Sanchez refuses to blow his own horn

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez wasn't going to get caught in the same trap that got Eli Manning.

The Jets quarterback knew the question was coming, and he expertly distanced himself from any comparisons between himself and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Unlike Eli, Sanchez is not ready to crown himself one of the top five quarterbacks in the league.

"I think that's for other people to debate," he said Thursday after the Jets' walk-through for Sunday night's preseason game against the Bengals. "I know my skill set, and I know I'm getting better. Once we win a Super Bowl, then maybe I'll have an opinion on that, but until then, we're just trying to win games."

Surprisingly, his coach didn't take the bait either and instead admitted "we're a ways from there." But Rex Ryan quickly touted his young quarterback as the next best thing.

"This guy has won four playoff games in two years, all on the road," Ryan said of Sanchez.

"When you talk about elite quarterbacks, I think he's an elite quarterback, because he wins the big games and he's a winner."

The changes in Sanchez's body language and preparation are subtle. He leads with a quiet but unmistakable confidence that easily soothes those around him now.

"He wants to know everything that goes on on the field and he basically wants to be the field general," wide receiver Santonio Holmes said. "He wants everybody to see and believe that he can be that guy for us."

Sanchez said he's most focused on improving his completion percentage, which was a subpar 54.8 last season.

"That's no good," he said. "We need to complete more balls. I need to. That's been the focus and we got off to a good start against Houston, so that was nice."

But Ryan said he isn't too concerned with Sanchez's personal statistics -- as long as the team is winning.

"I think a quarterback more than any other position -- we always focus on guys are going to the Pro Bowl and things,'' Ryan said, "and their team's not in the playoffs."

The face of the franchise was an obvious pick for one of the five team captain spots on account of his work ethic and his innate leadership skills.

After the team arrived from Houston at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sanchez, Holmes and backup quarterback Greg McElroy went straight to the weight room.

Said Holmes: "The captains are the ones that are leading by example and the guys will follow. And that's what we want to build around here. That coach Rex Ryan picked a great group of guys to be leaders and be captains."

And that leadership starts with their third-year quarterback.

"I think I was getting there," Sanchez said of becoming a leader last season.

"But you need to establish yourself on the team first. I think when the team saw how I reacted to almost getting benched, how I reacted to the shoulder injury, it's just not in my nature to kind of bow out from something like that . . . They saw my energy and my fire. They saw me elevate my play in the playoffs."

He may not be Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, admitted Ryan. But "I think Mark Sanchez is pretty darn good."