Eagles' Sanchez showed poise in first start

MARK SANCHEZ was feeling the pressure Monday night, such as it was, and that was a good thing.

Sanchez was sacked only once in his first start as the Eagles' quarterback, and that was the result of a botched snap. But he often had to buy time to deliver the ball, whether it was because the Carolina Panthers were doing a decent coverage job or because Sanchez still isn't that familiar with his receivers.

Sanchez bought that time, and he did so with poise - stepping up in the pocket, or sidestepping and then resetting. In completing 20 of 37 passes, Sanchez didn't show a better arm or even better overall accuracy than Nick Foles, who is sidelined at least another month or so with a broken left collarbone. But he did excel as a field general, performing more smoothly in the pocket than Foles and getting better results in the red zone, where the Eagles, ranked last in the NFL when Sanchez came in for Foles at Houston, are 7-for-7 since.

"One of the most important things when you're in the pocket is being able to feel the rush," Sanchez said yesterday. "I think our offensive line did an outstanding job of pushing guys one way and keeping them going that direction, and trying to eliminate the double moves and the spin moves and all that kind of stuff, to keep the trash out of your face, so to speak. When you feel that kind of pressure, you just try and move up and keep your eyes downfield."

If a rusher is coming hard enough to make you take your eyes off your receivers, "get two hands on the ball, make a play," Sanchez said. "Try not to get your shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage. Try to stay in a passing mode. Expect those guys to see it down the field, react to it, and get friendly to the quarterback. These [receivers] did that."

In both situations, the pocket and the red zone, it's important to note that Sanchez has been a beneficiary of the offensive line coming together; Foles played just one quarter with center Jason Kelce after Kelce returned from abdominal surgery, and Foles was on the sideline Monday night when left guard Evan Mathis came back from the MCL sprain that had taken Mathis out of the lineup in the season opener. And of course, Foles played the first four games without suspended right tackle Lane Johnson.

Still, whether it's fair to draw the contrast or not, the way Sanchez moved purposefully Monday night was very different from some of the clunky, doomed backpedaling we've seen from Foles this season - scrambling that has often ended in a back-foot throw for an interception.

Asked to review Sanchez's performance yesterday during his weekly news conference, Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur mentioned several things, including pocket presence.

"I thought his demeanor was terrific. I thought he handled the pace well. He did the things that we want in our offense," Shurmur said. "For the most part, he made really good decisions. You could tell he threw the ball accurately. I thought he managed the pocket well.

"Very rarely do you get a chance to drop back and it's all pretty. Although we did protect well, there's times when you've got to slide in the pocket, keep your eyes downfield. I thought he did all those things very well."

Shurmur noted that if you're stepping up in the pocket, if no one is open, you're ready to take off if you need to do that.

"We're sort of used to seeing that [from Sanchez]. He hits his back foot and then he pushes up through the pocket and gives himself a chance. As he's going through his progressions, you see him kind of keep his foot moving, and if it's not there, he's in a position to run with it," Shurmur said. "Managing the pocket is important . . . we try to keep a firm inside and get the [rushers] upfield."

On a conference call with Philadelphia-area reporters yesterday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said: "I thought Mark looked very comfortable in the offense. Threw the ball on time. Played well in space."

Shurmur said that with the defense producing five turnovers in Monday's 45-21 victory over Carolina, "if we didn't score a lot of points, something was wrong," and as Chip Kelly mentioned Tuesday, there were glitches. The run game never got going. There were mixups between Sanchez and his receivers, especially early. The Eagles took two false-start penalties and survived the botched-snap sack, all in Carolina territory.

"Our fans were so loud, I think they were pumped up for prime time," center Jason Kelce said yesterday. "I remember the first possession we had that was down in the red zone, it was hard to hear our own quarterback."

But Kelce acknowledged the line also is still getting used to Sanchez.

"Everybody's a little bit different. The cadences are a little bit different," Kelce said. "As we got into the game, that [communication] really got better."

Mathis said a QB usually doesn't need a totally clean pocket to be able to step into his throw.

"We don't win every single battle. But if you have one guy who maybe gets edged, doesn't do a perfect job with their block, and four guys who do, there's going to be room for Mark to step up," Mathis said. "One guy coming free is not that bad for a quarterback to adjust to, and get out of the way and make his throw. Mark did a great job of having pocket presence, keeping his eyes downfield, and also feeling where the defenders were" so that he didn't get surprised and fumble when hit while setting his feet.

Asked about his red-zone success, Sanchez said: "As throwing lanes get tighter, you've got to remind the wide receivers that as soon as they catch they've got to run vertical - there's no side-to-side kind of stuff, you've got to slice the defense and get up the field. Quarterbacks have to be incredibly smart, especially as the play extends itself. It gets harder as the play goes on, and really take care of the football, knowing we've got three points . . . with a [dependable] kicker like [Cody] Parkey, we gotta get those points. And then, we've got to be able to run it down there, too."

That was the Eagles' main failing Monday night, when their running backs were held to 38 yards on 18 carries against a run defense that had been ranked 26th in the NFL. Shurmur said Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly "was all over the field," making eight tackles, but Shurmur also said the Birds "left a lot of meat on the bone" in the run game.