They were the very last words Mark Sanchez uttered before stepping down from the podium after 30 Minutes From The Super Bowl became 365 Days To the Super Bowl.
“We’ll be back,” Sanchez said.
And there isn’t a man inside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center who doesn’t believe them.
In the NFL, of course, you never know when or if you will ever be back to where you were the previous year. Ask Richard Todd and Walt Michaels about that. Ask Bill Parcells and Vinny Testaverde about that.
But let me tell you why the Jets will be back, why Wait ‘Til Next Year in their new stadium will be different than the 41 Wait ‘Til Next Years that have rung hollow for Jets Nation:
They have the right coach and the right quarterback.
THE COACH
Rex Ryan didn’t tiptoe into the room, he came blowing in like a tornado. Everything changed that day when he was introduced. It was as if Barney the Dinosaur had replaced Count Dracula. He was born for this stage, and just as important, for this team. Because HC of the NYJ demands a fearless leader — the Rexorcist — who wouldn’t hesitate challenging those Same Old Ghosts to a barroom brawl.
He made us laugh, he cried, he became a football Pied Piper whose only goal was to kiss the president’s ring in the White House. He told his players the truth, even when it hurt, and Play Like A Jet suddenly meant one-for-all and all-for-one. He never tried to be Bill Belichick, never tried to be Buddy Ryan, either. He was going to be Rex Ryan, come hell or high expectations.
He wasn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. He is human, genuine, real.
He gets along famously with GM Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson, which is of no small significance. He hired terrific assistant coaches. He himself is a defensive genius. He is a football man, through and through, a young Parcells.
THE QUARTERBACK
Ben Roethlisberger (14-24, 226 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs in his rookie AFC Championship Game, 21-29, 275 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs in his second) won a Super Bowl in his second season, and Ryan has surrounded his rookie quarterback with the same bruising Ground and Pound philosophies.
Sanchez is much like Tom Brady in this regard: He may look like a glamour boy — but he’s really a gym rat with a commitment to excellence.
He has the arm, the feet and the moxie. He cares about his Jets teammates the way he cared about his USC teammates.
During this playoff run, he became an extension of Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer. In other words, he figured it all out.
He learned how to manage the game. He learned that being a reckless gunslinger making poor decisions can ruin your team’s season.
There will be more growing pains, but the most painful ones are over.
“Moving forward,” Ryan said, “I think we’re gonna have more of a balanced offense.”
Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. Troy Aikman and Jimmy Johnson. Belichick and Brady. Parcells and Phil Simms. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. Right coach, right quarterback.
Ryan and Sanchez. Fatman and Robin today. Supermen tomorrow.