Despite breaking his clavicle in the San Diego Chargers' preseason opener, Ryan Mathews spent the last month telling us he'd be ready for Week 1.

On Friday, Mathews finally abandoned his optimistic personal timetable.

"I haven't been cleared for contact, and I think we're just going to wait this week," Mathews said, via U-T San Diego. "I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. ... I just have to have the mindset right.

"I probably won't be playing in this game. But the next game, that's what I'm looking for now," he went on. "I don't know about the team, but me personally, now I'm looking for that (Week 2) game against Tennessee."

Mathews participated in individual drills for the first time this week, but the final hurdle will be taking contact on the shoulder area that was injured Aug. 9.

"They just want to be on the cautious side," Mathews said. "It's been a lot of hard work, but you can't do anything about it. You really can't. You've just got to do what you can do, cheer on your teammates as much as you can. Like I said, my goal is to try to be ready by next week."

It's worth noting Mathews remains very much on schedule in his rehab. The Chargers put him on a four-to-six week recovery period after he underwent surgery to repair the clavicle. Mathews had put himself on a three-to-four week timetable, but let's score this one for science.

 
Stay strong everybody. There will be a time when we'll no longer speculate about Tim Tebow's playing time. We're getting close ... but we're not there.

In "Shawshank Redemption" terms, we're roughly halfway through the raw sewage pipe.

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"Mark (Sanchez) is going to be on the field for the lion's share," New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaumtold ESPN Radio on Friday morning. "You guys will see. His playing time will be 80-90 percent over the 16 games. He's clearly our quarterback."

Longtime Jets beat man Rich Cimini did the math off Tannebaum's assessment, calculating that Tebow would get 206 snaps -- or about 13 per game -- if Sanchez plays 80 percent of the time. If Sanchez is on the field for 90 percent, Tebow would get 103 snaps, or 6.5 per game.

Of course, Tannenbaum's prediction ultimately means little. Actual playing time will come down to how effective the Tebowcat (my term, not theirs) is in the season's early weeks. If Tebow gashes theBuffalo Bills for 75 yards and a score this weekend, he's sure to be worked into the gameplan more than originally anticipated.

And if Tebow isn't effective? Well, MetLife Stadium will have a lot of tailgating fans wearing the jersey of the punt protector this season.