Joe believes Jets rookie quarterback "Sanchise" will find a way to pass the time Sunday since he's been benched.

Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman and Jets rookie quarterback “Sanchise” (along with Lions rookie quarterback Matt Stafford) are all joined at the hip.

Given the fact all three were drafted in the same round (first) in the same draft (2009), the three will be forever linked in NFL history and judged against each other.

Though it’s very early in all three careers, one could suggest that Freeman has the early lead as the better of the three.

With a chance to face off against one of his fellow first-round picks Sunday, well, Freeman will have to wait as Jets coach Capt. Lou Albano decided to bench Sanchise to allegedly rest his sore right knee.

Jets beat reporter Mark Cannzzaro of the New York Post claims Sanchise is more than upset at missing a chance to one-up Freeman.

Rex Ryan described Mark Sanchez as “mad as a hornet’’ at him when he informed his rookie quarterback today that he wouldn’t be playing against the Buccaneers on Sunday in order to rest his injured right knee.

“That sounds about right,’’ Sanchez said tersely.

Since Sanchez suffered a slight tear of the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last Thursday, Ryan has been saying he was “optimistic’’ Sanchez would be able to play this week.

Asked today if that was the vibe he was getting from Ryan, Sanchez, who was informed of Ryan’s decision to start Kellen Clemens after today’s practice, said, “Sure … I was planning on playing.’’

“It’s disappointing,’’ Sanchez said. “I’m pretty upset about it. I understand he wants to make the right decision for me, but it’s just a frustrating part of this game. I asked him if I could at least try to practice (Thursday) and he said, ‘No way,’ because he said, ‘I know if you practice (Thursday) you’re going to play, and we don’t want to run any risk of further injury.’”

If there is one thing that bothers Joe about Sanchise getting benched, it is that, like Freeman, he has turned into an interception machine. In Joe’s eyes, that means Kellen Clemens starting is actually bad news for the Bucs.