Set to make his first start in two years on Monday night against the Panthers, Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez has billed himself as a "better version" of the quarterback who fell from grace in Gotham after guiding the Jets to back-to-back AFC title games in 2009 and 2010.
Former Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards played alongside Sanchez during those playoff campaigns and claims the passer's early success in New York's run-heavy offense came with a cost.
"You have to remember Mark was 20 years old when he was drafted. He was a kid." Edwards said Friday on WPEN-FM, per NJ.com. "They babied him and never really allowed him to man-up in the NFL, which is a league full of men."
Said Edwards: "We had a good team that allowed him to not grow up, if you will. When they took away the pieces, that's when you saw the decline of Mark Sanchez. Flash forward, I think those circumstances of his last three years with the Jets really allowed him to take hardship, take scares, and learn from them."
Eagles teammates see more maturity in Sanchez today, with wideout Jeremy Maclin saying the "sky's the limit" for a quarterback who, at 27, finds himself surrounded by more weapons and better offensive coaching than he ever received in New York.
As we mentioned on the podcast, if Sanchez can reduce his tendency for ugly turnovers, his physical skill set gives coach Chip Kelly plenty to work with. Besides, after two months of skittish play from Nick Foles, we don't see Sanchez as a drastic downgrade in what amounts to a quarterback-proof offense.
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