New York
Jets

But in Sanchez's final drive of the spring mandatory minicamp, as if on cue, he directed the offense on a masterful drive that he climaxed with a touchdown pass to Wallace Wright. It looked as if he were playing Washington State again.

Veteran Kellen Clemens led the quarterback competition throughout the spring, but Sanchez certainly was gaining on him. And if Sanchez shows during preseason games that he can handle NFL blitzes, there's a very good chance that he will be the starter when the Jets open in Houston on Sept. 13.

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: LB Vernon Gholston impressed Ryan with his athleticism and work ethic, as he was able to immerse himself in the new defense, on the field and in the film room. Gholston lost valuable spring practice time last year because Ohio State's academic calendar didn't end until June, meaning he couldn't join the team full-time until then. Ryan hopes he can unlock Gholston's enormous potential after a sackless rookie season.

LINEUP WATCH: WRs Brad Smith, Chansi Stuckey, Wright and David Clowney all are vying to replace Laveranues Coles, departed to Cincinnati as a free agent, but there was no clear leader as the spring ended. The versatility of college quarterback Smith makes him a natural for offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's gadget plays, while Stuckey is a terrific target as a slot receiver. Clowney has speed but had problems hanging on to passes during the spring, while Wright came on strong during mandatory minicamp.

ROOKIE IMPRESSIONS: RB Shonn Greene impressed Ryan with his ability to run over and bounce off would-be tacklers, but the third-round pick needs to work on his ability to catch the football. Ryan envisions the 230-pound Greene as someone who can wear down tired defenses in the fourth quarter and help preserve a lead.

INJURY WATCH: LB David Harris came back quickly from a broken ankle suffered in the 2008 season finale, but sat out mandatory minicamp because of a freak injury suffered when he was standing on the sidelines during an OTA and Jim Leonhard ran into him, and Leonhard's helmet cut Harris' lip and loosened some teeth. He is expected to be ready for training camp, but the Jets obviously hope his injury luck gets better.

CONTRACT TO WATCH: RBs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington both are unhappy with their current contracts. Jones is entering the third season of a four-year, $20 million deal but will make only $900,000 this year after earning $13.1 million over the first two years of the contract. Washington is making $535,000 entering the final season of a four-year deal, and obviously has out-performed his contract. Washington has indicated he could hold out if progress toward an extension isn't made by the start of training camp.

Coach Rex Ryan wasn't made available for comment. The Jets' organization released a statement that said, "We respect the League's decision and look forward to Calvin's return for our Monday Night game at Miami."

Pace's presence certainly will be missed. He was a fast starter last season, recording 2.5 of his seven sacks in the first four games. Without him in the lineup, this will be a chance for second-year player Vernon Gholston, who has been earning raves from Ryan all spring, to start realizing some of his immense potential. Gholston is coming off a disappointing first season in which the sixth overall pick went sackless. Another possibility to fill Pace's shoes is third-year pro Marques Murrell, who played mostly on special teams last season but was impressive in the spring at linebacker.

The Jets had two players suspended for four games by the league last season for using performance-enhancing substances: backup RB Jesse Chatman and reserve QB Erik Ainge.

--The Jets will have their first training-camp practice in Cortland, N.Y. on July 31. Veterans will report the day before, with rookies checking in on July 27. Camp will break on Aug. 20. Under paranoid former coach Eric Mangini, the Jets never announced in advance when camp would break. Such subterfuge only helped the Jets reach the playoffs once in Mangini's three-year tenure.

--Coach Rex Ryan made sure to give massive NT Kris Jenkins some rest during spring practices. Jenkins was less effective down the stretch in 2008 because of nagging injuries.

Ryan noted that "Bill Walsh used to say, 'You've got to be able to rush the passer in the fourth quarter to win games.' If that means resting some of the guys, taking reps from Kris during games, then absolutely. We don't put them out there every snap. When I was a young coach, I really never knew that. I had a great player in Eric Swann in Arizona. I played him all but two plays the whole season. I don't know what I was thinking. ... There's no reason that (Jenkins) has to play every snap here."

--In a minicamp that was open to the public, Ryan used the Wildcat formation, with both RB Leon Washington and WR Brad Smith taking direct snaps.

"If you have those kind of athletes," Ryan said, "you have a Leon Washington, you have Brad Smith, I think that's going to be a great thing. ... It's a great opportunity for the defense to get a look at that stuff and it's a great changeup for our offense. I know we've had that with (offensive coordinator) Brian (Schottenheimer) here before. He's done things like that in the past. It is good. It's a body blow."

He also likes the fact that other teams must prepare for it.

"Sometimes you can pull some preparation time from the other things that you run if you're focused on all that," Ryan added. "We can do it one play or we can do it 60 plays and I think sometimes, as a (defensive) coordinator, you need to make sure that everything is covered."

--Ryan defended moving training camp up to Cortland, N.Y., far away from most of the Jets' fan base.

"I can certainly understand where they would be disappointed," Ryan said. "I'm just trying to look out for what is in the best interest of our football team. The vision I had for our team was that we would go up and get away. Get away from all the comforts. The comforts of where your family is. The comforts of this building, which is incredible, and go out where all we have is each other.

"It's just the football team. All the other distractions, everything else, you're not dealing with. We're focusing on getting this team ready to roll and then by the time we get through training camp, we're putting ourself in a situation where we really have a football team. We've got guys who know each other, care about each other, and that's what we're trying to build."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "They're certainly not going to play an East Carolina when they face us either. That's how I feel about it." -- Coach Rex Ryan, when asked facetiously if there are any East Carolinas in the NFL. His father Buddy, while coaching Philadelphia chided new Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson by saying the former University of Miami coach wouldn't be playing any "East Carolinas or Cincinnatis" in the NFL.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (not tendered)

--RB Jesse Chatman (not tendered as UFA June 1).

--CB Ty Law (not tendered as UFA June 1).

--S J.R. Reed (not tendered as UFA June 1).

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: None.

DRAFT CHOICES SIGNED

--QB Mark Sanchez (1/5): $45M/5 yrs, $28M guaranteed.

--RB Shonn Greene (3/65): $2.655M/4 yrs, $905,000 SB; 2009 cap: $536,250.

--OG Matt Slauson (6/193): Terms unknown.

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED

--CB Ahmad Carroll: UFA; terms unknown.

--WR David Clowney: ERFA; terms unknown.

--K Jay Feely: UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.

--P Reggie Hodges: FA Jets; terms unknown.

--TE Bubba Franks: UFA; terms unknown.

--OG Brandon Moore (had been released by Jets): $16M/4 yrs, $10M SB.

--LB Marques Murrell: Potential ERFA; terms unknown.

--FB Tony Richardson: UFA; 1 yrs, terms unknown.

--WR Wallace Wright: Potential ERFA; terms unknown.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

--DE Marques Douglas: FA Ravens; terms unknown.

--DT Howard Green: UFA Seahawks; $625,000/1 yr, guarantees unknown.

--LB Larry Izzo: UFA Patriots; terms unknown.

--SS Jim Leonhard: UFA Ravens; $5.9M/3 yrs, guarantees unknown.

--LB Bart Scott: UFA Ravens; $48M/6 yrs, $22M guaranteed.

--CB Lito Sheppard (trade Eagles).

--CB Donald Strickland: UFA 49ers; 3 yrs, terms unknown.

PLAYERS LOST

--TE Chris Baker (released).

--CB David Barrett (released).

--LB Eric Barton: UFA Browns; $11.15M/4 yrs, guarantees unknown.

--LB David Bowens (released/failed physical).

--DE Kenyon Coleman (traded Browns).

--WR Laveranues Coles: UFA Bengals; $28M/4 yrs, $3MSB/$4.75M RB.

--S Abram Elam (traded Browns).

--QB Brett Favre (retired).

--RB Noah Herron (released).

--LB Brad Kassel (released/failed physical).

--DT C.J. Mosley: UFA Browns; $5M/2 yrs, guarantees unknown.

--K Mike Nugent: UFA Buccaneers; 1 yr, terms unknown.

--CB Hank Poteat: UFA Browns; $745,000/1 yr.

--QB Brett Ratliff (traded Browns).

--LB Cody Spencer: UFA Lions; 1 yr, terms unknown.