For Eagles, it's Mark of a struggling Sanchize

IT SEEMS very likely that Mark Sanchez will get at least one more shot to rewrite the all-too-familiar narrative, this Sunday when the Eagles host Tampa Bay.

Starting quarterback Sam Bradford watched practice again Wednesday. Coach Chip Kelly confirmed that Bradford has not made it through the five-step NFL concussion protocol, though he is able to attend meetings, so he is beyond the first step. Kelly would not say at what point Bradford needs to be cleared in order to start this week. Bradford, who also has a Grade II left shoulder AC sprain, declined to speak with reporters.

So, we have the Sanchize, back in the saddle again, probably against Tampa and likely again at Detroit, given that the Thanksgiving game turnaround is only four days.

When he came in for Bradford in the third quarter last Sunday, Sanchez did what he had done many times, in four seasons with the Jets and then last season with the Eagles. He made some strong throws, several good reads, under persistent pass-rush pressure. He moved the team down the field for a field goal that got the Birds within a point, then once again, as the minutes bled away. And just when he was about to add what very well might have been the game-winning points, Sanchez threw an interception in the Miami end zone, to a receiver who wasn't yet looking for the ball, surrounded by three Dolphins.

This is why Sanchez, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, was available in 2014 as a free agent, and it is why, after watching him start eight games last season, Kelly went out and traded for Bradford.

"You've just got to be smart with the ball. Understand the situation and what we need at the time," Sanchez said Wednesday, when asked how he might cut down on interceptions.

Sanchez has said those words or very similar ones so many times now, he sounds like a TV cop giving a Miranda warning. Eighty-two career touchdown passes. Eighty-one career interceptions.

Miles Austin, the receiver who wasn't expecting the ball on Sunday's killer pick, said there was a good reason for that. Austin said he was only in the passing progression once he "cleared the linebacker," as Austin crossed the end zone from right to left. He hadn't cleared the linebacker. He wasn't open. There was no reason to throw him the ball then, on second-and-goal from the Miami 9.

Tight end Brent Celek was wide-open as a checkdown, right in front of Sanchez; a throw to Celek would have at least gotten the Birds to the 5, even if Celek couldn't score. The other tight end, Zach Ertz, was in the left corner of the end zone; a pass over his head to the back line would have given Ertz a chance to make a play, and allow the ball to fall harmlessly behind the end zone if he couldn't.

Sanchez did not avail himself of those options.

"There's a fine line," he said, when asked how he balances his natural aggressiveness against the need to take care of the ball. "We've used the analogy to a fastbreak in basketball. Just because you have a fastbreak doesn't mean you can throw the ball out of bounds or lead the guy on a lob for a dunk, and he's not thinking that. You've got to be on the same page with these guys. That's the most important thing.

"And understand where you're at, what the situation is, what that specific play is calling for. When all those things fall in line, you usually have a positive outcome."

Kelly was asked Wednesday what he can do to cut down on Sanchez's turnovers. Kelly chose to pretend that life on Earth began Sunday afternoon.

"Well, he has ONE," Kelly said, in a "whatever-could-you-mean?" tone. "So it's a matter of putting him in situations in practice where we're giving him the right coverages and the right schemes that he's going to see, and how he executes in terms of what he's supposed to do, compared to the play we're running."

Sanchez said he does not know if he's starting Sunday. Asked if it's difficult to get used to playing after sitting out the first half of the season, he said: "It's not so bad. You've got to force yourself and push yourself mentally to prepare like you're going to play . . . Just log those (practice) reps in your brain and kinda build almost a Rolodex of specific looks and things that you anticipate for that week. It's a good test."

Another problem Sunday was that every handoff exchange between Sanchez and running back DeMarco Murray was an adventure. Sometimes it took too long, as Sanchez and Murray failed to mesh quickly. At least twice, Sanchez seemed to accidentally trip Murray, after giving him the ball.

Asked about this, Kelly said there were "a couple mechanical things."

Murray and Sanchez were working on handoffs early in the Wednesday practice. Sanchez called it "just something we needed to rehearse a little bit and get our footwork squared away."

Sanchez, with two full offseasons in the Kelly offense, is able to run it at a faster tempo than Bradford. Sanchez took the starter's reps all spring, with Bradford not cleared to practice 11-on-11 as he recovered from back-to-back ACL tears.

"Every experience and every repetition can only help your knowledge and your grasp of the offense," Sanchez said. "I feel good with it. I feel comfortable, and I'll be ready to go."

When Nick Foles went down last season, Sanchez knew right away he was quarterbacking for a long stretch of games. This situation is much more fluid. Does that make it tougher?

"It's a good test mentally, a good test of your preparation," he said.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian