Mark Cannizzaro wrote an interesting report in the New York Post in which he asked Eli Manning to offer some advice for the new QB in town, Mark Sanchez.
“With Mark, it’s the first time the Jets have a quarterback they went out and drafted early and there are a lot of expectations on him,”
Manning said. “There’s a lot of hype going around him and people are going to want immediate results. It might happen and it could, but it’s hard.”
“You’ve got to go through some of the challenges of being a young player. There are going to be some low points. It’s a matter of getting through those lows.”
Manning, who met and spoke with Sanchez at the Super Bowl in February, said his first bit of advice for the rookie is to stay humble.
“It’s always a little different situation when you’re drafted as an early pick like both of us and you go into the locker room and people start seeing your contract and what you’re making,”
Manning said. “You’ve got to go in there, keep quiet a little bit and work hard to earn the respect from your other players.”
Funny how things turn. I remember when Chad Pennington was doing just this in ESPN the Mag (I think) for Eli Manning.
I think Manning’s point of winning over veterans by working hard instead of talk is important, but it’s going to be very hard for Sanchez to not be mobbed by media all summer long for quotes and comments. It’s not going to be easy for Sanchez, but there’s a way to do it, and we’ll have to see how Sanchez navigates his new stardom and his relationships with his more veteran teammates.
