Glauber: Sanchez to make point of being leader like Magic

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

From the outside looking in, Mark Sanchez appears to have more pressure than any other player on the Jets. More than Darrelle Revis, or Shonn Greene, or Kris Jenkins, or anyone. That's the way it always is with the quarterback, no matter the team, no matter the season. But Sanchez doesn't quite see it in such stark terms. As the Jets' quarterback prepares for Monday night's game against the Ravens to start this, the season of expectation in New York, the pressure really doesn't amount to all that much.

"It's about reminding yourself you have guys like Braylon [Edwards] and Jerricho [Cotchery] and Dustin [Keller]," he said, referring to his primary receiving targets. "The offensive line will keep your jersey clean, the running backs will take pressure off you. So when you think of it that way, it doesn't put too much pressure on yourself."

The key: "Don't try and do too much," Sanchez said. "Just be ready to be the point guard. Get the ball out of your hands and take care of it."

Sanchez will get an idea against a very good Ravens defense whether the improvement he believes he has made since the start of his rookie season will translate on the field. He hopes it will be a far cry from the last time he faced the Ravens. Remember that one? In last year's preseason game against Baltimore, he faded back on his first pass attempt and was rushed by future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis. Sanchez rushed his pass, and it went straight to defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who ran 25 yards for a touchdown.

"It wasn't my best performance," Sanchez recalled. "Hopefully, I won't be completing any passes to Haloti this year."

And that's where the point guard thing comes in. Just put the ball into the hands of your playmakers and let them do the rest. Just be like Magic Johnson, Sanchez's choice for his No. 1 all-time point guard.

"He had all the talent around him, too," Sanchez said. "He could make plays when he needed to. I hopefully envision myself as a scoring point guard a little bit. Maybe not like a Steve Nash who goes for 30, but get my solid 10-12 points. That'd be nice."

And like any good point guard, Sanchez knows that leadership goes hand in hand with playmaking ability. He believes he's ready to take the next step in that department; in fact, he thinks he already has.

"I know for a fact that I can," he said.

Sanchez has a clear command inside the locker room, and he has the kind of presence that the players around him respond to. Everyone sees it, from LaDainian Tomlinson, to D'Brickashaw Ferguson to Cotchery. And, especially, to coach Rex Ryan.

"Nobody has put in more work than Mark has, and I think his teammates appreciate that type of work ethic," Ryan said. "They know he's put in more time than anybody else. It's hard not to respect that."

Now it's a matter of putting the leadership and improvement to the test when it counts most. That starts at 7 p.m. Monday night at New Meadowlands Stadium against a team that might be good enough to win the Super Bowl.

"He just needs to go out and play the position and have fun, lean on the guys around him and build each other up," Ryan said. "Just because he plays the position of quarterback, a lot more is expected from him from a leadership standpoint. Everyone respects the competitor he is, I can tell you that."

Now it's time to see what kind of quarterback he is. Sanchez believes you'll see a far better quarterback. "I'm thrilled about the growth I've had," he said. "It seems like in just one year, I've gained so much experience just from playing. Hopefully, I'm better and more prepared."

We're about to find out.