Mark Sanchez is confident that he will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets in the upcoming season amidst speculation that the team will replace him with West Virginia University rookie, Geno Smith.
Despite two lackluster seasons in which the Jets did not make the playoffs and saw Sanchez lose the ball over 50 times, the quarterback responded confidently when he was asked by the New York Daily News if he'd be okay with watching next season from the sidelines.
"I don't plan on that happening" said Sanchez, who has great support as a role model among the Latino community in the U.S. due to his Mexican-American heritage. "I'm planning on playing, I'm planning on starting." Mark added.
Sanchez' role in the Jets' poor performance is a subject of debate among the team's fans. Recently, Joe Namath, the legendary Jets' quarterback went on the NFL Network to voice his support for Sanchez.
"I personally think that Sanchez will give them the best chance because of the four years (of) experience that he's had," Namath said. "The Jets had the last two seasons in which other positions out there that didn't have a passing grade as far as performance goes. So, if this team improves, I think Sanchez will probably win that starting position. But that remains to be seen. He's gotta do it between now and September" he added.
Sanchez was notoriously benched during key moments of last season in favor of both Tim Tebow and Greg McElroy and rumors are strong that he will be pushed to a back up position with the arrival of Smith who had a strong showing as a college quarterback and who Sanchez will look to help assimilate into the team.
"Part of that (helping Geno Smith) comes when you're just confident in yourself. If I was insecure about something or couldn't handle this competition, maybe I wouldn't say much to him. Maybe I'd be a little scared to give him help, but I don't feel like that. I just don't. That's not my personality. I'm confident, I'm ready to go, I can do it, I know I can," added Sanchez in his interview with the Daily News.