Jets QB Mark Sanchez: Turnover Issues Are Mental, Not Physical
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mark Sanchez is fighting for his starting-quarterback life right now.
The Jets' starting QB for the past four seasons is competing with Geno Smith to keep his job, but the former first-round pick has remained confident throughout the offseason.
The 26-year-old told the New York Post definitively that this season will not mirror the last two campaigns, in which Sanchez struggled mightily.
"Absolutely," Sanchez told the newspaper when asked if 2013 will be different. "There can't be (the same mistakes). We won't win."
Want to know why the Jets have been largely unsuccessful ever since getting to back-to-back AFC championship games? It's really rather simple. Their signal caller has committed an alarming 52 turnovers -- 26 last year and 26 in 2011 -- over the past two seasons.
Sanchez said that new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg chatted with the QB when he was hired, and stressed that not making turnovers is a conscious decision.
"When I first talked to him, he said it's a mindset," Sanchez told the New York Post. "He just kind of looks right through you and says, 'It's not going to happen anymore. It's done. It's over. You're not turning the ball over. You just don't (do) it anymore.' "
The embattled game manager has adopted that belief, and is now of the opinion that his shortcomings have been directly related to mental issues, as opposed to physical ones.
"I totally believe in the power of your mind," Sanchez told the newspaper. "As long as I'm studying and as long as I understand the plays and the reads like I know I do, then that's just mental makeup. It just shouldn't happen. It's crazy. It's really hard to convey to somebody. I just have to go do it. That's the most important thing. I just have to show it. I just have to prove I can take care of the ball like I know I can and get the ball to the right guy."
Sanchez is pleased with his adjustments he's made thus far in camp, and said he's seen some positive results.
"I know I've turned the ball over much less in this camp than any other camp," Sanchez said. "There's no doubt. Part of it is making the decision not to do it. Make the right decision. When in doubt, make the right decision with the football."
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