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Elway: Broncos think 'a lot more' of Sanchez than public does

John Leyba / Denver Post / Getty

Denver Broncos fans may not have confidence that Mark Sanchez is capable of helping the team replicate last season's success, but the veteran passer has the support of the Broncos' front office.

General manager John Elway believes Sanchez's lack of public support is due to the heavy scrutiny that was laid upon him by the New York media during his time there early in his career.

"I don't think there's much respect out there," said Elway, according to Michael Silver of NFL.com. "And a lot of that is (because) when you look at the quarterback position, with the guys that we have, they don't have a lot of (outside) respect, obviously.

"We think a lot more of Mark Sanchez than maybe the public does. (That's from) watching tape on him, and really watching him in Philly last year, and also since he's been here. If you're in New York, they have a tendency to bring the attention to the negative, rather than the positive. And Mark kind of got caught in that rut. We hope we're right. The great thing about camp starting, finally, is we can stop talking about it and see who's gonna come to the forefront."

The Broncos acquired Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional seventh-round pick in next year's draft, and Eagles de facto general manager Howie Roseman understood the opportunity he was giving Sanchez by sending him to the Super Bowl champion Broncos.

"You gave me a bottle of wine for the holidays," Roseman told Sanchez. "You're probably gonna owe me a case of wine for this one."

Sanchez, too, understands he has a chance to turn his career around by leading one of the league's most talented rosters.

"This is like a gift-wrapped opportunity from heaven," said Sanchez. "As soon as it arrived, I told myself, 'Take advantage of things. Assert yourself. Be the guy you know you can be. Win the job. And then go win some games, which is the most important thing of all.'"

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