Quarterbacks are ego maniacs. They have to be. If you’re going to compete at the highest level, lead a group of 50-plus full-grown men and strive to be better at every opportunity, you have to have supreme self-confidence.
It doesn’t hurt to be honest, though.
Whether or not Mark Sanchez believes he’s a top-five quarterback in the NFL deep down inside, he knows why he was brought to Denver, Colorado, and he’s not going to pretend differently.
“I understand my role: Just drive the car straight,” Sanchez told Jason Cole of Bleacher Report in a lengthy interview. “Stay in the right lane. Stay in your lane and do what you’re called to do.”
And he’s been called to Denver to be a torch passer. Everyone understands that at some point — whether it be Week 1, Week 8 or next season — Paxton Lynch will be the starting quarterback of the Broncos. And while Sanchez could pull a Sam Bradford and be angry that the franchise hasn’t shown supreme confidence in his ability to be the long-term answer, he hasn’t; he understands “his lane.”
“I’m looking to seize an opportunity,” Sanchez said. “I think the pieces have all kind of come together, even though I never expected to be here.”
And that’s what’s odd — unconventional, at least. Sanchez is not a great quarterback by any means, and on 31 other franchises, the team would be counting down the days until Lynch surpasses him on the depth chart, but in Denver, the former “Sanchize” has actually been granted the opportunity of a lifetime, and he may just fulfill it.
Sanchez has walked into a situation where a bad-to-embarrasing quarterback duo just led the team to a Super Bowl championship. And whether you like Sanchez or not, between him, the improved offensive line and another year under the Kubiak scheme, there’s a fairly good chance that the Broncos offense will be significantly better in 2016 — we already know what the defense is capable of.
So who’s to say Sanchez can’t stay in his lane, steer the offense much like Peyton Manning did last season and lead the team to success? Who’s to say that behind an improved rushing attack Sanchez can’t fend off Lynch for an entire season?
Sanchez understands that his role is limited, but at the end of the day, winning is everything, and he has a blueprint to doing just that.
“Just stick with the play,” Sanchez said. “Get us out of bad plays, avoid negative plays, stick with the plays and give ourselves a chance to win.”
If all goes right, Sanchez will have a mediocre season statistically, the Broncos will win a lot of games behind the strength of their defense and running game and he’ll earn a starting-level contract with another franchise next offseason, reigniting his career.
While the Broncos may wish they came out of this offseason with a better option at quarterback, Mark Sanchez understands that he could not be in a better situation.