Let’s talk about Mark Sanchez and how he played in his first start since 2012. How long ago is that? Chip Kelly was the Oregon coach, Ray Rice was a model citizen and that was a time when Miley Cyrus used to keep her clothes on. Clearly a lot has changed since then.

I haven’t re-watched the game yet so this is just me going off what I saw last night. Sanchez showed big time potential. He made some terrific throws. His pass to Brent Celek for the near-TD was Manning-esque. Sanchez put excellent velocity on the ball. I also thought his ball placement was excellent. There were some replay shots from behind him where you could see Sanchez putting the ball low and away from a defender. He’s intentionally placing that ball in a specific spot. Love that from a QB.

Sanchez had very good pocket presence most of the night. He would stand tall in the pocket when it was clean. There were no happy feet. When he had a single rusher coming at him, Sanchez would side-step the guy or climb up in the pocket and re-set his feet. The Eagles mixed in some movement passes where Sanchez rolled out. He looked good on those. You can see his mobility and again…he re-set his feet before throwing. That helped with his touch and accuracy.

I liked his decision-making. There were some plays that didn’t work and Sanchez didn’t force the issue. He ate the ball or threw it away. There were some erratic snaps. Sanchez didn’t panic. He got on the ball and played it safe. Bad things are going to happen in a game. Good QBs will minimize those mistakes and move on to the next play or the next drive.

While there was a lot to praise, Sanchez was far from perfect.

There were several confused players early on. Sanchez was directing players left and right. Was he calling the plays correctly? We’re not used to seeing that many guys get moved around. Quick screens were an adventure throughout the game. Sanchez moved Darren Sproles from left to right on one play, then threw left, where Riley Cooper was blocking for no one. That’s serious confusion. Sanchez fired a quick screen to Cooper that looked off target. There was no rhythm to those plays, for the most part. Screens to Maclin and Sproles worked, but what is normally a safe, efficient play was highly erratic last night.

Sanchez did force one ball to Maclin that was almost picked off. That looked to be a case of Sanchez being greedy and trying to make a play where one wasn’t available. There was a pass to Celek on 3rd/short that I didn’t like. Celek was short of the sticks and had Luke Kuechly all over him. Throw the ball elsewhere or run it.

I just knew the gameplan would be to run the ball and ease Sanchez into action. WRONG. Chip Kelly saw Carolina focus on the run so he decided to attack their secondary, over and over. Sanchez was 20-37-332. I never would have expected 37 passes in a game where the Eagles had a good lead for much of the contest. Sanchez threw 2 TDs and didn’t have an INT or fumble.

Not all games will be this easy, but that was a very encouraging start for Sanchez. You could see his physical skills as well as his QB skills. He ran the offense with good tempo. He looked in command on the field and seemed comfortable.

One huge plus with Sanchez is Red Zone offense. Since he took over, the team is 7 for 7. The Eagles were 32nd in the league when he became the starter. They are now 26th overall. That’s pretty impressive. He makes quick decisions and good throws. He also can use his feet to move around and make good throws from outside the pocket.

The Packers now have almost 2 games of tape to study on Sanchez. You can bet they’ll find something they think they can exploit or attack. The test for Sanchez is to continue to play well. He can’t catch people by surprise anymore. They know what’s coming and how he looks in the Chip Kelly offense.

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I’ll write about the defense for tonight. For now, enjoy this.

Connor Barwin is tied for 2nd in the NFL in sacks with 10.5. Eagles 2nd in league as team with 32 sacks. Buffalo 1st with 34. — Greg Richards (@eaglesnut) November 11, 2014

It is so much fun to see the Eagles pound on opposing QBs. Cam Newton took a beating last night.

Is Connor Barwin the anti-Jason Babin? He’s having a career year (like Babin did in 2011), but Barwin is doing it the right way and remains loved and respected by the guys he plays with and against.

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