Eagles All 22: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Mark Sanchez

A closer look at the Philadelphia Eagles‘ backup quarterback.

When Mark Sanchez decided to re-sign with the Eagles in the off-season, many people were surprised he turned down a potential starting role elsewhere to remain in Philadelphia. But after Sam Bradford separated his shoulder and suffered a concussion last Sunday against the Dolphins, the former New York Jet has stepped back into the spotlight, ready to lead the Eagles into the most crucial stretch of their season.

Sanchez’s performance on Sunday certainly was a mixed bag. He extended plays and hit open receivers in stride and looked very confident in Chip Kelly’s offense, much more so than Bradford has all year. But he also struggled to get clean handoffs to DeMarco Murray and made one poor decision that cost the Eagles the game.

THE GOOD

As soon as Sanchez stepped on to the field Sunday, he took control of the offense, hitting Ryan Mathews on a 17-yard screen pass to pick up a first down on third and long. He also displayed his athletic abilities on this improvised throw to Murray to get the Eagles inside the red zone.

The Miami linebackers did not bite on the play action, which left Sanchez’s first two options covered. He then eluded the pressure from his front side and scrambled out of the pocket, dropping the ball in Murray’s lap over the defender. Despite the issues the pair had exchanging the ball on handoffs, they were on the same page in the passing game, which is a good sign moving forward.

However, this play gives us an idea of what Sanchez is capable of when Kelly dials up the correct play and Sanchez is put in a position to succeed.

Now, this touchdown ended up being nullified thanks to Riley Cooper not being set at the line of scrimmage, but the Dolphins also had 12 men on the field, none of whom decided to cover Zach Ertz, (or Josh Huff for the matter.) Sanchez saw the open receiver, and was able to make a strong throw across his body to a wide open Ertz for what should’ve been six points.

Once again, the confidence and charisma that Sanchez brings on to the field makes him seem a lot more comfortable taking control of the offense than Bradford, but sometimes it seems like he has a bit too much gunslinger in him, and he makes poor decisions at the most inopportune times. Which leads us to…

THE BAD

You know the scenario; the Eagles are down one, knocking on the doorstep, well within Caleb Sturgis‘ range for a go-ahead field goal. But on second and goal from the eight yard line, Sanchez does this:

Now, to be fair, Miles Austin was technically open by the slimmest of margins and Sanchez overthrew him terribly. But, at the end of the day that is a throw that should never, ever, ever be made in that situation. Look at this still-shot of when Sanchez decides to throw the ball:

There were three receivers Sanchez could throw to. Option one was Brent Celek wide open in the flat. It’s the safest option and, if the ball is caught, he could probably have bruised his way down to the three-yard-line, setting up third and short.

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Option two was Ertz in the corner of the end zone. He had a step on a smaller defender, so Sanchez’s job would be to throw the ball at the back pylon and let his tight end go up and get it. If he doesn’t, then the Eagles still have another shot at a touchdown before a short field goal gives them a lead.

And then there’s Austin. Not only was his head not facing the QB, but a cornerback and linebacker have him bracketed perfectly, meaning Sanchez had to thread the needle in order to complete the pass. The linebacker didn’t let Sanchez get the ball low on Austin’s body where only he could get it, and the cornerback made a great play on the ball to preserve the win for the Dolphins.

THE UGLY

Here’s where things got a little odd. For some reason Sanchez and Murray really struggled on handoffs in the fourth quarter. Now, you may remember Sanchez started week one of the preseason for the Eagles as Bradford was not fully healed from his torn ACL, but Murray himself wasn’t a full participant in practice at that point either, meaning him and Sanchez never had many reps together.

Add in the fact Murray is already slightly uncomfortable running from the shotgun and you have a recipe for disaster.

After the game, Murray noted it was difference in style between the two quarterbacks that made things difficult for him. So, let’s take a look at the styles of the signal-callers.

First up, Bradford:

Notice how he hopped into position as soon as he received the snap and had the ball ready for Murray. Murray knew where the ball is and already had his head up, looking for a hole to hit before he even receivedthe ball because he knows where it was.

Sanchez, on the other hand, is a bit slower with his mechanics:

The snap from Jason Kelce was a bit high, but Sanchez shuffled his feet, and waits until Murray is almost by him to shove into the running back”s gut. This creates some hesitation on Murray’s part and he is swallowed up in the backfield.

The hesitation also may have been a result of this play:

The edge rusher crashed down on Murray, which meant Sanchez’s decision to keep the ball was in fact the correct one. But it was apparent Murray wasn’t prepared for the possibility of the quarterback keeping the ball. Maybe it’s because Bradford has 17 carries for 31 yards this year.

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The good news is this problem is easily fixable by a few reps in practice. And since Kelly prides himself on getting as many reps as possible each week, there should be no hiccups come Sunday afternoon.

As for the interceptions, Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said this week the coaches can’t tell the quarterback to not throw a pick on every play. So, maybe that won’t be changing anytime soon.

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