Santonio Holmes Supports His Quarterback Mark Sanchez

Aug 26, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes (10) during warmups for their game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

A lot has been said about Santonio Holmes, his attitude, and his play. Santonio has done a lot, in the past, to show himself as a selfish player. Well, maybe that is starting to change.

Santonio spoke to the media yesterday, and spoke about Mark Sanchez, and his faith in him. He actually helped Mark get through the initial shock of the Tim Tebow trade. Here is what he had to say about it:

I think having the conversation that he and I had the day it happened, when I got back from Africa. He talked to me and I basically told him that this is his team, you’re the starting quarterback, Tebow is here to help. From the words that came from Coach Ryan, he told me that Tebow’s going to help us keep the drives going, keep the ball, score touchdowns, and win ball games. Those were the exact words I gave to Mark, to give him that sense of security that he’s our starting quarterback and that Tebow is here to help us win as many games as he can.

This sure doesn’t sound like the same guy that was fighting in the huddle at the end of week 17 last year.

Aug 18, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) calls time out against the New York Giants during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

Here is what Santonio had to say about Mark Sanchez’s leadership skills:

Spending time with Mark, I think he’s more focused this season. He’s excited in replacing (redeeming) himself from what he did last year. We’re excited for him because the things that we’ve been seeing from the OTA’s and even during the offseason, before OTA’s came about, that he had a different focus for the season. I’m going to ride with him until the end. That was the reason for me signing back with the New York Jets. Because I knew having a young quarterback, there was a lot of room to grow (with) him, and us as a team, and for our chemistry to be better.

Holmes went on to say that one of the reasons he re-signed with the Jets before the 2011 season was working with Mark Sanchez. Here is what he had to say about what he saw in Mark:

He was young. Kevin (O’Connell), (Mark) Brunell and Kellen Clemens, those guys couldn’t really beat him out for his job. I knew that the coaches had as much trust in him to be our starter for the next however many years and getting the opportunity to come play with a young quarterback and wanting to be here for as many years as I can (to) help this team win as many ball games and championships (as possible, led me to re-sign). I felt that we had a better understanding and a connection amongst ourselves that we could get the job done if nobody else was here to help us get the job done.

We will see soon enough, but Santonio sounds like a guy prepared to put the past behind him. He seems genuinely excited to be here, and more specifically, to be working with Mark Sanchez. He wants to have good chemistry, and he wants to win. Sounds good to me.