MIAMI — Mark Sanchez had to make sure he didn’t continuously mutter some choice words while popping himself on the back of the head, not exactly the easiest thing to do for a proud rookie who hadn’t struggled that much in years.

The Jets’ franchise quarterback is coming off easily his worst outing this season, a turnover-filled loss to the undefeated Saints that had Sanchez taking full blame and salivating for his next chance. He was forced to toe that fine line between using his three-interception, one-fumble flop as fuel to make sure it didn’t happen again, yet also needed to make sure he didn’t dwell on it too much.
“The most important thing was to get away from the emotional side,” Sanchez said. “Don’t get upset, frustrated, or mad at yourself. You have to move on. One, for yourself, and for the rest of the guys in the locker room. Everybody is looking right here.
“The first thing that I like to do is watch the tape, and that is what I did on the plane, trying to get an idea and then wake up early the next morning and go through my same routine. Don’t change anything, don’t cut any corners, don’t beat myself up too much. Just keep playing.
“I’ve shown that I can help this team win the last three weeks and that is what I need to do (Monday night).”
Sanchez’s growth and ability to bounce back will be put under a serious microscope Monday night, when the Jets take on the rival Dolphins on “Monday Night Football.” It’s the $50-million man’s first appearance on the program since Aug. 24, when he threw a pick-six on his first pass against the Ravens.
So just in case Sanchez had a brief case of amnesia, all the Jets’ staff has to do is pop in video of Baltimore tackle Haloti Ngata intercepting him and rumbling 25 yards into the end zone 52 seconds in to deliver the quick refresher: Take care of the ball, kid.
“Obviously, we’ll want to protect the football,” Rex Ryan said. “I mean, protect the football. Protect the football. Protect the football. Protect the football. No question we want to do that, give ourselves a chance to win. He’ll play better if he’s having fun and he’s staying loose. He’ll play better, and that’s what we want him to do.”
Having a big, new target to throw to shouldn’t hurt. Braylon Edwards, acquired Wednesday in a trade with the Browns, will make his Jets debut Monday night. The 6-3, 215-pound wide receiver hasn’t lived up to his billing as the No. 3 overall pick in 2005, with 2007 his only stellar year in four-plus seasons in Cleveland.
But Edwards, who has 139 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches this season, adds a dimension, and he thinks there’s an easy way for him to enhance the fortunes of the young quarterback.
“Make catches,” Edwards said. “He doesn’t always have to make the perfect throw. I think now he can look at one side, two sides, three sides. He can throw the ball to Dustin (Keller), he can run the ball. I think it helps him because it can allow more people to be open. That is the biggest thing.”