Lane Johnson: Mark Sanchez 'a little more conscious of tempo' than Sam Bradford
By Steve DelVecchio
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is dealing with a separated non-throwing shoulder in addition to being in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and at least one Eagles player believes that could speed things up a bit for the team offensively.
On Tuesday, veteran offensive lineman Lane Johnson told reporters what might change with Mark Sanchez under center.
“Mark’s probably a little bit more conscious of the tempo,” Johnson said, according to Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com. “He may go a little bit faster pace than what Sam is, so other than that, probably just the tempo may be a little bit faster.”
Wide receiver Riley Cooper agreed. Like Johnson, he was seemingly careful with how he chose his words.
“I’m not going to say one [pushes the pace] more than the other but I know Mark likes it,” Cooper said. “He really does like the tempo offense, not saying Sam doesn’t. But we’re talking about Mark right now and he likes the tempo offense.”
Chip Kelly is considered by many to be an offensive genius, yet the Eagles rank in the middle of the NFL this season with 23.6 points per game. The offense was expected to be vastly improved with Bradford under center, but that has not been the case.
What Johnson and Cooper were probably trying to say is that Sanchez is more familiar with the system. But we all know Kelly wants to run as many plays as possible and keep a quick tempo, so it’s hard not to interpret the comments as a knock on Bradford.
Bradford is expected to miss one game after being slammed hard on his shoulder last weekend (video here). If Sanchez plays well and the offense looks more fluid, it would not be a surprise if the Eagles don’t rush Bradford back.
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