Jets LB Harris may be unavailable against Bengals

Because of the sprained right ankle that kept him out of practice for two consecutive days, the New York Jets linebacker David Harris may not be going to put on his Jets jersey for this Saturday’s first-round playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Harris was injured in the Jets’ 37-0 blowout win over the Bengals last Sunday because of what he thought was an illegal chop block. He had to skip two days of practice before returning Thursday but still felt “kind of stiff” with the ankle after practice.

Although Harris himself said that he hopes to play Saturday, Jets Coach Rex Ryan said earlier this week that the team will give Harris as much time as he needs to recover fully from the injury. So it is likely that the leading tackler on the league’s top-ranked defense will miss Saturday’s game, perhaps along with cornerback Donald Strickland, who had a quadriceps injury that sidelined him last week.

Jets QB Sanchez not happy with being ruled out

The New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is feeling frustrated as Coach Rex Ryan decided Wednesday that the team will have Kellen Clemens start at quarterback for this Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ryan did this for Sanchez’s good. He made the decision after consulting with the team doctors about Sanchez’s sprained right knee. However, Sanchez himself does not want rest at all. All he wants is to play in his No. 6 Jets jersey.

“He wants to play in the worst way and he’s going to play,” Ryan said. “It’s just not going to be this week. I have a lot of confidence in Kellen Clemens and I think that instead of delaying this decision, I’m just going to make it now.”

Having started every game this season since beating out Clemens for the job, Sanchez sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in the knee during the third quarter of the Jets’ 19-13 win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, and two days after the Jets brought in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to help Sanchez learn how to slide. Surely Sanchez did not learn well as he was injured by diving headfirst.

Jets DE Ellis suspended for one NFL game

In New York Jets' 2009 season-opener against the Houston Texans,defensive end Shaun Ellis and linebacker Calvin Pace will not be available for playing-both were suspended by the NFL.


Ellis was suspended for one game and fined $100,000 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The punishment rooted from arrest of Ellis in November for possession of marijuana, speeding, driving without insurance, failure to keep right and failure to produce a valid registration card after he was pulled over by police in Hanover, N.J.

Linebacker Pace was suspended for four games without pay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Ellis was a defensive captain last season and the team’s longest-tenured player. His being suspended made it difficult for coach Rex Ryan to select another defensive starter. At the moment the choice is between Mike DeVito and Ropati Pitoitua.