was a little hesitant to make those throws,” Smith added. “He held the ball a little longer, and we got to him.”
But Smith said he came away impressed with Sanchez’s toughness.
“He’s definitely a tough guy,” Smith said. “We hit him a lot. A couple of plays we hit him real hard, and he bounced right back up. He definitely wanted to play. He didn’t quit on his guys.”
LB Scott Fujita said Sanchez has a tendency to stare down his receivers — a common trait for a young quarterback.
“He’s a good quarterback, and he’s got a great future,” he said. “I just don’t think it would matter who was playing quarterback the way we played defense today.”
The Jets converted only three of 12 third-down plays, and Sanchez completed just 14 of 27 passes for 138 yards with three interceptions and four sacks. The Saints have held opposing passers to less than 50 percent completions in their first four victories.
Ex-Jet LB Jonathan Vilma said Sanchez will overcome whatever shortcomings he has as he sees more NFL defenses and watches more tape.
“We saw that he looked at his receivers and that’s almost natural for a rookie,” Vilma said. “That’s what they’re going to do. Obviously they’ll get better as they keep going.”
Strong safety Roman Harper said veteran FS Darren Sharper, who had two interceptions yesterday, should count his blessings. Sharper has five interceptions in his first four games, including a TD pick against Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford in the opening game.
“I think he’s going to invite the rookie quarterbacks he’s been taking advantage of to the Hall of Fame when he gets there,” Harper said.