Marty Lyons, one of the greatest defensive lineman in Jets history, says Mark Sanchez is thisclose to becoming the leader of the offense — if he doesn’t look over his shoulder.
Lyons, speaking at the College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in South Bend over the weekend, said he started to see a change in Sanchez last season as the Jets struggled and missed the playoffs. Sanchez, along with a punishing running game and an attacking defense, had guided the Jets to the AFC title game his first two seasons.
But last season, in which he was expected to take that big ‘‘Year 3’’ leap forward, the Jets fell to 8-8, losing their last three games. He threw a career-best 26 touchdown pass but also threw 18 interceptions, five more than he threw in 2010.
“You’ve got a quarterback now in Mark Sanchez. … You hope he doesn’t look over his shoulder and see Tim Tebow, because he’s the starting quarterback,’’ Lyons told The Post. “He’s got to take ownership of the team. And he’s got to take ownership of the locker room. I think that was a growing step for him last year.’’
Neither Sanchez not Tebow has dazzled anyone with their passing skills, although Sanchez has been the more accurate thrower, completing 55.3 percent of his passes. Tebow has completed 47.3 percent of his throws. Last season Tebow’s quarterback rating was 72.9; Sanchez’s was at 78.2.
Asked if Sanchez needed to work more on his leadership than his on-field performance, Lyons said it always comes down to winning games.
“You still got to go out and perform, you got to win,’’ Lyons said. “You got to go out and execute. Mark is rightthere to being that leader both on and off the field. And the other thing is you’ve got to have a short memory as a quarterback. If you have a bad game in Week 1 in the NFL, you can’t take it into Week 2. Because it’s a short season.’’
lenn.robbins@nypost.com