DETROIT — Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery spent the week with a look of angst and anticipation on his face.
Cotchery, who’s not just the most dependable receiver on the Jets, he’s perhaps the most dependable player on the roster, has been stewing over his uncharacteristic multidrop performance in the Jets’ 9-0Â loss to the Packers last Sunday.
That left him desperate to get back onto the field and erase the taste of that game.
“I wish I could have played a game the very next day,” Cotchery said.
He called the Packers game, in which he had at least two critical drops in the fourth quarter, perhaps his worst game as a pro.
“It was nothing I’m used to,” he said. “But everything isn’t ‘Pleasantville.’ You can’t expect everything to go right. Unfortunately, you have some of those games and the worst thing is sitting on it all week.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who calls Cotchery one of the favorite players he has coached, said he felt Cotchery’s pain from the game.
“It breaks your heart because you know how much he cares about how hard he works,” Schottenheimer said. “If I had to throw a ball to anybody with the game on the line, I wouldn’t bat an eye and would throw it to him.”
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Mark Sanchez
, like Cotchery, enters today’s game looking to rebound.
After his scorching start (eight touchdowns and no interceptions in the first four games) Sanchez has slumped the last three games, throwing four INTs and just one TD.
Sanchez’s biggest focus going forward is a higher completion percentage. In his first four games, Sanchez completed 59 percent of his passes and had a 105.3 passer rating. In his last three games, he has completed just 48 percent and has a 54.4 rating.
“I expect Mark to bounce back,” Schottenheimer said. “He plays really well when he’s being questioned and his back is to the wall.”
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There’s only one player ranked higher than WR Brad Smith
(31.4 -yard average) in kickoff returns in the NFL and that’s former RB Leon Washington
(33.7), and that’s OK with special teams coach Mike Westhoff
.
Washington, who missed the last 10 games of last season with a broken leg, was traded the Seattle last spring — an unpopular move considering his status in the Jets locker room.
“He’s done just great,” Westhoff said. “He’s a great kid — one of my favorite guys of all times. If I had to pick someone in the NFL ahead of Brad, it would be OK if it’s [Washington].”
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Westhoff said the wind had little to do with kicker Nick Folk
missing a 37-yard field goal last week.
“Nick has had an incredible year,” Westhoff said. “That one he just missed. I think he would have missed it in the Sistine Chapel.”