Jets' Holmes content to be part of supporting cast

When Santonio Holmes came to the Jets in an offseason trade, he could have taken the approach that he was bringing his star with him. After all, there's one Super Bowl MVP in the Jets' locker room, and he's it.

Sure, he had to serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, but given his resume, Holmes might have expected to walk into a starting job at wide receiver ahead of Braylon Edwards or Jerricho Cotchery. But Holmes didn't try to be the straw that stirs the drink, and the last thing he wanted was to stir up trouble within the Jets' locker room.

In his first two games with the Jets, Holmes' statistical contributions have been modest in the role of third receiver with seven catches for 88 yards. His biggest play was the pass interference penalty he drew at the end of the Jets' last game to set up the winning touchdown in Denver.

Holmes admits it's been a major adjustment after spending the past four years starting opposite Hines Ward for the Steelers, but he's cool with it. "I'm coming into a new place that has a lot of young faces and a lot of guys who haven't been where I've been," Holmes said Wednesday. "Rex [Ryan] brought me here to show some type of leadership, and my job is to express it to these guys and win ballgames. That's what we did in Pittsburgh. We never complained about who caught the ball, who had this many stats or who did what. We just wanted to win.

"I don't expect it to be given to me. I'm going to work to become a starter. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I'm going to be satisfied with us going to the Super Bowl and winning again."

Holmes couldn't help but smile at that last bold statement. It showed he can be as brash as anyone else in the Jets' organization. At the same time, he's sincere about blending in. The Jets' offense, Holmes said, is a study in balance. As he sees it, only one individual should stand out.

"That's No. 6 because he's the guy we want to put in front of the team and he's going to lead us," Holmes said of quarterback Mark Sanchez.

After avoiding interceptions through the first five games, Sanchez was picked off twice by the Broncos. A year earlier as a rookie that undoubtedly would have led to more mistakes. But this time, Sanchez settled down and came back to rally the Jets to a win in a tough place to play. Edwards said some timely advice from Holmes helped Sanchez keep it together.

Recalling the conversation, Holmes said, "I walked up to him and told him, 'This is a long season ahead of us. Some things aren't going to go our way, but you've got to be the guy that pulls this team together. If you don't believe the same thing we believe in, we won't go far.' He took heed to it. He looked me in my eyes and shook his head, and I knew he was ready to play ball."

It's the little moments like that one, the sense everyone is pulling for each other that helps knit a team together and fosters success. Ryan suggested Holmes will make a big impact before it's all done, and said he expects Holmes to start getting more snaps.

When that opportunity comes, Holmes hopes to inspire his teammates. "I think there's outstanding plays to be made for this team to get pumped up," Holmes said. "I'm the No. 3 receiver right now. If I come in and make a big play, those guys are going to get excited, the running game opens up, the pass game goes elsewhere and everybody's having fun. I feel very comfortable right now where I'm at."

He's just one of the boys in green.