Sanchez: I'm not coddled

Mark Sanchez isn't the least bit concerned with unnamed sources bashing him this offseason, challenging his work ethic and even going as far to say they wouldn't mind seeing Peyton Manning in a Jets' uniform.

"No. 1, if you are an unnamed source, you don’t speak for yourself, therefore you don’t really speak for the team," Sanchez said late Friday in his first public comments since Jan. 2, the day after the Jets' crashed in Miami.

"There are plenty of guys like Nick Mangold and Dustin Keller who didn’t need to, but went on the radio and defended me and defended my position because they know how hard I work and how much I care about this team and my fellow teammates. That was something that really was not an issue and I didn’t really worry about it."

Sanchez took umbrage with anyone who thinks he's been babied by the Jets, who haven't brought in a viable veteran to challenge Sanchez and someone they can insert if his play isn't up to par.

"When people say I’m coddled, I just wish they could sit in a meeting after I haven’t played my best or after I threw a few interceptions," he said, "because [quarterbacks] coach [Matt] Cavanaugh and coach [Brian] Schottenheimer and even Rex at times, there’s nothing close to coddling going on there and at times it’s pretty rough.

"I think they would see that."

Asked if it's fair that he'll never be yanked out of a game or challenged by a backup quarterback, Sanchez didn't blink.

"I don’t really think about that when I’m playing," he said. "I don’t think about getting taken out or who’s going to challenge me because I’m challenging myself so hard. Your play always dictates your playing time and that’s always dictated by Rex. Whatever he says goes and that’s how you play.”

As for mending his relationship with Santonio Holmes, Sanchez said they've been in constant communication. He also tried to portray the well-documented feud between the wide receiver and himself as one that's not as bad as it's been talked about.

"We’ve been in contact really this whole offseason," Sanchez said, "and I think a bigger deal was made out of that than it needed to be. Without either of us commenting on it, I think it got bigger. So we’ve kind of laughed that at this point now weeks ago. But I’ve been down to see him [in Florida].

"We’ve been in constant contact and he’s in Africa doing some charity work. He’s excited about the next year, I can tell you that."