Who's the QB? It doesn't matter for Eagles

Mark Sanchez gets the third chance of his professional career to prove he is a legitimate NFL starting quarterback on Sunday, and anyone who really believes this one will turn out differently from the other two is probably in for a disappointment.

Sanchez had a four-season apprenticeship with the New York Jets, the team that invested the fifth overall pick in the draft to get him, and that ultimately didn't work. He took over for Nick Foles with the Eagles last season, and Chip Kelly was so impressed that he traded away Foles and signed Sanchez - as a backup.

This third opportunity arrives one game later than it did a season ago. Foles broke his collarbone and Sanchez took over for the rest of the year. This time, Sam Bradford is out with a concussion and a sprained nonthrowing shoulder. Unlike Foles, Bradford will be cleared to return eventually, so the clock is ticking for Sanchez, who is a bit excitable and frenetic under normal circumstances. Heaven knows how he'll handle the ticking clock.

In a way, however, it matters more to Sanchez than it does to the Eagles. He could play his way into another chance somewhere else, perhaps, but he alone won't be able to play the Eagles into respectability.

Don't ever say Chip Kelly can't pull off things that are beyond the reach of other coaches. Kelly has done the most difficult thing in the NFL: He has created a situation in which the identity of the quarterback is irrelevant. Bradford, Sanchez, Madman Muntz. Doesn't really matter.

Bradford had been playing well recently. His 63.9 completion percentage is the best of his career and, remember, he came to the team touted for his accuracy. This season, it has been even better. He recently cut down on interceptions and had attempted 104 straight passes without a pick when he was blasted out of the game last Sunday. Pretty good, and, you know what, the Eagles still lost two of three during that stretch.

He had issues at times - some happy feet, some aversion to getting the ball down the field - but overall Bradford was fine. Sanchez might be fine, too, and there are a couple of things he can do better than Bradford. The problem is that the offense is broken, and the quarterback can't fix it. It doesn't matter whether you have Mario Andretti to drive the car if the transmission is shot.

Mark Sanchez, as has been noted throughout his career, and was noted again last Sunday when he threw away a win with an ill-chosen pass into the end zone, is not the most careful of drivers. His history is that he scrapes the walls and leaves paint behind. When he doesn't, however, he can win. His teams are 18-5 in games in which he doesn't throw an interception. Of course, then there are the other 49 games. He's 20-29 in those.

What Sanchez can do better than Bradford is the same thing he could do better than Foles, and that is employ the read-option component of Kelly's offense to either freeze or mislead the defensive ends. That gives the running game an advantage, but only if the middle of the line can open holes for DeMarco Murray, which it apparently cannot.

Beyond that, Sanchez pushes the pace well, which Kelly likes, but he can't make all the throws to the outside of the field, and that will allow defenses to ignore the Eagles wide receivers even more than they already do, which is considerable. The box will be clogged by defenders, and those underneath routes to the slot receivers, tight ends, and backs will be run in heavy traffic, which has never been a good thing for Sanchez.

The same problems that have beset the offense under Bradford aren't going anywhere. The quarterback doesn't have enough time to do more than dink and dunk, and doesn't have enough dangerous targets even if he did. It takes 10 or 12 plays to get a drive down the field, and by that time someone has either committed a penalty or made some other mistake.

The offensive line is an inconsistent mess, and that's where everything begins. The running game isn't respected by opponents, and that makes the Eagles put more manpower and energy into pass protection, which further limits their weapons. Plus, there's something odd going on with tackle Jason Peters, who warmed up as if he would play against Miami, but didn't, then went in and out of practice during the week. It looks like a push-pull among the player, medical staff, and coaching staff regarding his availability. In any case, until it is resolved, Dennis Kelly is the right tackle, and he's already gotten one quarterback broken.

As a bright spot, both Chip Kelly and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said last week that, in terms of the playbook and running the offense, Bradford and Sanchez are essentially interchangeable. They are equally comfortable with the system, equally adept at executing the calls.

In other words, there's not much difference between the two. But we knew that. For the Eagles right now, unlike every other team in the NFL, the identity of the quarterback doesn't really matter.

bford@phillynews.com

@bobfordsports

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