The Center Of Attention: 'Mark Sanchez Is As Good As It Gets'
Jason Kelce, one of the NFL's top centers, shares his weekly thoughts with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Jason Kelce went into beserker mode on Sunday in the Eagles' 31-21 victory over the Houston Texans. It was the first action the Eagles' center has seen since suffering a sports hernia against Washington on Sept. 21.
Kelce said he felt a little sore on Monday after the Houston win, but "a good sore" made more palatable by the Eagles' road victory and 6-2 record halfway through the season.
Kelce also had some juggling to do, going from Nick Foles, who was lost for 6-8 weeks with a broken left collarbone with :07 left in the first quarter of Sunday's game, to backup Mark Sanchez, who guided the Eagles the rest of the way.
"It felt good to get on the road and get a win and especially getting back to running the ball, the way the offensive line likes to, and the way the running backs like to get going," Kelce said. "This team has a way of making it happen. Anybody goes down, the next guy is right in there ready to take over. Mark went in and was ready to take over. Nick was doing a great job when he was in there and Mark was able to get the job done."
As for Kelce, there was one instance, early in the third quarter when Kelce blocked three players, the center and two Texans down field on a Darren Sproles screen pass.
"I was definitely fired up," Kelce said. "I hadn't played football in five weeks. I was really excited to be out there. There's something that takes over you, especially in football, where you're not only playing for yourself, but you're playing for the other guys, too. You can be as happy as you want going up to the game, but being back out there with the guys together gets me going. On the Sproles screen, I was just playing football. I try to hit someone every single time I'm on the field."
Kelce also addressed a few of his snaps to Foles and Sanchez—and his belief that the Eagles are in capable hands now with Sanchez at quarterback.
"I think the snaps were more just a case of a little rust," Kelce said. "You come off well in practice, but it's a little different in game situations. I think that there was one high, a couple that were right, but we'll get the snap down at practice. Nick is a little bigger target (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) than Mark (6-foot-2, 225 pounds), so some of that is a snap at practice with Nick might not look so bad all of a sudden looks really high on Mark. It will be better getting a full week of practice snapping to Mark and getting used to that."
As for Sanchez's new role … "Most backups come in and are uneasy, and you don't know what to expect, but Mark's been through it. He's played and seen every scenario in the NFL at this point. He's confident and understands what he needs to do in every situation. He's definitely a charismatic guy and that carries over on to the football field. I think guys understand that and gravitate towards him.
"Nick has that, too, but as a backup, you don't see it very often. Guys understand who Mark is. Mark is much different than most backups on most teams. They wanted a guy who can step in and rely on to win football games. Mark Sanchez is as good as it gets. Look across the board, every backup who's been asked to step up has filled in great and I think that's been the MO of this team at this point in the season."
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