Mark Sanchez: "I'm Going to Win"

Mark Sanchez expressed confidence to ESPN New York that he is going to win the quarterback competition against rookie Geno Smith.

"When it's a straight-up competition for the job, let's roll," the embattled Sanchez said in a recent sitdown with ESPNNewYork.com. "It really doesn't bother me at all. It really doesn't affect my confidence or anything like that. We're competing for something. All right, I'm going to win. That's just how I am."

It's great that Sanchez is confident. It's also great that he brings his teammates to work out with him at Jets West in the offseason and that he studied with Jeff Garcia to learn more about the West Coast Offense.

The problem is you can say and do all the right things off the field, but nothing is truly important except that which happens on the field. If early returns from OTA's are any indication, Sanchez might have a tough time winning the job. Putting aside my personal opinions, the Jets drafted Geno Smith. That was a sign they are ready to move on from Sanchez. The general consensus from OTA's seemed to be that there was no clear front runner. When one steps back and thinks about things, it is kind of stunning that the incumbent four year starter who had a three month head start on learning a new playbook could not separate himself from a rookie whose head was spinning from all of the new concepts and life changes being thrown at him.

A tie generally goes to the player with more upside, and that is Geno Smith. Sanchez will probably have his work cut out for him unless, "best chance to win," makes a return.