Mark Sanchez Injured: Jets' Rex Ryan Commits Maybe Biggest Blunder of Career

In the annals of New York Jets misery, there are many chapters. The Dan Marino fake spike. The losing. The losing. And did I mention the losing? Plus, more recently, there was the butt fumble. Now, there is a new chapter: Rex Ryan's sheer, unadulterated, blazing, magnanimous, dumbfounding, putrid, sheer moment of lunacy.

Mark Sanchez came into a meaningless game with 11 minutes to go.

Geno Sanchez—sorry, Geno Smith—had tossed three interceptions and inexplicably stepped out of the end zone for a safety. Clearly, Sanchez had won the job. It was his. Geno Sanchez—sorry, Geno Smith—had pooped the bed. He was done as a potential starter.

What does Ryan do? He plays Sanchez against third-stringers when he doesn't have to. He shouldn't have.

Sanchez, in typical Jets fashion, got obliterated, and he had to leave the game with an injured shoulder.

It doesn't matter if Sanchez recovers or isn't seriously injured (he was getting his shoulder examined after the game). The decision itself is almost a firing offense. Smith clearly demonstrated he isn't ready for the NFL. He's a rookie; that's expected.

So Ryan sent his starting quarterback into a game that means nothing, knowing that Geno Sanchez can't play a lick and that Greg McElroy is the only other option if Sanchez misses time. 

"We're here to compete," Ryan said after the game in a televised news conference.

Compete how? What was Sanchez going to prove? Sanchez actually looked shocked he was going into the game. He wasn't the only one.

Ryan got heated with reporters and went straight into smart-ass mode. As usual, he was entertaining. As usual, he left you shaking your head in puzzlement. Ryan never gave an answer that made sense.

So here we are laughing at the Jets again. I hate to do it. There are some good people in that organization. Some smart people.

Just not on Saturday night. Just not Ryan. And here we go again with the Jets.