FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez was debating his future this time a year ago.
The heralded quarterback had just led
Southern California to a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State, and was
constantly being asked the same question: Are you staying in school or
going to the NFL?
He went with his heart and chose the
pros, and now he's got the New York Jets in the playoffs in his rookie
season with a first-round game at Cincinnati on Saturday.
"I know I made the right decision
leaving school," Sanchez said Tuesday. "I know this is where I'm
supposed to be at this moment."
It's that kind of confidence that has
the Jets feeling good about Sanchez, despite the struggles and
frustrating moments that marked most of his first season.
"Mark has been tremendous," coach Rex Ryan said. "He's probably been better than I thought he would be coming in."
Those are both flattering and
eyebrow-raising words considering Sanchez has 20 interceptions and only
12 touchdown passes, and has — by his own admission — cost the Jets a
few victories.
"It's an ongoing process," Sanchez
said. "I think things are going to get a lot easier. Things will slow
down. But, at this point in time, I kind of found that with the way we
are running the ball, being accurate, being smart has been our ticket
these last couple of games."
Sanchez has been turnover-free in
wins at Indianapolis and against Cincinnati to help New York get to the
postseason, something that seemed improbable just a few weeks ago.
"Making the playoffs, it's like a
new life, a breath of fresh air, really," said Sanchez, adding that he
feels more comfortable lately. "These next few weeks can change your
life. It can change a lot. It's do or die."
From the surface, the odds appear to
be stacked against Sanchez. He has the least experience of any
quarterback in the playoffs, and has the worst overall numbers by far.
Sanchez's 63.0 quarterback rating is more than 20 points less than the
next closest, the Bengals' Carson Palmer (83.6).
None of that matters to Ryan or
Sanchez's teammates. Ryan witnessed Joe Flacco lead Baltimore to the
AFC championship game as a rookie, while Atlanta's Matt Ryan led his
team to the playoffs in his first season. There was also Ben
Roethlisberger, who had very pedestrian numbers five seasons ago when
he led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl title in his second season.
"There's going to come times in the
game when we're going to depend on Mark to make three or four key plays
that are going to determine the outcome," linebacker Bart Scott said.
"What he doesn't need to do is take all the responsibility himself."
Sanchez is also using a wristband with all the plays on it, added last Sunday by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
"It's made things a lot easier,"
Sanchez said. "Now, instead of constantly hearing the plays, I can just
say them myself and just get the number through the headset. So, it was
run plays, pass plays, all of it on the wristband."
It's also a strong indication that Sanchez has a great grasp of the playbook.
"I think because I've learned the plays over the course of the season, it's the right time," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he has been preparing
for moments like this all his life, even back when he was a ball boy for
his brother, Brandon, and Palmer at Santa Margarita High School in
California more than 12 years ago.
"You always have big-time heroes and
stuff growing up," Sanchez said. "There's always like the Michael
Jordans, Wayne Gretzkys, guys like that, but then you have your local
town hero. That was Carson by a long shot. Nobody was even close."
Sanchez tagged around with his brother and mimicked Palmer back then.
"He was always kind of hanging around," Palmer said.
The two became good friends despite
their age gap: Sanchez is 23 and Palmer is 30. Sanchez followed
Palmer's career when he went to USC several years ahead of him. By the
time Sanchez became the Trojans' starting quarterback, Palmer was well
into establishing himself as one of the NFL's best passers with the
Bengals.
Still, Sanchez would call Palmer and
talk about football and life. He picks up the phone even these days and
asks him how he has handled certain situations, from big games to what
kind of gifts to buy for his offensive linemen.
"He kind of wears his heart on his
sleeve," Palmer said. "He's gone through some tough times, but he's a
resilient kid. He's a really good football player and if people don't
think he is yet, they'll see in the future."
Sanchez has the opportunity to prove Palmer right when he squares off against him and the Bengals on Saturday.
"You always have this feeling, and
I'm sure Carson had it, too, just growing up, like this is what is
supposed to happen," Sanchez said. "This is what you want to have
happen and you always kind of knew."