" Sanchez said of his approach without Garrard on t

FLORHAM PARK, N. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys .J. -- Mark Sanchez understands the New York Jets starting quarterback job is still up for grabs. That doesnt mean he expects the final result to be anything different from what it has been the last four seasons: with him under centre leading the team every Sunday. "Naturally, as you progress in your career, you try and tighten up and hone in," Sanchez said Thursday after voluntary workouts. "But, like Ive said, this is something I dreamed about my whole life and now Im not planning on letting go." Sanchez is approaching this off-season as though he is the starting quarterback, despite his hold on the job being extremely tenuous. There is one less competitor in the mix, however, with David Garrard planning to retire because his balky left knee has continued to give him trouble. So with Garrard stepping away and New York cutting Tim Tebow two weeks ago, Sanchez, Geno Smith, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms are left on the roster. "Nothings changed," Sanchez said of his approach without Garrard on the team. "My mindset is the same: just stay focused, master this offence, improve on my fundamentals, be as accurate as possible, take care of the football and lead this team." It had been speculated by some that the competition to start would be between Garrard, Sanchez and Smith, despite GM John Idzik, coach Rex Ryan and offensive co-ordinator Marty Mornhinweg insisting it would be "open" to everyone. Now, Sanchez appears to have a clear advantage, although the organization is excited about the potential of Smith, the former record-breaking West Virginia quarterback who slid in the draft from a potential top-10 pick all the way to the second round. "He looks good," Sanchez said of Smith. "Hes sharp. He works hard, doesnt say too much. Just plays his butt off and competes. Thats great." Sanchez said Garrards retirement was "a little bit abrupt," but praised the 35-year-old veteran for "a career to celebrate." Now, Sanchez is the veteran of the bunch in the quarterback room. That could still change, of course, if the team pursues another experienced player to push Sanchez and mentor Smith, but there arent many options. The list includes the likes of Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Leinart, Trent Edwards, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch -- oh, and, Tebow. Sanchez, however, insists that McElroy and Simms should very much be in the quarterback conversation. "Dont count those other two out," he said. "Trust me, its a fierce deal. Were all excited." Sanchez is particularly thrilled to put a miserable season behind him in which he turned the ball over 26 times, including when he ran into the backside of guard Brandon Moore -- the blooper-reel favourite "Butt-Fumble" -- last November against New England. He was benched for the first time in his career late last season, and appeared to lose confidence. And, the hits keep coming for Sanchez. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith said during a radio interview Wednesday that, "I wouldnt let Mark Sanchez throw me a paper bag sandwich." Sanchez took the high road, refusing to fire back and instead wishing Smith and the Panthers well. And, frankly, hes got bigger things to worry about these days. Mornhinweg said during a conference call with season ticket holders Wednesday that the Jets would have a "bona fide quarterback competition. Period." He added that he has thought a lot about how the snaps would be distributed in practices, but theres now one less quarterback to consider with Garrard no longer in the mix. Mornhinweg also indicated hed like someone to rise to the top of the competition "quicker rather than later." "I have no idea," Sanchez said when asked if he could be that guy. "Im focused on playing the very best I can. As soon as they tell me, Youre the guy; youre not the guy, then well know. Theyve given me no indication on when that should be." Sanchez has been working with Mornhinweg and new quarterbacks coach David Lee on cutting down his turnovers, making him throw the ball away in practice rather than forcing a play and making a mistake. "Marty touched on it," Sanchez said. "He said its a mentality. Theres a point where you bite your nails growing up or something and then you just stop. Whatever it takes, you just stop. Its a habit. It becomes a way of thinking and a way of making decisions on the field." Sanchez is also looking forward to playing in Mornhinwegs West Coast-style offence, something he was somewhat familiar with from his days at Southern California. "Im from the West Coast," he said with a big grin. He also spent time with Jeff Garcia, who played for Mornhinweg in Philadelphia, during the off-season and thinks this is a system in which he can be consistently successful. "I love to feel that way, and thats the way I do (feel)," Sanchez said. "I feel good about everything going in, about the progression of things." ------ NOTES: RB Chris Ivory, acquired during the draft from New Orleans, said he hasnt been told by the Jets hell be the No. 1 back but is preparing as if he will. Hell have a better opportunity to play than in New Orleans, where he was behind Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram. "It was just a tough situation over there," he said. "We all had our roles. Its just tough to fit four backs in a system." ... LB Quinton Coples was called out by Ryan last weekend for having a subpar day in the weight room, and the coach wanted to make sure last years first-round pick knew he was disappointed. "I agree with him," Coples said, adding that he "gave better effort" the next day, and "made sure that wont happen again." Wholesale NHL Jerseys . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Hockey Jerseys China . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. http://www.cheapnhljerseysusa.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has offered New Zealand an invitation he may end up regretting after a difficult second day in the field for him and his men in Bulawayo.They will keep us out there which we dont mind. We dont mind if they bat all day again, Cremer said, warning New Zealand that the more time they spent in the middle, the more confident Zimbabwe would be of denying them a victory. Were going to try and drag the game out for as long as possible and take time out of the game.For a man who delivered 35 overs, 26 of them in a single spell, it seems like a bold statement to make. But Cremer always knew he would have a heavy workload in an XI that cannot accommodate another seamer because it needs an extra batsman.I knew coming in to this game, we were one frontline seamer short so I knew I was going to do the bulk of the bowling anyway, Cremer said. I see myself as a bowler that will lead the attack so I knew there would be a bit of extra pressure on me. The other bowlers that weve got are a lot younger and lot more inexperienced. So I look to try and get wickets and get us into good positions.His task was made even more difficult by the absence of another bowling option and the regular wicket-keeper. Sean Williams and Regis Chakabva spent the day recovering from the flu and tonsillitis respectively and Cremer is hopeful they will be okay by Saturday. Without them, he had to bowl even more than usual and was denied two wickets by fumbles from the substitute Brian Chari, who missed a stumping and could not hold onto a catch. Had either beeen successfully completed, Kane Williamson could have been dismissed earlier. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic. Despite that, Cremer praised his young attack for staying upbeat after being demoralised by the batting effort on the first day. I thought the guys fought hard, They didnt run away with the game. We kept them in check. We knew it was going to be tough to get wickets because its a good batting surface so we wanted them to go at two or three runs an over and we wanted to take some wickets, which we did, he said. We are still upset we didnt score enough runs but thats the way it is.In the next two days, Zimbabwe will have the chance to make amends for the first innings when they bat for a second time, in all likelihood with a view to saving the Test. Cremer knows the surface will get more difficult but hopes their approach will be strengthened by the lessons learnt from their mistakes. Tomorrow morning it will still be for good batting but from later on in the afternoon, it will be dusty and start spinning and bouncing, so we have to start thinking about how we will play in the second innings, he said.Because we havent played enough, we are sometimes not sure what to expect and not sure how to go about it but now the guys have seen what to expect. Nothing will change in the second innings. Im sure New Zealand will still use the short ball and the seamers as much. Hopefully guys will have the right mindset to bat long. To bat all day. ' ' '