Jets' Sanchez slated for preseason start

Welcome to the NFL, Mark Sanchez. Now, let's see what you can do against one of the league's toughest defenses.

The New York Jets rookie quarterback will get his first career start against Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens - coach Rex Ryan's former team - in a preseason Monday Night Football game Aug. 24.

"I have my work cut out for me," Sanchez said Sunday with a laugh. "That's why it wouldn't be right of me or anyone else to make this a make-or-break game."

After all, it's still just the preseason and the Jets' quarterback competition between Sanchez and Kellen Clemens is far from being decided.

Or is it?

Ryan previously determined that Clemens would start the preseason opener against St. Louis on Friday and the quarterbacks would flip-flop against Baltimore. But after Sanchez, the fifth overall draft pick, sparkled in his debut against St. Louis on Friday, Ryan spoke glowingly of the rookie and did so again Sunday.

"I think he earned the reps with the 1s and all that," Ryan said. "It might have been done on paper that way in pencil, but he had to earn it. The guy had to earn his reps, and I think he's done that. Without question, he's done that."

Marshall, Dawkins join Broncos: Wide receiver Brandon Marshall and free safety Brian Dawkins returned to practice on Sunday for the Denver Broncos.

Marshall had missed over a week of workouts with a leg injury. On Friday, a jury in Atlanta had found him not guilty of misdemeanor battery against his former girlfriend.

"For almost a year and a half now I've been swearing to my teammates and the community that I'm not that guy that they were portraying me to be," Marshall said about the trial and the case made against him. "Finally, to stand in front of a jury where they finally see both sides and for it to be a fair stage, the truth finally came out."

"There are going to be those who still believe otherwise, but the truth came out on Friday," Marshall said.

Dawkins had his right hand heavily wrapped and was wearing an orange protective jersey. Dawkins had been out since Aug. 3 with a broken right hand.

Running back Knowshon Moreno was not on the field. He came out early in the second quarter of Friday's game with San Francisco with a sprained left knee.

Grossman nurses hamstring: Houston's Rex Grossman is expected to miss about a month with a hamstring injury and the Texans are looking to sign another quarterback to fill in until he's healthy. Grossman, Houston's third quarterback and a former starter for the Bears, was injured in Saturday's win over the Chiefs and coach Gary Kubiak says he doesn't feel comfortable finishing the preseason with only Matt Schaub and backup Dan Orlovsky.

Packers like their 3-4: Packers coach Mike McCarthy is already pleased with his decision to switch to a 3-4 defense, after only one preseason game.

New defensive coordinator Dom Capers showed off the scheme against the Cleveland Browns in the opener and it paid dividends with a shutout victory.

The Packers enjoyed Sunday off after forcing 4 interceptions, racking up 3 sacks and holding the Browns to 191 yards in a 17-0 victory on Saturday night.

Two weeks after last season's disappointing 6-10 finish, the Packers fired five defensive coaches, including former coordinator Bob Sanders, and their strength coach. They brought in Capers and a new staff.

Right from the start, Browns quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson couldn't do much against a blitzing linebacking corps that includes A.J. Hawk, Brady Poppinga, Brandon Chillar and Aaron Kampman.

"We threw a decent amount of stuff at them," Hawk said. "We blitzed a little bit and got pressure and sacks on the quarterbacks. We have a lot of different things we can do in this defense."

Kicker tests positive: New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley says he expects to serve a four-game suspension when the regular season begins because he tested positive for a stimulant.

Hartley says he obtained the Adderall prescription pills from a former college friend and used it to help him stay awake while driving from Dallas to New Orleans for an offseason workout.

Hartley says he was unaware that the stimulant was on the NFL's list of banned substances.

Hartley will be able to work out and play during the preseason, but the Saints also have added veteran 45-year-old kicker John Carney to the roster.

Vick contrite on TV: Michael Vick says he cried in prison because of the guilt he felt about being involved in dogfighting, and was disgusted with himself for allowing it to happen.

In an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, Vick said the day he walked into prison he realized "the magnitude of the decisions that I made.

"And, you know, it's no way of, you know, explaining, you know, the hurt and the guilt that I felt. And that was the reason I cried so many nights. And that put it all into perspective," he said.

A three-time Pro Bowl pick during six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick served 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring and was reinstated last month by the NFL after being out of action since 2006.

He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

Vick said he initially lied about being involved in dogfighting because he realized his career was in jeopardy.

"I felt the guilt and I knew I was guilty, and I knew what I had done," he said. "And, not knowing at the time that, you know, actually telling the truth may have been better than, you know, not being honest. And it backfired on me tremendously."