Thursday was media day at MetLife Stadium for the New York Jets, as quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow chatted in front of massive crowds inside the locker room as the team is getting ready for the 2012 season.
On what it was like to have the team back together Sanchez had this to say:
“It’s been great. It’s just good to see everybody again. I think there’s a good vibe going around the building. It’s positive and we’re happy to be back. Coach Sparano’s been working us hard on offense and Bill Hughan has been great with the strength program and conditioning. Guys showed up in shape and ready to start another year, so that’s positive”
There has been a ton of buzz around the status of Sanchez as the starting quarterback for New York, and the role of Tebow with the team.
Sanchez had this to say about his concern with the Jets bringing in Tebow to the team:
“I hope every back-up quarterback wants the job as the starter. That’s the way you have to prepare. I’ve been in those shoes in college, anticipating the game, studying like I’m the starter and then getting to the game and not playing, so fortunately for Tim he has the ability to do other things and that’s why he’s on board. So he’s a back-up quarterback first and then he’ll do plenty of other stuff.”
On their relationship thus far Sanchez had this to say:
“It’s been great, so far. Tim is obviously a hard worker and he’s competitive. I thinks it’s been nothing but positive, to this point, and that’s what I anticipate in the future. It’s been fun.”
Tebow had this to say on his relationship with Sanchez:
“It’s been great. We’ve had a great relationship ever since he hosted me at USC and we had a lot of fun together and a great experience. We got a lot of stuff to talk about, and always going back and forth, we have a very fun quarterback room, we have a good time.”
No one quite knows where Tebow will be used on the offense as of yet, and the quarterback has opened up about a ton of different options in how he can help the team.
“You know what, we are all just learning the same offense right now,” Tebow said. ”We’re all just going out there and competing and trying to learn together and help one another and coach one another and just try to get everything down because it’s a new offense for all of us.”
Tebow had this to say about the possibility of playing on the special teams, “I’m just doing whatever they want me to do. I’m just going out there and working hard right now and trying to get better in the weight room and on the practice field and just compete a little bit every day.”
The Jets had an 8-8 season in 2011, losing their final three games and having a season full of promise end in disappointment. There was tension between Sanchez and Santonio Holmes as the team marched off the field, and the chemistry of the team is going to be one of the things for fans of Gang Green to watch for in the upcoming season.
Sanchez had this to say about the support for him in the locker room, “I’m not really going to get into hypotheticals about but I feel good about my position here as the starting quarterback and I’ll just keep going with that.” On the team chemistry the starter had this to say, “It’s something that we dealt with last year and we moved on. I don’t think anyone really wants to go there anymore. “
It was reported that Sanchez and Holmes had a chat in the offseason, and the quarterback had this to say on the interaction, “Absolutely. One, it was good to just kind of talk away from the building, away from football, and talk about the things that didn’t go so well last year and how we can move on and get better and as soon as we came back that we’d never talk about it again and let’s just move forward. And that’s exactly what he’s done and that’s what I expect him to do. He expected the same from me. It was important that we had that time and now we’re back and you would never know it happened. “
On if the disagreement between the duo were overblown, Mark had this to say:
“I mean, ridiculously. (It was) out of control. That was way overblown. But it was good. It gave us something to laugh about and move on. We’re good.”
Meanwhile for Tebow, who has been the picture of poise and clam since his arrival in the Big Apple is getting ready to play in a market those breaths and sleeps sports.
Tim had this to say on playing in front of Jets fans:
“I think it will be great. I’m excited about it. You know, I can’t wait to get to the stadium, actually. That will be a lot of fun – looking forward to the season getting here and really putting on the pads and really going out there and playing. This will suffice for now.”
On how he likes the area and if it is different from where he grew up:
“The New Jersey part is not too different. I grew up on a farm and they said, ‘Ohh, you’re flying into New York City and you’re born in a rural area,’ it’s actually very nice and it’s very different in the city. This is more similar to what I grew up in, but it is fun to be able to go in the city, only 40 minutes away and being able to have a lot of great options to do a lot of fun things is cool, as well. I think it’s a pretty cool dynamic.”
On if dealing with the media is exhausting:
“Not really. It’s kind of the first time I’ve had to talk to y’all. It’s not really exhausting at all. I think it’s more if you let it become exhausting and worry about it. I really don’t. I just have fun and live my life and thankfully I don’t have to worry about too much. And I don’t have to live the rollercoaster that the media and most of the world make of my life so that makes it fun as well.”