A lot of Zoolander references yesterday in the locker room after Mark Sanchez’ GQ pictorial was published. Kerry Rhodes, as the self-designated most handsome Jet, was worried that Sanchez was making a play for his title. Bart Scott suggested a catwalk pose-off between the two on Tuesday, and, when Rhodes didn’t show up yesterday due to a personal reason, a few players speculated he was off getting airbrushed.

Sanchez said he was dubbed David Hasselhoff for the shirtless photos, and probably a few other unprintable names. I asked Kris Jenkins if he was going to follow up with his own magazine cover, and he laughed.

“We leave the magazine shots to Sanchez and Kerry Rhodes and the guys who like to model and do that. I’m a D lineman, we don’t GQ it,” Jenkins said.

Here’s more audio from Jenks that will make you laugh…

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Sanchez did the photo shoot two months ago, before the draft and, as Rex Ryan said yesterday, probably doesn’t seem like such a brilliant idea right now. What a set up. The pics come out the first week he practices with the Jets—and badly at that. He had a target on his back coming in regardless, and he just made the hazing that much worse.

Sanchez has got to get it done on the field so he doesn’t risk becoming the NFL’s own Anna Kournikova.

Photo of Ben Stiller’s Blue Steel in Zoolander

It wasn’t an easy day for Mark Sanchez. Working with the second team, the Jets’ rookie quarterback was picked off by S Eric Smith, got an earful from offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer when he missed an open man in the endzone in a red zone drill and, not surprisingly, heard it from LB Bart Scott.

Sanchez went 1 for 4 in a hurry up drill, and as he sent a bullet long and high over WR Wallace Wright, Scott yelled out, “You’re going to get somebody killed, Sanchez!”

“It was a good day for the defense,” Sanchez said. “They got after us. It was good though. For a rookie playing against this defense, you can’t ask for anything better. They’re tough, they’re fast, they know exactly what they’re doing and they know I’m not quite up to speed yet. It was a tough day, but that’s what these days are all about. Staying after, talking with Kellen (Clemens) through everything. He’s been great. It was one of those days you need and it is the third day I’ve been here, so it was a good, productive day and I learned a lot.

Rex Ryan said he has seen the good the bad and the ugly from the USC quarterback this week. The good was his Tuesday practice, the bad was Monday’s and the ugly was out on the field today for the cameras to capture. When it was pointed out that Tuesday was the day the revealing GQ pictorial came out, Ryan smiled. “If that’s the case we probably need to take more pictures of him.”

On the Schottenheimer dress-down: “I would have said the same thing too if I were Schotty because I passed up a touchdown and, when we’re in the red zone, we need to score and not kick field goals,” Sanchez said. “That was a bad read on my part,  but it is good.  He is coaching me up constantly and he won’t take a down off, so it’s good.”

Kellen Clemens on the other hand, looked competent and steady. Late in the practice he followed Sanchez to the sidelines and gave him a few pointers. Later Clemens said it was a rough day for the offense, and he wanted the QBs as a whole to get back on track.

Danny Woodhead worked with the first team today. The RB was the first option with Leon Washington and Thomas Jones out of the voluntary workouts. Third-round draft pick Shonn Greene had what Ryan characterized as a hamstring injury. Greene was dressed and on the sidelines but didn’t practice.

Kerry Rhodes missed practice due to a personal issue, Ryan said. A couple of people pointed out that he might have taken the day off to work on his portfolio so as not to be upstaged by the rookie. Ryan laughed, “He still thinks he’s the best looking guy on the team.”

Bubba Franks, the tight end recently resigned by the Jets, was not dressed but watched from the sidelines. He said he had his left knee scoped a few weeks ago and wouldn’t be back on the field until training camp starts.

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That’s it for the OTA. Kellen wins this one pretty easily, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. #NFL

Final series red zone Sanchez goes 1 for 4 incl. a sack. #NFL. After INC Scott says, “you’re going to get somebody killed, Sanchez!”

Brad Smith catches a 20-yard TD pass from Clemens in the back left of the end zone.

@scottd1978 I will have to take him out with an elbow!

@Johnny_hall TJ and Leon are not here…

Sanchez misses the first option on a pass and gets a tonguelashing from Schotty. #NFL

Revis does pushups for a second time after missing an INT of Kellen. #NFL

Eric Smith picks off a Sanchez pass in the end zone. 7×7s and second team defense. #NFL #jets ota.

After the snap Sanchez didn’t get the ball off. James Ihedigbo, “you can’t hold the ball in this league!!” #NFL

Kerry Rhodes isn’t out here. Not sure why, but he was here practicing Tuesday and no contract issues. #nfl

Now starting 11s. Clemens short passes to Woodhead,Stuckey. Sanchez finds Jehuu, Raymond. They look even but it’s early. #NFL #jets

QBs working at one end with TEs. Dustin Keller is the only holdover at that position. Bubba isn’t practicing and Baker w/ Pats. #NFL #jets

@brucejernick it was just a drill so one of the coaches.

Practice is officially on. Kellen working with first team, includingDanny Woodhead. Sanchez out too. No sign of Leon or Thomas. #jets #NFL

Imagine, if you will, that a rookie posed in GQ wearing a lot of shirtless outfits. Now imagine his teammates find out. If there were any Jets on Tuesday’s practice who didn’t know about QB Mark Sanchez’ pics, the Jets had the digital images displayed on every flat screen digital monitor in the facility.
Welcome to New York, Mark.

Thomas Jones’ agent Drew Rosenhaus said via his Twitter account that his running back would be back with the Jets for next Wednesday’s OTA. The Jets don’t have practice tomorrow, so he must mean next week if this is correct.

I will add that I’m not sure how much you can rely on Tweets as a source, but I thought I’d put it up because anyone who subscribes to those verified accounts (Alvin Keels, Leon Washington’s agent, also has one) would have already read the same thing. Keels had a meeting with the Jets yesterday, but there has been no word on whether that contract has been reworked to satisfy both parties, but Washington was not at Tuesday’s OTA.

OG Matt Slauson, taken in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft was signed today to a four-year contract and the Jets cut CB Tyron Brackenridge, signed as a free agent on Feb. 19.

Mark Sanchez didn’t throw a pick in today’s practice, but Sanchez, Shonn Greene and the other rookies in Monday’s OTA did look like… Rookies.

Several players, including Jay Feely via his Twitter account, said the defense ruled again and that the rookies looked pretty raw. They haven’t had a lot of time to study the playbook, but for now starting jobs looked safe.

Update: Mark Sanchez (thanks notjustQBs!)  is in GQ and the NFL Network will be carried on Comcast starting August 1. Those things aren’t related, but they’re both topical.

This from Jay Feely: “Should be another fun day for our boy Sanchez today…GQ photo shoot came out and he is taking heat!!!”

Bart Scott said the beauty of the Rex Ryan defense is communication and improvisation. He said that being too formulaic is predictable, and the success at Baltimore was in based in part on allowing players to use their instincts.

“The coach allows you to be a football player,” Scott said. “You got a job, get it done the best way that you can get it done.”

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Last week, Scott and the Jets defense looked terrific last week in Thursday’s OTA. It seems as if the best defensive formations flex out of good chemistry, then this Jets team could become as dreaded as the way opponents looked at Baltimore. In this audio clip, Scott talks X’s and O’s about the way it works.

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If Kellen Clemens had a tough time last week, it’s only going to be harder from here out. QB Matt Sanchez and RB Shonn Greene, who can use the extra reps the Leon/Thomas holdouts provide, will arrive today to compete for spots.

Leon Washington’s agent Alvin Keels had an interesting Twitter post this morning, saying he thought he could get something big done this week. Could that be Washington’s contract? True, today’s OTA No. 4 is voluntary, but the June 9 minicamp is not.

I also want to mention that the couple of players I asked about the possibility of bringing in former Giant Plaxico Burress in at wide receiver expressed enthusiasm at the prospect.

UPDATE: ProFootballTalk reports that Keels is meeting with the Jets today, which means Washington could be back in time for the next media availability this Thursday.

Yesterday Dustin Keller was at his locker talking about playing the Jets defense and was asked about how good they look. He laughed and said it was easy to look good when you had 160 guys and could rotate to stay fresh. A few minutes later it was 500 guys.

And that’s what it looks like when you have a hastily-signed TE with a knew injury sitting out in Bubba Franks and the two top running backs out in Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. Not to mention that the two draft picks QB Mark Sanchez and RB Shonn Green, won’t be in New Jersey until next week.

That’s a lot of reps for the guys who do show up.

As for the signing of Washinton, in the final year of his rookie contract, a few things. One is that two days ago his agent Alvin Keels posted a note on his Twitter account that said discussions with the Jets were moving forward. So why not make Washington happy and get him back ASAP?

It might have something to do with the collective bargaining agreement, which will change next year. Here’s what Keels had to say in a Sirius interview, quotes courtesy of The Jets Blog.

“I can’t say we’re necessarily close but we’re talking,” Keels said. “I think one of the biggest obstacles we have to get through is the landscape of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Players in Leon’s situation, he’s one of 116 players this year that would be free at the end of the season under the normal Collective Bargaining Agreement but being that the rules have changed a little bit this year those guys that would have been free, with contracts expiring, will not be free.

“So it’s almost like, do the Jets reward him as if he’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season or do they treat the contract negotiation like he still has a couple of years left on the deal? So that’s where the hang-up is right now in our talks but between myself and the Jets front office, we all want to get Leon in camp, of course, and he wants to be a Jet for a very long time. So I’m sure we’ll work something out.”

By the way, I did a podcast with Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog, which I’ll link to when he puts it up. Here’s the link to the podcast.

After three days of practice this week where he was the Jets number one running back, Danny Woodhead should be exhausted.

“I don’t have enough time to think about if I’m sore or tired,” Woodhead said.

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Actually, the back who set the NCAA rushing record at Division II Chadron State realizes he needs to take advantage of an opportunity. With Leon Washington and Thomas Jones out hoping to improve their contracts, Woodhead is happy to take the reps.

“He has a talent for running the football,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “There are a couple of things, number one is he is tough. They bounce him around and he pops right back up. He gives as well as he takes. The other thing I noticed is he can really catch the football.

“The other day out here at practice, he actually beat Calvin (Pace) to the boundary and turned it up on him. ‘I was like wow. I never thought I would see that.’ The young man has some ability.”

Jehuu Caulcrick, who generally plays fullback, was taking reps at running back as well.

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Ryan commented on the fact that his two top backs were out.

“Well, I love it when he takes off when he’s got the ball under his arm,” Ryan said. “To me, he is a great player. He’s one of my favorite guys.  I love him.  I love the energy- everything about him. He’s a real positive guy. I love his energy.  I understand this is a long voluntary camp and all that stuff.  Would I like him to be here? Absolutely. No question.  I would love for Leon to be here and Thomas (Jones).  But he choose not to be here and that is unfortunate.”

Fullback Tony Richardson said that it’s too early to panic, this is still the portion of the season that is technically voluntary.

Kellen Clemens, in his last week of solo reps before rookie QB Mark Sanchez arrives for good, was intercepted in 11 on 11s, and the defense definitely got the better of the day. The tenor of the practice was definitely light hearted lots of yelling and jokes, and LB Bart Scott at one point fell to the indoor turf field in a dramatic reenactment of a wide receiver missing the ball. K Jay Feely later said the former Baltimore defenders have turned up the volume, and that if you don’t want to get heckled, you don’t belong on this Jets team.

“They fly around,” Clemens said of the defense. “It’s such a group of top-notch athletes and top-notch talent. The scheme that coach Ryan brought with him from Baltimore. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge every day. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch on Sunday.”

On the other hand, there were a few moments when he made some bad decisions under pressure, throwing into double coverage for picks or near-picks. Clemens will have to protect the ball better when he’s going up against Sanchez.

Erik Ainge threw a few nice balls today, including a good one to Dustin Keller. … Vernon Gholston would have had a sack if the contact had been real on one rep. … Drew Coleman and Donald Strickland had interceptions. … TE Bubba Franks was on site but not in practice. … Bart Scott basically held court in front of his locker for the entire hour of media availability. When the defense proves a point, Scott gets chatty.

The Jets have an OTA open to the media this morning, and I’ll be doing live updates on Twitter (follow me under the name janesports). I’ll be looking to see if any running backs show up, or if Rex Ryan will be throwing in, say Eric Smith and Vernon Gholston to bolster the backs. If not, I’m willing to take a few reps. I mean, Danny Woodhead can’t do everything.