Will Foles' Injury Give Mark Sanchez Shot to Start in Future?

Sunday afternoon, Eagles starting quarterback Nick Foles withstood nearly a quarter’s worth of relentless pressure and ferocity in the form of the Texans front seven. On the final play of the opening frame, edge-rusher Whitney Mercilus gored the signal caller into the NRG Stadium turf and, according to reports, sidelined Foles for at least the next month. The same young man whose dream season of 2013 had some thinking the Eagles had stumbled upon their franchise quarterback is now, due to the combination of his injury and erratic play through 2014, in jeopardy of meeting the same fate that his predecessor Michael Vick did a year ago.

Since the start of the 2014 preseason, Mark Sanchez has been an enigma for Eagles fans. When he was acquired from the Jets, we were forced to withstand ‘butt fumble’ jokes almost as persistent as the Houston pass-rush. Then, all of a sudden, the former 1st round pick’s sparkling showing over the course of the exhibition schedule had us wondering whether Chip Kelly had found his first reclamation project as a head coach. So much so that, as Foles failed to replicate his 2013 success early on this season, there were even some clamoring for the head coach to give Sanchez a shot at running his offense.

Chip Kelly realizes the fragile nature of an NFL locker room over the course of a season. The job of a professional football team’s head coach is such that he is forced to constantly block out the noise and shut out the little voice in his head urging him to make a snap judgement and quick change when it seems convenient. To his credit, Kelly has done an excellent job keeping an even-keel over the course of his 1 1/2 seasons in charge of the Eagles in that he has not wavered in his decisions made before the start of each year. In 2013, Michael Vick was named his starting quarterback and remained so until injuries forced him out of the lineup. Nick Foles and his stellar play in relief of Vick made keeping him, a younger and cheaper option, as QB1 an easy decision by season’s end.

Now, Kelly is faced with a different type of animal. Though he has not set the world on fire the way he did in 2013 this season, Foles has continued to win games for his head coach. The Eagles entered Sunday’s matchup with the Texans at 5-2 and were, for the most part, two plays away from an unblemished record. That said, the offense had gone through its fair share of struggles over the first part of the season and many pegged the blame on Foles for his inability to hit open receivers and an unnerving tendency to throw off his back foot. Turnovers are up in a big way for Foles and the Eagles have not been able to duplicate the crispness of their attack that was often on display last season. While personnel change, injuries, and adaptation can shoulder some of the blame for the relative ineffectiveness of the offense at times, Foles hasn’t exactly seized the opportunity to establish himself as the franchise quarterback.

Sanchez and Foles are about as different as two 20-something year old men can be. Foles is soft-spoken, calculated, gracious, and sometimes frustrating in his refusal to demonstrate the sort of ‘swagger’ that has become such a big part of professional sports in today’s day and age. Not necessarily frustrating in the sense that it is a requirement for success, more so in the fact that his graciousness and genuine-nature is so rare in society. On the other end of the spectrum, the same bravado that has intrigued Eagles fans to the point where some hope he’d unseat Foles is the same trait that made his fall from grace in New York such a sideshow. After leading the Jets to two straight AFC Championship games in his first seasons as a pro, many figured New York had found their modern day Joe Namath. The USC product has every physical tool one hopes for in a quarterback and was never shy around the spotlight when times were good. As a fan of a team that has never won a Super Bowl, I’d be lying if I said I did not relish in the rapid decline of ‘The Sanchize’ in the Big Apple. Culminating with ‘The Butt Fumble’ and multiple losing seasons after signing a contract extension with the Jets, there was something gratifying about seeing another team go through the misery that Eagles fans had with disappointment.

To his credit, Sanchez has been a welcome presence as a member of the Eagles. He has graciously accepted his roles as 2nd string quarterback, persistently declared his loyalty for the team amidst trade rumors, and provided for occasional comedy with his light-heartedness. No NFL fan ever wants to see the quarterback of his or her winning team go down with an injury. Especially with someone as good-natured and professional as Foles, watching him walk off the field with the look of a man who knows he will be unable to perform his job for the foreseeable future is tough to take in.

Foles solidifying his status as the undoubted starting quarterback this season was the dream scenario for Eagles fans. That said, the NFL is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ kind of league more than any other. With turnovers up, efficiency down, and frustration being far too common themes for a 5-2 team, Foles had been unable to grab the position by the horns beyond the 2014 season. Quarterbacks get paid more than any other player in the league and one would be lying to him or herself by saying Foles had earned such a distinction and the payday that came along with it. In a perfect world, I had hoped not to see Sanchez take a meaningful snap all season. In the world of a 2014 Eagles fan, I was excited to see what he could do when handed the reins.

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Foles miscues early in the game against Houston were hardly his fault. His interception was a result of being hit by the NFL’s first half defensive player of the year J.J. Watt and his offensive line did a horrendous job trying to hold off the Texans’ first half pass rush. Whether their improved play over the rest of the game was an attempt to make up for a sack leading to their quarterback’s departure from the game is impossible to say. What is possible to say is that Sanchez did not have the same swarm of red jerseys in his face all game that Foles did for a full quarter. For all we know, had the Eagles been able to wear down the Texans the way they had and Foles remained in the game, the quarterback could have been on the cusp of a bigtime performance. Yet, As they old adage goes, “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas’.

His statline wasn’t perfect (15-22, 202 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT) and he had the benefit of a dominant second-half rushing attack, but Mark Sanchez looked pretty damn good against the Texans over three quarters. His athleticism brings an element to the position missing with Foles and seeing his emotions on display, both in good times and bad, was enjoyable as a fan. Sanchez’s miscues seemed more as a result of him pushing the envelope and taking risks whereas Foles’ mistakes this season seemed to be caused more from general poor play. Sanchez handled a high-pressure situation late in the game by throwing a perfect touchdown to Jeremy Maclin at the edge of the endzone to put the Eagles in front by two scores and seal a hard-fought, costly victory. All the qualities (arm strength, leadership, charisma, athleticism) that led to him being a 5th overall pick were on display in a matter of three quarters. One of his interceptions was on a well-thrown ball off the hands of Josh Huff. The other, albeit much more on his shoulders, could also be blamed on a poorly run route by Riley Cooper. Both of his touchdowns were perfect throws in clutch situations. After the game, Chip Kelly insisted he would not dial down his offense no matter who was in the game under center. Anyone who watched the 31-21 win would have a tough time arguing otherwise.

So, once again, Kelly is in a position where a starting quarterback who, honestly, was underperforming expectations will miss an extended amount of time. Also, once again, Kelly is now required to play a quarterback whose level of intrigue was enough to have some question whether or not an injury should have been what finally landed him some game action. Kelly knows how to play the politics game in the NFL, and will say that he won’t have to make a decision on whether or not Nick Foles will return as starter when healthy until he is as such. As Foles was lighting the world on fire last season, Kelly never anointed him as the starter until he absolutely had to. If I were a betting man, I’d say the Eagles head coach will do the same no matter how well or poorly Sanchez plays for however long he has to.

There may come a time, however, where Kelly is forced to make a call on the matter. Should the Eagles find themselves, once again, in a position to make a postseason run and are as a result of strong quarterback play, it will force Kelly to make the difficult decision whether or not to send Sanchez back to the bench or leave the quarterback who led him to his first postseason on it. Kelly has always struck me as a coach who lives in the moment and finds ways to make every variable thrown his way as manageable for his team as possible. Whether or not he realizes he has a better quarterback option in Sanchez than he ever would have in Foles is yet to be determined. The window for success in the NFL never stays open as long as one thinks and when a team catches the proverbial ‘lightning in a bottle’, one has to ride the wave until the magic runs out. Physically, Mark Sanchez is a superior specimen to Foles and, in a perfect world, could pick up the slack where his teammate tends to come up short. The NFL does not operate in the ‘perfect world’ or Sanchez would still be in New York and the Jets would not be one of the laughing stocks of the league. Kirk Cousins has already proven that temporary success from a backup quarterback can be misleading. It’s quite possible that Sanchez could head into Lambeau Field next week and revert to the sort of play that led to his ousting from his previous team. However, if Sanchez shows the ability to head into a game as the unquestioned starter and outduel Aaron Rodgers in his own building, Chip Kelly will be forced to continue to consider him as a starting option regardless of other factors. He won’t have to make the decision for the next month or so. If and when he does have to make the call on which quarterback he wants leading what could be his 2nd run into the postseason, the man who rode three different quarterbacks to four BCS bowls at Oregon could have to make the most difficult choice of his coaching career. So far at the NFL level, he’s shooting a pretty good clip.

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QB Controversy Part II: Does Nick Foles’ Injury Make It Mark Sanchez’s Job to Lose?

By Somers Price | Nov 3, 2014