Philly Phile | Never let reality get in the way of some hysteria

UNDER THE GUN

BY THE NUMBERS
As Eagles QBs

Games Played

1. Nick Foles 28
2. Mark Sanchez 10
3. Sam Bradford 9

 
Record as Starter

1. Nick Foles 15-9
2. Mark Sanchez 4-4
3. Sam Bradford 4-5

 
Passer Rating

1. Nick Foles 94.2
2. Mark Sanchez 86.6
3. Sam Bradford 82.4

 
Completion Percentage

1. Mark Sanchez 63.9
2. Sam Bradford 63.9
3. Nick Foles 61.6

 
Yards Per Pass

1. Mark Sanchez 7.8
2. Nick Foles 7.7
3. Sam Bradford 6.9

 
Passing Yards Per Game

1. Mark Sanchez 257.4
2. Sam Bradford 255.2
3. Nick Foles 241.2

 
TD-to-INT Ratio

1. Nick Foles 46-17
2. Mark Sanchez 14-12
3. Sam Bradford 11-10

 
Fumbles

1. Mark Sanchez 4
2. Sam Bradford 4
3. Nick Foles 12

 
Rushing TDs

1. Nick Foles 4
2. Mark Sanchez 1
3. Sam Bradford 0

 
Yards Per Rush

1. Nick Foles 3.9
2. Mark Sanchez 2.5
3. Sam Bradford 1.8

The Sanchise Sucks Hysteria always has escaped me.

It is a phenomenon born out of a fandom hellbent on having a fall guy for every occasion, on regurgitating whatever the biggest blowhards bitch about the loudest, on clinging to the notion that all things in sports are black and white, that’ll never take hold here.

Keep in mind, the author of these words is no big-time supporter of Mark Sanchez. What he is, is a big-time believer in reality – seeing it, grasping it and accepting it, be it good or bad or something in between.

Frankly, that’s pretty much a perfect description of Sanchez in the NFL – something in between good and bad. He’s neither extreme, and, really, if you wanna break down the numbers, including his won-loss record, he leans far closer to the good side than the fellow mediocre quarterback he’ll be replacing this week, maybe next and possibly the rest of the season.

Seriously, after what you’ve witnessed through the first nine games of the 2015, does Sam Bradford seem to be the answer for the Eagles – this year, next year, any year? Does he bring anything more to the table than Sanchez does, or, before him, what Nick Foles did?

Anyone clinging to the idea that Bradford has given any hint of possessing a special quality, whatever it may be, that neither of those guys possess, is merely kidding themselves. Just two days ago, we did a comparison at YDKJ between Sanchez and Bradford during their times as Eagles quarterbacks, in the Chip Kelly system, and it’s quite telling. The former tops or matches the latter in every single category.

But those fully invested, or caught up in, the Sanchise Sucks Hysteria will never get it. Instead, they’ll have a never-ending supply of excuses for whatever disaster happens on the field with Bradford out there that relieve him of any responsibility whatsoever. Offensive line stinks. Receivers stink. You name it. Just make sure Sammy never has to take any heat.

Sanchez, meanwhile, is torched … whether it is his fault or not. Last Sunday’s loss, in large part, was placed squarely at his feet because of a red-zone interception late in the game. Granted, he had other options on the play called. But the ball wasn’t picked off because of his decision, it was picked off because his receiver, Miles “Check’s in the Mail” Austin, gave up on the play. Had Austin continued running and not dogged it, that’s either a touchdown or a ball batted away.

This insanity that is being pitched that Sanchez somehow panicked under the pressure, or was trying to impress a coaching staff that had deemed him forever the backup to Bradford now that he had a chance with the starter sidelined with an injury (what a shock, huh?), is ridiculous … and the silliness of one of Philly’s sportstalk station bringing on QB guru Kevin Foley to state just that defies all logic.

Don’t think so? Well, the two biggest rationales given were wrong or convoluted.

Sanchez was cold? No, he wasn’t. Not only had he awakened a dead offense and driven it 61 yards for a field goal earlier after taking over for Bradford, but he had just spearheaded that fateful march with some spectacular play – oh, and, by the way, decision-making, too. Not the least which was a sack-avoiding, play-extending move to his right that resulted in an incredibly skilled pass to DeMarco Murray down the far sideline for 20 yards that got the Eagles inside Miami’s 10 in the first place.

Bradford wouldn’t have made that decision? Well, can’t argue that theoretically … because Bradford never would have gotten the Eagles down there in the first place at that point and time. The offense had shut down under his direction, as it often does. The pass to Murray, are you kidding, Bradford would never be able to pull that off in a million years. The beauty of this stupidity is that Bradford doesn’t take chances. His guts meter runs very low, if at all. So, the idea of him not making the decision to throw the pass Sanchez did might be true. But, fact is, Bradford himself is what everyone claims Sanchez to be – a turnover machine, especially in the red zone. Oh, if he had the good fortune of being in that spot, rest assured Eagles fans would have had no reason to rest easy. More than likely he would have been sacked, and fumbled – just as he did twice earlier in the game.

The reality is, there is very little reality involved when Sanchise Sucks Hysteria kicks in, especially when Bradford’s backers get involved nowadays.

- Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]​

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