Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws the ball during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Whether fans want to admit it or not, the retirement of David Garrard means a big change in the quarterback race. Specifically, it means that Mark Sanchez vaults back in front of that race. A lot of fans will not want to hear this, but you could make the argument that this is once again Mark’s job to lose. Whether he loses it or not, Mark is clearly hungry to keep it:

“This is something I’ve dreamed about all my life and I don’t plan on letting it go,” he said.

No matter who, or how many, are involved in the competition, Mark Sanchez’s focus remains the same:

“Nothing’s changed,” Sanchez said. “My mindset’s the same. Just stay focused, master this offense, improve on my fundamentals and be as accurate as possible, take care of the football and lead this team.”

Teammates believe that Mark can get the job done, but he has to become that confident player he was in 2009-2010. He is working on the interception issue with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, calling them a “bad childhood habit”, and that at some point he has to “stop biting his nails”.

Early yesterday, Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers had some choice words for the Jets beleaguered quarterback. They have never played together, but Smith took it upon himself to say that Sanchez “sucked”, and wouldn’t let him throw him a paper bag sandwich. To his credit, Mark responded appropriately:

“I have no idea, you’d have to ask him that,” Sanchez said. “I wish him and his team a healthy and successful season.”

It’s good to see that Mark is not getting flustered or annoyed by comments like the one Smith made. There is no reason to add fuel to the fire in situations like that.

I like that he is pumped up to keep his job. Maybe that fire will finally lift his play to competent status again. I am not sure about likening interceptions to biting his nails. The concept is good, breaking the habit, but it’s a bit more complex than biting nails. Hopefully Mark is not making it so easy in his own head, or he may have a problem.

We will find out soon enough.

Sanchez is doing his best to assert himself as the leader of the Jets while he still can.

It has been an interesting ride, to say the least, with this quarterback over the last four years, has it not? We have had some great highs (the first two years), and some horrific lows as well. Mark Sanchez has seen a fan base that has dwindled and dwindled to the point where I am one of the few people left that would be OK with him as the starting quarterback.

Could it be too little, too late? Most definitely. But it is a good start.

What am I talking about? Mark Sanchez met with the media yesterday at Jets’ headquarters.

Remember during the year, everyone got on Mark about having his head down on the sidelines? People were talking about how he wasn’t showing the confidence needed to head the team. Well, in his interview yesterday, he was attempting to exude that type of confidence, heading into this his fifth year, and another quarterback competition. Take a look at some of the things that he had to say:

On if he expects to be the opening day starter…

Of course.

On if he still views himself as the future of the franchise…

Absolutely.

On whether he comes into the season saying ‘This is my team’…

Of course, every quarterback should feel that way. I know I do and I’m not shy about voicing my opinion. You have to own it and compete your butt off to keep it in my position. That’s what I’ll do and I’ll do it the very best I can

On whether he expects to win the starting job…

No doubt. Of course.

On whether he feels like this is his team…

It has to feel that way going into your fifth year, at least that’s how I feel. I’m confident and I feel like we’ve seen just about everything you can see. So we’ll just keep rolling and do our very best.

The fans that have had enough of Mark Sanchez are not going to like these comments. The likely opinion will be that he is being presumptuous, even arrogant, thinking that he will be the starting quarterback after the way he played last year.

Like it or not, there is going to be a competition for the starting quarterback job, and it’s going to be a real one this time. Any one of these players can do the job, and would do it well, given the chance. Mark comes in with as good a chance as any of them to come out with the starting position. He’s been doing it the last four years, and he should have confidence in himself.

If he is going to be the starter, he HAS to be confident. This is the way you want to hear our leader speak. You might be sick of him. You might think it’s too little, too late. You might think he sounds arrogant, but he is doing what he is supposed to do. He is saying the right things.

We will see if it translates into performance on the field.

Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws the ball during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Sanchez. What do the Jets do with this guy? You know how I feel about him as a quarterback, I am not writing this article to bludgeon you with my minority opinion of him. I’m not blind in my faith. He is a four-year starting quarterback that has many, many issues. He may be mentally finished here in NY. John Idzik’s non-committal answer to the question of whether Mark will be here for OTA’s, is evidence of the opinion that he doesn’t WANT Mark here for OTA’s.

Believe it or not, this article is coming from the perspective that Mark Sanchez will be off the team. Yes, all of my regular readers can pick their jaws off the floor now, as I am predicting Mark will be off the team. The front office, led by John Idzik, has moved on from Mark. There really is no way he is making the team at this point.

The question is, do you let him go sooner, or later? You can make a good argument either way.

Many people are saying to cut the cord now. Just move on from Mark Sanchez, the way they finally moved on from Tim Tebow earlier this week. There are a lot of good reasons to go that direction. For one, the Jets are moving into a new era. Gone are the “fast and loose” days of the Mike/Rex era, the circus is slowly but surely moving out-of-town. It’s a new day in Florham Park, NJ. Cutting the cord with the quarterback, and a face of that era, would do a lot to move forward into the new day.

Taking the dead money hit would do a lot to show that the Jets are more focused on winning than anything else. Yes, getting rid of Mark will give them a whole lot of dead money. But it’s not the end of the world. With all of the moves that the Indianapolis Colts made heading into last year, they had a great deal of dead money. How did that work out? They went from 1-15 to the playoffs. A team can survive with a significant amount of dead money. Ideal? No. But it will be OK.

There is also the mental factor with Mark. If the Jets believe that he cannot recover, why keep him around to compete? Give him a chance to find another job, even as a backup, somewhere around the league.

Maybe they should just cut their losses and let him go, now. But, what if we think about it another way.

There is a good argument to keep him into training camp. The argument? The injury factor.

Just the way the Seahawks held onto, and then traded Tavaris Jackson, late, the Jets could do the same with Mark Sanchez. If they do, it could serve them well.

Injuries happen every year. When they happen to a quarterback, the result is a team that is desperate. Even if they have their guy that they want to pencil in as a starter, they will be hurting for a backup. Whether you like Mark Sanchez or not, he was the quarterback than won four road playoff games, beating Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. He also led his team to two straight AFC title games.

Wouldn’t a team that is stuck with a bad injury be interested in bringing in a quarterback with that kind of resume? The odds would certainly be in their favor. Depending on the level of desperation, they might even have a team willing to pay part of the freight. Pipe dream? Maybe. But it’s possible. If the Jets hang onto him, the worst case scenario is that they release him during training camp, and they are not any worse off.

My opinion? Keep him into training camp. The reward could be quite high, and the risk is not great. They will not be any worse off if they hang onto him in to camp.

What do you guys think?