Maturing Sanchez has learned from mistakes

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - He has been the No. 1 question mark throughout the playoffs. In each of the Jets' postseason games, Mark Sanchez has been tabbed the inferior quarterback. He's been second to Peyton Manning, second to Tom Brady and now second to Ben Roethlisberger.

Yet just because Sanchez doesn't have the hallowed reputation of those Super Bowl winners doesn't mean he can't steal the spotlight from them. Several observers say the biggest difference between the Jets team that lost last year's AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis and the one looking to get over that hump Sunday in Pittsburgh is the elevated play of Sanchez.

This season, Sanchez has grown up.

"Most of their big wins this year have come with late-game heroics by Mark Sanchez,'' said ESPN studio analyst Trent Dilfer, a former quarterback. "The Jets are much more quarterback-dependent as a team right now. Mark has done a remarkable job growing as a player this season."

Sanchez's role in last season's playoff run was that of a game manager, which is a nice way of saying that the rookie's job was not to mess things up. This year, however, he has been a major factor in both postseason wins. In the 17-16 wild-card victory over the Colts, he nailed an 18-yard pass to Braylon Edwards that set up Nick Folk's field goal as time expired. Last week in Foxboro, where he had never played well, Sanchez threw three touchdown passes.

"The great thing I see in Mark this year is he's doing it late in games," former quarterback and WFAN talk show host Boomer Esiason said. "When you're making plays late in games like that, it means your anxieties are low. You're not overwhelmed by the moment. He's stepping up when he has to."

Though Sanchez's reputation is that of a laid-back Californian, he has always been an incredibly serious, detail-oriented student. Sanchez, 24, believes in controlling what he can control, which is why he has every minute leading up to Sunday's game scripted and scheduled.

"I know exactly what I'm going to eat on Friday, I know who I'm going eat with and I know what server is going to be serving me," he said. "I know exactly what it's going to be and what time we're leaving . . . I just know what's coming."

Until kickoff, of course.

A big part of the Jets' philosophy has been letting Sanchez make mistakes, then teaching him to move on and grow from them. He may give the Jets heartburn when he kills an early drive with off-target throws, but the Jets say this has all been a part of his maturation process.

"He wants to be perfect every time. It's our duty as receivers to let him know that mistakes are going to happen during a game," Santonio Holmes said. "If you throw four interceptions, we still have to play until the end of the fourth quarter."

This season, backup quarterback Mark Brunell said, Sanchez has learned to erase failures and play big when he has to. When Sanchez makes a mistake, Brunell said, the first thing he does is ask questions. On the sideline, he picks the brains of Brunell and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

"He may be frustrated but he's very level-headed," Brunell said. "He's determined whatever mistake he made, not to make it again. I think what he did in the Indy game shows a lot. He struggled in the first half, and yet he comes out and is money in the second half. He has just found a way to move on from his mistakes and play his best football as he goes. That's a sign of maturity."

Sanchez threw for only 189 yards and no touchdowns against the Colts. But he completed 3 of 3 passes for 38 yards on the winning drive, when Rex Ryan said he saw him "grow up."

"A lot of times, a guy can think he's a good competitor, but when you get on the biggest stage, not so much,'' Ryan said. "He's such a huge competitor, but the bigger the stage, the more he wants to play.''

Dilfer believes Sanchez made his biggest strides as a quarterback Nov. 7 when he rallied the Jets past the Lions, 23-20, in overtime. He threw for 336 yards and erased a 20-10 deficit on the road in the final 2:46 of regulation. His 1-yard run made it 20-17 before he led a last-minute drive that produced Folk's tying field goal. Then Sanchez set up the winning kick when he hit Holmes for 52 yards.

"If he had a signature moment, it would be that one," said Dilfer, who earned a ring with the 2000 Ravens. "I thought that moment was pretty darn spectacular."

Now Sanchez will try to become only the second second-year quarterback to start a Super Bowl. And to get there, he will have to beat Roethlisberger, the first to do it. Five years ago, Big Ben earned a trip to Super Bowl XL by winning three road games in the playoffs.

Roethlisberger said being surrounded by talented veterans helps Sanchez, just as it aided him during his second season. The Steelers quarterback said he's seen how it's helped Sanchez mature.

"He makes the plays," Roethlisberger said. "People get on him a lot and say, 'Run the ball and manage the game, Mark.' Well, no. To be the quarterback at this level and do what he's done, you don't just manage the game. You play the game and do it at a high level, and that's what he's done. Every week you see him take strides and get that much better."

Yes, Sanchez is a lot better than he was as a rookie. But is he good enough to get the Jets to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969? Is he good enough to become the first NFL quarterback to log five postseason road wins? His teammates certainly think he is.

Said Brunell: "Is he Tom Brady? Is he Peyton Manning? No. But those guys aren't playing football right now and he is. It shows what kind of player he is. I think you're seeing a young Mark Sanchez who's going to be very good, and one of the premier quarterbacks in this league for a very long time."