Bodog Beat

You've no doubt heard by now that rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, the No. 5 overall pick out of Southern Cal in this year's draft, already has agreed to a deal with the New York Jets.

Big deal, you say?

Well, it probably is to fellow Jets signal-caller Kellen Clemens. That's because new Jets coach Rex Ryan has been saying all offseason that the Jets' QB competition would be "fierce." But that's more like farce now. With Sanchez signed and guaranteed not to miss any of training camp and fall behind, Clemens' chances to win the job just disappeared.

It's clear the Jets wanted Sanchez in the mix at camp, as he is just the second first-rounder to sign (as of this writing), joining No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford of the Lions. Kudos to Sanchez, too, as he told his reps right from the start that he wanted to be signed early to send the "right message." That's leadership, although he did get the richest contract in Jet history ($28 million guaranteed over five years, $50 million possible through incentives).

New York, which is 35/1 odds to win Super Bowl XLIV on Bodog, wrapped up its final full-team offseason workout on Thursday, and Sanchez punctuated it by completing his final five passes in 11-on-11 drills, capped by a TD pass. It was his best day of practice to date according to reports. However, Clemens has spent most of the time with the first team in workouts and has looked better than Sanchez, at least until Thursday.

"We probably won't know (the starter) until … who knows?" said Ryan to reporters. "Whenever it becomes obvious to us, we'll make the decision."

That's coachspeak, and even Ryan has admitted he has a gut feeling of who his No. 1 will be. Let’s see, will it be the marketable rookie with the big upside or the guy entering his fourth season with a career TD/INT ratio of 5:11 and a QB rating of 59.3? Not to mention that Clemens is entering the final year of his contract.

Don't bother waiting around until August to hear Ryan's decision. It already has been made, barring an injury or Sanchez turning into Akili Smith overnight. Since Ryan will get a free pass in his first season in the Big Apple and has nothing to lose and everything to gain, Sanchez will become the third quarterback drafted in the top 10 in the past decade to start on Opening Day.

Football season isn't that far away. Get all your online sportsbetting at Bodog.com.