FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Coach Rex Ryan has a message for New York Jets fans who want to get a look at Mark Sanchez in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Eagles:
Finish your tailg

ating early.
“Fans want to see him play,” Ryan said. “Well, they’ll see him play one series. So get there early, fans.”
Despite his rookie quarterback’s wishes — “I’d love to play as much as possible,” Sanchez said after practice Tuesday — Ryan is planning to stick with tradition and limit most of his starters to one series.
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nts to get more work in, Ryan isn’t going to let that happen.
“The challenge is going to be the focus,” Ryan said. “You know you’re only going to play the one (series). It’s kind of, ’Why are we doing it?’ Well, hey, do your business. Do your job and let’s go out and put a good showing in there.”
Sanchez would like to have the chance to make more of a showing. Asked if he has lobbied for more time, he said, “I think they know how I feel.”
But don’t worry, Jets fans. Sanchez didn’t pull an Osi and walk out of camp. He knows learning patience is part of a rookie quarterback’s job, too.
“I know this is basically the game where they let the starters just relax a little bit and get a chance to look at everybody else and see who’s going to make the final roster,” he said. “I obviously need the work, so that’s the way I feel about it. These are important reps for me and it’s a very important series. I’m absolutely looking forward to it.”
He’ll have to make the most of it. Sanchez has started a pair of preseason games, one before he was anointed the No. 1 and one after. He was much smoother in the second one, Saturday’s 27-25 win over the Giants, when he went 13-for-20 for 149 yards and one TD. Still, he noticed things in the video that he could have done better.
“I’m my own worst critic,” he said. “I’m not afraid to say when I messed up. The very first play, I just went through my read too fast. My third read, way too fast, and he was covered. So that was just terrible by me. You can’t do that.”
The argument could be made that Sanchez needs to play tomorrow, risks be damned, so he can get more experience against an NFL defense. Ryan isn’t hearing that argument, even if Sanchez was holding out a tiny sliver of hope he’d get more than one series.
“They haven’t said anything specific to me yet,” he said. “I’m just hearing from other guys that, ’You might not even play.’ That’s one scenario. Another scenario is a couple series. I’d love to get in the whole time, but Houston’s right around the corner, so I want to be smart about it, as well.”