Mark Sanchez Comments on Opportunity to Be Eagles Starting QB

Nearly two full years removed from his last NFL start, Mark Sanchez is ready to face his new challenge head on. The Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller spoke to reporters Wednesday, indicating he was excited to be back under center after a lengthy hiatus. 

"It's been a while since I started a game," Sanchez said, per ESPN.com's Pat Sheridan. "It's hard, going four straight years and then being out for a year—one, not being able to practice and two, coming in and watching somebody else play. It tests you a little bit. It makes you appreciate it even more. It makes you want to play all that much better when you get in."

Sanchez, who turns 28 next week, will make his first start Monday against the Carolina Panthers. He'll be taking over for the injured Nick Foles, who will miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering a broken collarbone in last week's 31-21 win over the Houston Texans, per Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com.

Foles suffered the injury on the last play of the first quarter, putting Sanchez into the regular-season fire for the first time since 2012. The former USC star responded with an up-and-down day, completing 15 of 22 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. He added two interceptions, though only one was the result of a bad decision.

A first-round pick (No. 5 overall) in 2009, Sanchez spent his first four NFL seasons as the much-maligned starter for the Jets. While he led New York to two AFC Championship Games, Sanchez struggled with decision-making and accuracy. He threw 68 touchdowns against 69 interceptions over those first four seasons, which culminated in a miserable 2012 brought down by a near-constant quarterback controversy.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Jets drafted Sanchez's replacement, Geno Smith, in the second round of the 2013 draft. Sanchez did not have much of an opportunity to compete, as he suffered a preseason shoulder injury that cost him the entire campaign. Now in a much less toxic situation, Sanchez said the 22-month break between starts has helped him grow as a quarterback.

"Just getting that chance to get a bird's-eye view of everything," Sanchez said. "Putting that New York experience in its place—taking with me a lot of things that went well, improving upon the things that didn't go so well. So now, hopefully, I'm a better version of myself, the best version of myself for this Monday night game."

Monday night should provide Sanchez with an opportunity to impress. The Panthers have lost three straight games while seeing their once-fierce defense fall apart. Football Outsiders' DVOA metric ranks Carolina 24th overall, including a 21st ranking against the pass. Chip Kelly should and will use LeSean McCoy and the running game to open up passing lanes underneath for Sanchez.

At the very least, he'll be in a much better position to succeed than he ever was in New York.

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