There were no notes, no crib sheets in Mark Sanchez's hands as he strode to the podium Wednesday.
That's just as well, considering the test he really needs to ace will be administered Sunday in Foxboro, Mass.
Three days after his odd post-game news conference Sunday, when he gave a rambling opening statement in which he referred to notes he had scribbled moments earlier, Sanchez met again with reporters.
"I just changed things up a little bit," Sanchez said when asked to explain his previous public appearance. "I thought I had everything figured out, of course, as a 23-year-old rookie would, but (it was) probably not the best way to go about it. It didn't go over very well so, trial and error and hopefully a one-time mistake.
"I answer the questions and you guys ask the questions," he added. "That's the rule. I'm not here to do your job just like you're not here to do mine. That wasn't the most respectful thing to you guys and ladies."
While it was bizarre, Sanchez at least didn't leave without taking questions, so it wasn't really a major faux pas.
Certainly Sanchez did the right thing Wednesday by showing plenty of respect for New England coach Bill Belichick, whose defense Sanchez will be trying to decipher.
In the first meeting this season, a 16-9 Jets' victory on Sept. 20, Sanchez was 14-for-22 for 163 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. But he faced a fairly vanilla defense by New England standards, as the Patriots mostly played coverage and rarely blitzed. Call it Belichick 101, but it probably won't resemble the advanced version Sanchez likely will see this time.
"I definitely respect Coach Belichick and what he did the first game," Sanchez said, adding that New England's game plan Sunday "could be something similar with a couple of tweaks here and there. It might be a whole new approach. ... They obviously have the coaching to change things up and be sharp, so we need to expect another great effort as always from a Bill Belichick defense and anticipate as much as we can. We'll probably have to adjust on the fly."
Sanchez's passer rating is 66.5, and he has nine touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He believes he must be consistent during games to improve those numbers.
"I felt like these last three or four games I am really starting to get in the groove at some point in the game," he said. "I'd like to do it a little bit earlier and not start quite as slow. Even if it is a slow start, the most important thing is not to make those mistakes early. You can have a slow start, go three-and-out a couple of times and punt or get a field goal or something, but when you throw the first play of the game to the other team, they go down and score in five plays it might as well have been a pick six. You can't afford to do that. I did feel in the last couple of games I've really gotten into the groove towards the end of the game when it really counted."
But can he ever get into a groove in such a hostile environment as New England? He and the Jets will find out Sunday.
SERIES HISTORY: 99th regular-season meeting. Jets lead series 50-47-1. New England has won 13 of the last 17 meetings, counting a wild-card playoff victory in the 2006 postseason. However, the Jets have won the last two games, including a 16-9 win at Giants Stadium on Sept. 20 in which they kept Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense out of the end zone. The Jets also have won two of the last three regular-season games at Gillette Stadium. Brett Favre threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets' 34-31 overtime win at New England on Nov. 13.
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