(
)
CORTLAND — Mark Sanchez does not have to look far to find a quarterback who had everything click for him in his fourth season, the same season Sanchez is about to enter.
A glance across town shows Giants quarterback Eli Manning put up eerily similar numbers to Sanchez over his first three seasons. In fact, they had exactly the same quarterback rating of 73.2 over those initial three years.
Manning did not have a great start to his fourth season, but put things together during the Giants’ Super Bowl run to end the season. Since then, Manning has risen to become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
This is not lost on Sanchez.
“That fourth year I think he threw one pick in the playoffs when they won that Super Bowl — one — and I think he might have thrown 20 in the regular season,” Sanchez said, citing the exact statistic off the top of his head. “I’ve been there. Plenty of quarterbacks have been there. You see the margin for error in this league is so small. Once the quarterback, the offense and the coordinator really realize that and take advantage of that and show that on the field, you can win a lot of games and be successful.”
Sanchez said he looked at Manning’s career arc this offseason and it reminded him that sometimes it takes time to master the quarterback position.
“This whole thing is a learning process,” Sanchez said. “It really is a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep your head down, keep working, smile and have a good time with it.”
The 25-year-old quarterback has looked good early in training camp. He has shown a command of the offense and his passes have a lot of zip.
Rex Ryan said he can see the maturation in Sanchez.
“He’s a true pro,” Ryan said. “Four years into it I think you expect it. You see it. I know [he has] the burning desire to win, maybe a little less messing around, a little more focus is evident now.”
The comparison with Manning should give the Jets hope that Sanchez can develop into a top-tier quarterback. Sanchez played six more regular-season games than Manning over his first three years. Sanchez threw for 55 touchdowns; Manning had 54. Sanchez threw 51 interceptions; Manning had 44. Sanchez completed 55.3 percent of his passes; Manning’s completion percentage was 54.1.
One difference is Sanchez had four playoffs wins in his first three years. Manning lost two playoff games before winning the Super Bowl in his fourth year.
“You see guys elevate their game in the playoffs,” Sanchez said. “You look at other careers. That kind of stuff gets brought to your attention, especially when you have similar career tracks as someone in the league. … I looked into it and seeing how successful he’s been, seeing how he’s really weathered the storm and played really well. His game’s unbelievable. He’s doing a great job.”
Through the first four practices of training camp, Sanchez has completed 20 of 33 passes (61 percent) in team drills. He has outplayed Tim Tebow, who has completed 12-of-24 (50 percent).
Where Sanchez looks like he has a firm grasp of the offense, Tebow looks indecisive. He holds on to the ball too long and sometimes runs from the pocket too soon. Tebow’s highlight yesterday came on a long run that drew loud cheers from the crowd. The Jets have yet to show any of the Wildcat package for Tebow.
“I just look forward to whatever opportunities I get and whatever my role is I have fun doing anything out there,” Tebow said. “That’s just my attitude, it’s how I’ve always been. So, I look forward to whatever role I have.”
brian.costello@nypost.com