Chip Kelly's Day-After Presser: "I Feel Great About Sanchez"
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Chip Kelly has always said the NFL is a league where a team needs two quarterbacks and appears as if the Eagles will, after Nick Foles was lost with a broken left collarbone after being sacked with :07 left in the first quarter of the Eagles' 31-21 victory over Houston on Sunday.
Now it looks like Mark Sanchez is going to get a second chance to guide an NFL team.
"One of the things that I've always said is we need two quarterbacks," Kelly said. "I thought Mark did a great job in our system and we feel really confident with Mark. We obviously feel really bad for Nick, but we feel confident with Mark if we have to go in that direction.
"Mark prepared himself like he's a starter. The one thing about him is that he's always ready, he's always focused. He's always prepared to make plays. That's part of his makeup. That's what we really liked about him. I think he has a great work ethic and I think when you watch everything we did offensively, we didn't change anything. He just wants to win. That's the great thing about him. He truly understands what we're trying to get accomplished here."
Kelly said Sanchez possesses the skill set he's looking for. Sanchez veteran experience has helped him acclimate to Kelly's system. Kelly said he goes way back to Sanchez when he played at Mission Viejo High School, when Kelly was recruiting for New Hampshire.
Kelly also addressed middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans being lost for the season with a torn right Achilles tendon. Casey Matthews and Emmanuel Acho will step in to replace Ryans.
"I think Casey been really consistent and he has a very, very good understanding of what we're doing defensively," Kelly said. "He can set the front, make the right calls, he's an in-the-box linebacker and is an instinctive football player. We've been really happy with how he's played, especially this year."
Kelly said both linebackers, Mychal Kendricks and Ryans, call the defense. But Kelly said all of the Eagles' linebackers know how to call the defense. Both Matthews and Acho got snaps when they replaced Kendricks earlier this season.
"It does help, because it's not the first time those guys will be playing and they've gotten an opportunity to get a lot of valuable snaps when Mychal was out," Kelly said. "It will benefit those guys being in there before. We've always been a rep operation, and it's solely built for handling injuries. It pays off when you're a two or a three. It's a byproduct when someone isn't a starter, they got reps in and our guys play confident."
Matthews and Acho got snaps when they replaced Kendricks earlier this season.
Check Out These Sports Stories:
