One issue that plagued the New York Jets as their 2011 season imploded was team chemistry. But coach Rex Ryantold the New York Post on Friday that oft-criticized wide receiver Santonio Holmes wants to work on that chemistry by spending a weekend away with similarly embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez.
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"It seemed like that was what Santonio was talking about," Ryan told the newspaper. "I don't know if he's reached out to Mark yet and done anything, but that is what I believe to be true."
Shortly after they finished an 8-8 season, anonymous Jets players criticized Sanchez in an article that appeared in the New York Daily News, calling him "lazy and content."
Holmes hasn't escaped criticism, either, being called "a cancer" by an unnamed player and reportedly jawing with Sanchez during a December team meeting. Ryan also has said he shouldn't have made Holmes one of the team's captains.
"The first year, (Holmes and Sanchez) had good chemistry together," Ryan said Friday. "Whatever happened, happened, but we'll learn from it. I'm confident because I think we have to be successful, they have to be successful together. I know one thing, they are both extremely competitive."
Jets owner Woody Johnson has gone on record defending both Sanchez and Holmes, saying the two still can repair their relationship. Johnson recently said that he will meet with Sanchez soon.
Holmes joined the Jets in 2010 after four seasons in Pittsburgh, where he recorded at least 800 receiving yards every year, a feat he has yet to match in New York. This season, he had just 51 catches for 654 yards, though he did score eight times.