Mark Sanchez's Shot at Critics Shows NY Jets Are Still Mired in Dysfunction

There is not a more dysfunctional locker room in the NFL than that of the New York Jets.

Teams in every sport have a clubhouse code along the lines of, "do not talk to the media about internal problems."

The New York Jets seem to break that rule more than any team in recent memory.

Problems arose during the season, when an anonymous player told Brian Costello of the New York Post that wide receiver Santonio Holmes was "a cancer," and that "he quit a long time ago."

Not too much time went by before backup quarterback Greg McElroy told 97.3 The Zone that he has never "been around extremely selfish individuals," and the players "didn't care whether we won or lost."

The comments continued, although through anonymous sources, and specifically geared towards starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Despite the front office showing faith in the young player by giving him a three-year extension, teammates still question his ability to lead.

These anonymous players called him a baby that was not cut out to win in New York. Others requested that the Jets bring in another quarterback to make him work.

Yesterday, the quarterback finally responded in a radio interview, saying:

"

“It is a gutless thing to do,” Sanchez told ESPN 1050 on Thursday. “You don’t put your name on what you’re saying, then you don’t speak for yourself. You don’t speak for the team. That’s how I always felt about that. If I ever had an opinion on a player – or something that I wanted to talk to them about -- I would just tell them… I don’t think (being anonymous) is the professional way to do it.”

"

His points are right, but this is just another example of a player talking about problems to the media instead of the team. 

The problem lies with head coach Rex Ryan. He has been known as a "player's coach," but he needs to have the guts to hold a team meeting to call out his players.

Teams cannot win on the field if players do not believe in each other off of it. When these men go to the media to air out their issues, especially anonymously, it shows there is no trust in the locker room.

Winning obviously makes all of the problems go away, but New York better be prepared for a lot of losses unless some major changes are made.