Neither Mark Sanchez (6) nor Tim Tebow played well in the Jets offense last year. (Photo: Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports) FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez thinks he and Tim Tebow could have been buddies — if not for, you know, the part where they were fighting for the same job last season while Tebow was serving as a distraction to Sanchez. "It's just hard when you're competing like that. There's just a professionalism about it," Sanchez said Thursday in his first meeting with reporters since Tebow was released by the New York Jets on Monday. "You don't get too close to guys like that. You're professional, and you're cool. "If the guy's got a flat tire on the side of the road, I'm going to stop, I'm not going to blow by him. But at the same time, I'm not sending him gifts on his birthday." Sanchez got the opposite of a gift from the Jets front office Friday. He got even stiffer competition for his job as the starting quarterback in the form of second-round pick Geno Smith, though Sanchez said Thursday he has "no doubt" he'll retain the job he lost late last season. Smith made a brief appearance at the Jets' facility for a press conference on Saturday but won't be back until next week for rookie camp. Sanchez and the veterans, meanwhile, continue to take part in offseason workouts. It's about to get awkward up in here — even more so than it was last year with veteran David Garrard also setting his sights on Sanchez's job. In other words, don't expect Sanchez to put Smith on his birthday-gift list. So then, how will this be any different than the Tebow situation? "I don't know, we'll find out," Sanchez said with a chuckle. "We'll see." FREE AND CLEAR: Tebow passes through waivers BELL: Tebow may not like his options FOR THE WIN: Seven alternate careers for Tebow CANADA? Maybe not a slam dunk for Tebow after all Sanchez vowed to help Smith and to not develop any bitter feelings toward the rookie. So whereas Brett Favre might've sped past Aaron Rodgers on the side of the highway, Sanchez will be there with a jack and a pump. "Yeah, if he's got a question, of course I'm not going to be a jerk," Sanchez said. "I've heard plenty of stories about guys like that. They come ask you a read on a (play) and they say, 'Hey, go look at your book.' Well, yeah, go look at your book, but if we're on the field, it's not like you can run in and look at your book. " 'Hey, man, you're reading the flat defender, high-low him. Curl-flat. Whatever.' So what? I don't think that's going to hurt my chances of playing." No more than the 52 turnovers over the past two seasons, combined, have already hurt him. If not for $8.25 million in guaranteed base salary this year, Sanchez might be standing beside Tebow right now, with a figurative flat tire on the car that is his NFL career. Enter offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, the latest to tell Sanchez not to aim at the guys with the different-colored jerseys. "We're going to have possession of the ball after every play," Sanchez said Mornhinweg told him. "Don't lay it on the carpet and don't throw it to anybody else." DRAFT GRADES: How did Jets do? SPORTS ON EARTH: Draft winners, losers Easy enough. But there's also the mental part of things. Mornhinweg, a former assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers as well as the head coach of the Detroit Lions who watched Joey Harrington melt in front of his eyes in 2002, has been working on ball security with Sanchez. Mornhinweg called Sanchez during the draft because the commentators were hammering the fifth-year passer on TV. Sanchez said he wasn't watching. Mornhinweg's next call was to alert Sanchez that the Jets had taken Smith and that it was time to — stop us if you've heard this before from the Jets — compete. VIDEO: Tebow's alternate job offers Story Highlights
