FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez was in the huddle at Wednesday's morning walkthrough, about to call out a play, when Nick Mangold interrupted his quarterback.
"I told him whoa, first off, let's talk about them white pants," Mangold said.
Here we go again. As if his GQ pictorial two years ago didn't give his teammates enough ammunition, this month's issue features another Sanchez spread. The article on "Broadway Mark" includes a picture of the QB in some very form-fitting white pants to accompany a story in which he declares he wanted to fight coach Rex Ryan after the coach talked about possibly benching him last season.
When Ryan saw that, he had a graphic prepared for one of the early meetings as the Jets broke down film from the Houston game.
"There was a Tale of the Tape," Ryan said. "Because I understand he wanted to fight me. So we just put all that stuff out there. I put my record at 1,000-0 and my key to victory was the ground and pound."
Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson pointed out that, at 1,000-0, Ryan is averaging "about 10 fights a year."
"Appreciate that Brick," Ryan said.
"I don't know if Rex has the stamina to go longer than 16 seconds," Mangold added.
But making fun of Ryan's advanced age or fitness level wasn't the only focus of razzing. Sanchez can't help but attract attention for his healthy look and the fact that he isn't continuously talking about his commitment to abstinence -- refreshing in a young NFL quarterback. New wide receiver Derrick Mason noticed a photo of Sanchez in the cold tub and raised an eyebrow.
"I saw him and I asked him, 'Did you have bubbles in the tub?'" Mason said with a laugh. "He was a little upset. He said my balls were gonna go down this year, I won't catch as many balls this year."
Mangold doesn't have to rely on Sanchez for his numbers, so he can be more brutal with his third-year quarterback. He thought Sanchez may have tried too hard to evoke legendary Jets quarterback Joe Namath in a shot featuring what appears to be a shearling vest. (Warning: This is a sports, not a fashion, website, so colors and fabrics are all guesses.)
"I thought the white pants one was a little suspect with the fur coat and everything, channel a little Joe there," Mangold said. "Sometimes I think Mark lets other people decide his fashion wardrobe a little too much, but we'll get him right."
After his last pictorial, the Jets had the digital images flashing from all the flat screens in the facility for a day. New right tackle Wayne Hunter knows he has to do his job if Sanchez is going to keep his marketability level high enough for the glossy magazines.
"Mark's a pretty boy, a California pretty boy," Hunter said. "I can't get him hit too many times or else he won't be on the cover of anything."
Jane McManus is a reporter and columnist for ESPNNewYork.com.