Sanchez is the quarterback we all thought he was!
Tony Romo may have the reputation for choking, but it was Mark Sanchez who gave up the game late this time. So much for all of Philly getting "Sanchized."
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For Sunday's Inquirer, I drew a cartoon I knew every Eagles fan would get a kick out of - a Tony Romo action figure, complete with "choking hazard" warning. Here it is, in all it's glory:
Everything seemed to be lining up. The Eagles, down by 21 points early, roared back in the third quarter to take the lead. Chris Collinsworth mentioned my cartoon on the "Sunday Night Football" telecast just before Tony Romo fumbled away the football. At last, the choke job all Eagles fans were waiting for.
Unfortunately, other than that fumble, Romo was clutch all game, ending with a 71 percent completion and three soul-crushing touchdown passes to Dez Bryant. Hell, Romo has been clutch pretty much all season, something that can't be said for soon-to-not-be Eagles starter Mark Sanchez.
When I watched Sanchez miss open receivers and overthrow intended targets, former Vikings and Cardinals head coach Dennis Green started dancing around in my head. "Sanchez is who we thought he was!" After proving Chip Kelly's quarterback-proof offense isn't really quarterback proof after all, Sanchez was hard on himself, telling reporters, "I'm better than that."
Sadly, he's not.
Bob Ford has a great analysis in today's Inquirer of the decision facing Chip Kelly - start Nick Foles as soon as he's healthy, or stick with Sanchez against two teams the Eagles should easily defeat. But there's even a larger decision looming - hand over the future to draft Oregon's Marcus Mariota, or stick with either Foles or Sanchez and see what happens.
So consider today's Sanchez cartoon as a mea culpa. At least Sanchez is only the third most hated guy in Philadelphia. Second goes to Riley Cooper (who Jeff McLane notes had just one catch for zero yards prior to the Eagles' final, pointless drive).
Who's the most hated man in Philly? New Jersey Governor Chris Christie:
Good luck campaigning in Pennnsylvania and South Jersey in 2016.