Mark Sanchez has moved into the next stage of his NFL career, settling into the background as a Nick Foles understudy with the Eagles.
The change of scenery comes at a good time for Sanchez, who had used up his surplus of goodwill with the New York Jets before his release in March. The nadir came last summer, when Sanchez drew boos for poor play during a training camp practice session. Yes, this really happened.
When Sanchez went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in the preseason, it cost him any shot of redemption in New York. On the plus side, it saved the quarterback from further ignominy at the hands of a fan base that was fed up.
That fan treatment appears to have stuck with Sanchez, who on Monday offered up an interesting opinion on a difference between New York and Philadelphia.
"The fans," Sanchez said, "are a lot nicer here."
Sanchez appears to have forgotten how patient Jets fans were with him as he labored in his first two seasons as starter. Sanchez often receives credit for taking the Jets to back-to-back AFC title games, but in truth, it was the Jets' defense that took Sanchez. This was a reality educated Gang Green fans understood but were willing to temporarily overlook.
Fan criticism didn't begin in earnest until Sanchez's game plateaued at "thoroughly mediocre" in years three and four, and the Jets' defense and running game could no longer cover for the shortcomings of the quarterback.
Meanwhile, Eagles fans are going full Nicholson Joker right now.
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