Tale of the Tape: QB Breakdown
Can We Trust Mark Sanchez at QB for the Eagles?
The butt fumble. The hot dog. The interceptions. The press conferences. Nearly every memory you have of Mark Sanchez from his time in New York is the butt of a joke, unless you’re a long-suffering Jets fan who remembers his leadership during the team’s AFC Title Game runs a few years ago.
Which is why you probably laughed out loud when you heard that the Eagles would bring in Sanchez to back up Nick Foles, replacing Mike Vick’s dynamic athleticism with Mark Sanchez’s, well Mark Sanchez.
But Sanchez quickly jumped Matt Barkley on the QB depth chart and had a decent preseason, fitting into Chip Kelly’s system well and providing the Eagles with a backup plan in case something happened to Nick Foles.
Well, something happened to Nick Foles, and now it’s time for Sanchez to shine. So how did he do in his first game since 2012, and what can we expect from him moving forward?
The former USC star finished the game with 15 completions on 22 attempts for 202 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s good for a rating of 89.6, nearly 18 points better than his career rating.
But this was very much a traditional Mark Sanchez game, with highs and lows seemingly coming back to back. Let’s take a look at one of the good moments, first.
This is the play after Sanchez entered the game, and the Texans are playing aggressively expecting a run or short pass with the backup quarterback taking his first snap. D.J. Swearinger is already creeping forward, and won’t get or stay as deep as he needs to on this play:
The cornerback was playing with outside leverage, expecting Swearinger’s help, and when the safety isn’t quick to turn and run with Jeremy Maclin, it’s game over.
There just wasn’t quite enough juice on the throw to lead Maclin into the end zone, but it’s tough to expect any quarterback to throw the ball 60+ yards with perfect placement on their first play of a game. The recognition was there, and the throw was good enough for a huge play for Philadelphia.
Just five plays later, the Eagles would score, and the touchdown came on a fantastic play by Sanchez and his rookie receiver Jordan Matthews.
Matthews is going to run a fade from a slot position, making a hesitation move after a couple of yards and then getting to the outside of his defender to allow for an over-the-shoulder throw for a score.
Sanchez trusts the play and his receiver, and starts to wind up to throw before he’s even remotely open. That’s because there are no defenders beyond Matthews and his man, and he can just let his athletic playmaker go get the football with no worries about help from another Houston defensive back interfering.
The ball is released just as Matthews makes his break upfield, and the timing between the duo of backup quarterback and rookie receiver is perfect.
Matthews gets separation heading into the end zone.
And the throw is perfect to allow him to haul it in deep in the end zone, over the defensive back’s head.
This play, more than any other, may reveal just how important Chip Kelly and his system are to the Eagles offense. Mark Sanchez is a capable NFL quarterback, and within the confines of this ridiculously good offense, he’s made to look like a genius for just tossing the ball up to a receiver running the most basic of routes.
Sanchez didn’t have to think too hard, or go through progressions, or fake any handoffs. He just had to recognize man-to-man coverage with no help, and make a throw to allow his receiver to go get the football. Nearly any NFL quarterback can flourish when offense is run that simply and effectively.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Sanchez on the afternoon, as he had some moments that reminded us why he’s Mark Sanchez. His first interception wasn’t one of those moments, as his receiver alligator-armed a catch that bounced into a defender’s hands. But his second interception was definitely a Sanchize moment we all remember from his days in New York.
It’s 3rd-and-8, and Sanchez is going to focus on the crossing receivers to his left. He has an open checkdown in LeSean McCoy to his right, but he never looks that way, which is fine on third down when getting to the sticks is the number one goal.
The Eagles rub/pick route downfield works to perfection, as Riley Cooper clears out for Jordan Matthews who is open, with room to run, just short of the line to gain.
Look at how open he is! Just trust the offense, Mark, and throw to the open receiver…
Oh. Oh no.
Riley Cooper’s body language and posture at the time the ball was thrown to him indicated that he was not expecting to be targeted on this play. He made contact with a defender and cleared him out to allow Matthews to run underneath, yet Sanchez saw Cooper, double-covered, and threw him a pass he’d never catch even if he was looking for the ball in that situation.
It was a bad decision and poor execution of said bad decision. It was a well-earned interception for Sanchez, and one he’ll not have fun with in meetings this week with his coaches.
And the worst part about this play is that it was a repeated mistake from an earlier play that unfolded nearly the same way.
This time its 2nd-and-10, and Sanchez has two perfectly good checkdown options with room to run. This includes Jordan Matthews, open in the flat thanks to Riley Cooper’s route upfield to clear out the defensive back on that side of the formation.
There is no reason to not throw the ball to Matthews or LeSean McCoy on this play. No reason at all.
But instead, Sanchez winds up to throw to Riley Cooper after a moment of hesitation, which has allowed Andre Hal a chance to recognize where the pass is going and break on the ball. Cooper might have been open had Sanchez hit him in stride on the slant as he ducked behind Hal, but now that he’s stopped his route, he’s no longer open, and this throw can only end poorly for Philadelphia.
Hal makes a diving stab at the ball, but can’t haul it in. Sanchez was focused in on Cooper, ignored open receivers, and tried to force a throw that simply was not there. It’s the same sort of decision making that led to the interception just a couple of drives later.
Those are plays that you’ll just have to deal with as long as Mark Sanchez is under center for your real football team or your fantasy football team. He’s erratic and makes some choices that just don’t make any sense.
Luckily for him, and for those who wish to use him in DFS, he’s in an offense that often limits the amount of thinking a quarterback has to do during the play, as we saw during the touchdown to Matthews earlier. The mental progression for Sanchez on that play was “Is Jordan in man-to-man with no help? No. Okay, throw the ball to the back of the end zone.” Sanchez has the arm talent to execute plays like those, and he will continue to do so as long as he’s starting for the Eagles.
And to be honest, his turnover-prone nature isn’t all that different from the man he’s replacing under center in Philly. Nick Foles had thrown 10 interceptions on the season prior to his injury, getting picked off on 3.2% of his attempts. That’s just slightly better than Sanchez’s career interception percentage of 3.8%, which is propped up by an awful 5.5% rate during his rookie season.
The fantasy football takeaway is simple here: when you start Mark Sanchez, you’re starting Chip Kelly. You’re starting Jeremy Maclin. You’re starting the constant threat of LeSean McCoy. And in some ways, you’re starting Nick Foles. Foles had an incredible year last year, but regression was hitting him like a ten-ton truck this season. That regression made him similar to Sanchez in a lot of ways, yet the Eagles were able to succeed with him turning the ball over and making mistakes.
Up next for Philadelphia is a home Monday Night matchup with the Carolina Panthers, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks so far this season. His price should be low across the industry, so if you’re looking for a bargain at QB and don’t mind a bit of risk, Sanchez should be among the best options at the bottom of the salary list in Week 10.
How Ryan Tannehill’s Athleticism Helps Him Stand Out On the Field and in DFS
Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been the topic of constant discussion this season, with analysts and experts around the media world sharing their thoughts on the former Texas A&M receiver-turned-quarterback. His draft position hasn’t been met through his young career, but in recent weeks he’s shown increased levels of production thanks to a new wrinkle in the Miami offense that’s unlocking some of his potential.
Over his last five games, Tannehill has rushed for 35, 49, 48, 48 and 47 yards, while also helping the running attack in general by keeping defenses honest on zone-read plays. Lamar Miller has five rushing touchdowns over those five games after scoring none in the first three weeks of the season.
Let’s take a look at how Tannehill handles the read-option, and why it’s so effective for Miami.
We’ve looked at zone runs in the past, and noted that an unblocked defender on the backside is nearly always part of the zone blocking scheme. In this case, the defender at the top of the image above will be unblocked, as the zone motion of the line will move to the left along with Lamar Miller.
But since this is an option play, Tannehill will have the opportunity to hold the ball and run right if that unblocked defender follows the blockers and Miller to the left. Defenders are taught to read the linemen to pick up what the offense is doing, and they’ll all flow to their right (the offense’s left) as they see the offensive line release in that direction.
Here you can see the moment of the decision, and the unblocked defender has noticed that Charles Clay is coming around to block him. He’s going to take himself out of the play, trying to pursue down the line of scrimmage after Miller, not looking back into the backfield to notice the quarterback keeper.
Clay would normally block that backside defender on this play, but he was so thrown off by the fake that he continued inside of Clay to pursue a player who didn’t have the ball. This opens up Clay to lead block for Tannehill, who has acres of space to his right.
This play would go for a nice gain as Tannehill showed good patience and allowed his blockers to keep him upright and allow him to get out of bounds without taking any big hits.
CBS provided us with a great shot of the moment of the decision on another read option play later in the game.
This isn’t just your average play action run fake. This is a truly deceptive run action that fools even the most talented and experienced defenders. Tannehill has plenty of experience as a quarterback in an option scheme, and knows how to handle the football and make reads in an instant on these sorts of plays.
But Tannehill’s athleticism doesn’t just come in handy on read-option plays. Sometimes it comes in handy to extend plays and to turn possible wasted downs into big gains.
Tannehill is winding up to throw here, but really doesn’t have anyone open downfield. There’s also a leaping lineman about to bat the ball down, so mid-throw, he decides to tuck it back in and look for another option.
This is a Ben Roethlisberger-like pump fake, as it nearly flies out of his hands when he goes to reset himself. It takes a talented athlete to control a football after winding up with intent to throw, but Tannehill doesn’t stop there.
His ability to get outside of the pocket and extend the play allows for Rishard Matthews to break open, and his throw, on the run, across his body and from a poor base, is right on the money and leads to a score for Miami.
Whether he’s running a designed run play, or simply extending a pass play with his legs, Tannehill is at his best when he’s allowed to run. He’s too good of an athlete to be caged into the pocket on every down, and it appears that the Miami offense is finally going to allow him to use his legs after a few weeks of limiting his play to the pocket.
Running quarterbacks break fantasy football, as rushing yards equate to points at a much faster clip than passing yards. Tannehill starts with four or five points every week thanks to his rushing ability, a number that equates to around 100-125 passing yards. His passing volume is still there despite his rushing attempts, as he’s thrown 29 or more passes in every game.
The Dolphins face a challenge next week against the Lions, but that may help lower his price for future matchups against the Broncos and Jets, who are among the top-five in points per game allowed to quarterbacks. Tannehill is becoming a very productive fantasy quarterback thanks to his athleticism, and will be a player to watch as he gets more favorable matchups over the coming weeks.