The Answer is…
Posted: October 1st, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 126 Comments »We don’t know.
The question is whether Nick Foles is a franchise QB. Everyone would love an answer to this and tries so skew the weekly performance of Foles into a definitive answer. You can guess. You can make predictions. The bottom line is that you simply don’t know.
Foles is in his third season. He has started 20 games.
At this point in his career, Steve Young looked like a huge bust. Terry Bradshaw had 19 TD passes…and 46 INTs. Daunte Culpepper looked like a potentially elite QB. Brian Griese looked like John Elway’s successor and a star in the making.
Just think about Drew Brees. At the end of 2003, he had been in the league for 3 years. He had shown potential, but had a losing record and more INTs than TDs. The Chargers got a high pick in the 2004 draft and spent that on Philip Rivers. Brees then had a breakout year in 2004 and looked like a star. His play regressed a bit in 2005 and he hurt his shoulder. The Chargers let him go and moved on to Rivers. Brees got to New Orleans and proved to be a perfect fit for that city and that team. He’s now on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Foles has looked great at times, but we need a larger sample size. We just don’t know what he is right now.
Even if Foles leads the Eagles to the Super Bowl this year, that doesn’t mean he’s a franchise QB. One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse or possibly a superhero sent from another planet to save the Earth. But not necessarily a franchise QB. I think you need sustained excellence to be a franchise QB. That takes time. I think it will be late in 2015 before we start to know the answer to the question.
I’m not saying you can’t debate the topic. We’re football fans and arguing is what we do best. Just know that you need to wait a bit before getting confirmation of your brilliant/idiotic opinion.
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Speaking of Mr. Foles…I enjoyed his press conference from yesterday. Nick knows he stunk on Sunday. He knows he’s been erratic this year. He’s not hiding from that. He talked about the need to improve his accuracy on downfield throws. Reporters are looking for a smoking gun as to why he’s been so off-target. I haven’t seen one answer. It really does look like a combination of things, but as he explained, he’s just missing his guys.
Shooters go into slumps in basketball. Hitters go into slumps in baseball. Right now Nick is in a deep ball slump. There isn’t a glaring mechanical issue. He just needs better accuracy and touch. Nick and the coaches will keep working on things until he gets back into a groove.
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Bill Davis had another strong PC himself. I love the fact that Davis isn’t looking for excuses. Everyone is dying for him to say that his players have been on the field too much due to offensive struggles and that’s hurting the defense. Davis continues to say that the biggest issue is that the defense isn’t getting off the field when they’ve got a chance. If the defense gets stops, they are off in 3 plays. That’s on them to do that.
It was interesting to hear Davis talk about the decision to push back SF and give them another shot at 3rd down. He wanted that. This wasn’t Chip rolling the dice on his own. The coaches thought the risk was worth it. Davis was then honest in explaining that the offense made a great call and ran the ball to the outside when his blitzers were unfortunately coming up the middle. No coach is right all the time. You have to take some chances and sometimes the other guy is going to burn you. That happened on that sequence. You don’t cry about it. Tip your hat to the other guy and move on.
As Davis explained, the big problem with the run defense was setting the edge. The Niners inside run game was held under control. They burned the Eagles to the outside. This happened in Indy as well. There are some plays when it isn’t obvious to me who has contain. It seems like maybe some coaches found certain looks where the Eagles get into an alignment and struggle with setting the edge. There were other plays when it was clearly defined and the perimeter players just didn’t get the job done.
Davis, the defensive staff and Kelly all hate when teams can get wide. They will work hard to fix this.
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FO still ranks the D 11th in the league; the O 22nd. (amazingly, Special teams is ranked #1–woo hoo!).
Unfortunately, it looks like the bell is starting to toll for Foles. Accuracy and decision-making are key for a QB, and it’s not looking so good. Weren’t these the knocks on him in college? He’s very good when he’s rolling, but when there are some problems, it’s just a toss-up if you’re going to get Saint Nick or Naughty Nicky.
I half agree. His decisions were fine last game…he completely missed some throws. First game of the season he didn’t see a lot of open players…he’s seeing them now…just missing.
I agree, I didn’t think his decision making was all that bad. I love Foles and want to see him succeed, but his deep ball accuracy sucks. I mean it is horrible. Until we hit consistently on these one on one deep opportunities, I fear the running game is in the crapper and the short and intermediate routes are going to be hard to come by.
He had a couple long balls on 3rd down that caused a 3-and-out. I would have liked to see him take something shorter to move the sticks. Also threw into double coverage some of the time. I’d say there were a few decisions in this game that I didn’t like, but one bad game doesn’t make the season.
I think the long ball attempts are being pushed by the coaching staff. This is what the defenses are giving us. I agree with taking the shots, its the only way the running game and short/intermediate passing game gets going. We are getting good looks, Foles is identifying them, but he is overthrowing them. This is maddening because his issues have always seemed to be underthrowing on the deep balls.
When you’re not in control, you might underthrow it and later overcompensate and overthrow it. It is probably the case that it will never be a strength for him. He just needs to get a little better at the long ball. Hopefully he can do it.
Much rather have an overthrow than an under-throw in almost every case. He is just picking a spot and lobbing the pass… to me it looks like his timing is off and more work with maclin and this year’s speed celek is needed.
Foles doesn’t call the plays – he runs what the OC and HC tells him.
Yes, with a record of 3-1, it’s high time Foles was benched!
Not sure if kidding…….
You don’t think it’s possible that Foles’ true level is below what we saw last year, and that he will end up as an inconsistent and somewhat inaccurate QB? In other words, like this scouting report on him said before he was drafted? “There are times when the ball can get away from him when throwing deep, and he has struggled with accuracy there. His release is sufficient but not fast by any means. His judgment with the ball is somewhat questioned, as he can be slow to get rid of the ball and scramble into trouble.”
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/nick-foles?id=253284
As I stayed above I dnt think you can throw 7 tds in 1 game in the nfl and be below average. His deep ball has stunk this year but was good all last year. I dnt think you can blame him for having a lackluster o-line and no running game but yeah, we dnt know what he is gonna be yet. We only have 20 games of knowledge on him.
I predict that one of these games in the near future, Foles is going to go off. With the way guys are getting open deep and he is missing them, eventually he gets his touch and starts to hit them.
I also think that with as good as Maclin has looked, consider that him and Foles are having major timing issues. If they manage to get on the same page–watch out. Maclin is going to be scary.
They didn’t have much time together in the pre-season and no time last year. You can even see progress so far this year as they work together more. I feel the same way you do – when they start clicking, they will be a great combo.
No if only Mr. cooper could hold on to a ball!
Of course he is going to go off… The kid will be better and better as Molk and Tobin improve with each week(hopefully)… Once we get Kelce back for the November 10th panthers game! and Mathis back for thanksgiving or Seattle game…we will really start rolling, peak at the right time and go into the playoffs as that Bad mofo that no one wants to play!
Question: Is Tommy Lawlor one of the best Eagles blogger there is?
The answer is…: yeah, stupid!
“I think you need sustained excellence to be a franchise QB. That takes
time. I think it will be late in 2015 before we start to know the answer
to the question.”
Exactly. Problem is, Howie doesn’t must, but he will decide it basically after this season. If he’s sold, I’m sure he wants that one year as extra leverage. I just hope he gets some kind of Kaepernick deal done, with the team being able to opt out if the performance is on Dalton level.
But that’s life in the NFL, you don’t always have the answer, but have to answer the call. Hopefully it will be the right decision.
I agree. Doesn’t Foles have one more year on his rookie contract though? If he continues like this, I would not be surprised if they don’t let him hang for another year. We definitely do not want to pay him just because there is nothing better out there like the Bengals did with Dalton.
I get what you’re saying. But you give up leverage if you do that. Foles, like any other human being, wants security. That is worth some money in 2015. That’s why all the teams want to extend their important players before they hit FA.
If Howie gets a prove-it kind of deal Kapernick and Dalton got, I’m fine with it. If we’re really long term commited to Foles, Howie better makes sure he makes the right call. If Foles turns out to be Dalton (or even worse, it’s possible, altough I don’t think it will be the case) and gets 16-18m/year long term to be that kind of QB, it’s really, really tough to win a SB. I mean, the Bengals have one of the best rosters in this league. Can you imagine how good they would be if they had a Top 5 or Top 8 QB? They would be the Seahawks of the AFC.
It’s a toughie, because he has been so good, but also so bad. Is he going to ever be good enough to be paid like a top-echelon QB, or can Chip plug in anyone and be successful?
“or can Chip plug in anyone and be successful?”
Didn’t work with Barkley, didn’t really work with Vick. Not that I wouldn’t trust Chip if he decides to go that route, but I hope he would have a plan if that’s the case.
Vick was pretty good in this system. Barkley has not shown he is an NFL QB. Foles has.
Uh no, Vick regressed to the point where his legs was all that he could give us. Could you plug anybody in Chip’s system? Sort of, because the Spread Offense is so fundamentally sound.
But you need pinpoint accuracy to be able to run it smoothly. And despite struggles, Foles’s precision passing is what makes it go.
We’ll see a stronger Foles as the season continues. Look on the bright side: With an average Foles, we’re 3-1.
I hope you’re right, but that’s an extremely lucky 3-1. I do agree if the O gets it together, we should make be making some noise in the later part of the year.
I don’t quite remember how the games played out, but these were Vick’s stats last year:
Running: 307 yards, 2 TD
Throwing: 53.8%, 5 TD, 90.6 rating
Not bad for a QB who’s probably been a net negative for most of his career.
Foles:
He played poorly last week but this team isn’t giving him any protection, they have no run game, and teams aren’t even having to blitz to generate pressure. The line so far either gets a ‘D’ at best even with the injuries.
The one area that doesn’t get talked about is the turnovers with Foles. Vick averaged over 2/start here during his tenure which is absurd. Foles had issues with that in ’12 but not last year. This year he has had 7 turnovers (fumbles and INTs) already in just 4 games. If Foles can’t address that, that to me is the biggest reason to ultimately make a change because no team in the NFL can withstand ~2 turnovers/game from their starting QB.
As for the skill personnel, they are overrated a bit. Yeah Maclin has come back and played well but the rest of the WRs are nothing special (Cooper, Matthews, Huff) and a lot of filler (Maehl, Smith). Ertz has been erratic so far with inconsistent blocking and hasn’t taken quite the leap I thought he would in the passing game. Celek is a player that is the decline and Casey isn’t a receiving threat.
Sproles has had some big plays the first 2 weeks but been a nonfactor the last 2 weeks in the offense. Niche player who will hit some HRs but have some real dry spells too on offense. McCoy was coming off a career year and the numbers overwhelmingly show that when that happens there is almost always a bit of decline in a RB’s performance the following season.
I think maybe 2 of Nicks INT’s come on desperation throws right? The one at the end of the SF game where he had to throw it up on the last throw and I feel as though there was an “end of half” throw he was just trying to get points before the half.
Tommy – any thoughts on Derek’s post regarding Foles deep accuracy in 2013? http://www.igglesblog.com/iggles_blog/2014/09/foles-2013-deep-completions.html
Makes me concerned that what we’re seeing this year is what Foles has to offer in terms of deep accuracy. It’s been a real problem this year, especially last game, and the tape from last year shows good results, but not necessarily good throws. Can he improve here? Or is deep ball accuracy something a QB either has or doesn’t?
On a positive note, how many years has it been since we’ve had receivers who could make a catch in less then ideal circumstances? Seems like forever since we’ve had guys you could trust to make a tough catch or fight through contact.
I think Dereks post was a bit nitpicky if he was truly intending to show that Foles has accuracy issues. I think he was just posting the results to generate discussion. That being said, the issues that we’re seeing with accuracy this year were NOT in any way present last year. Foles had a handful of plays where his WRs made nice catches, just like every other QB in the league. But, ultimately, he threw a consistently catchable ball that was placed in an area where only his WR could catch it. Unlike this year where he’s missing wildly on throws to wide open receivers. If Foles gets back to playing like last year and we all can sit around and complain that his multitude of completed long bombs and TD passes were just a little to the right or left of perfect, I’ll be ecstatic.
According to Football Outsider:
Looked at why do the Eagles continue to refuse to run the ball between the tackles (56% of the time vs NFL average of 78% of the time) and the production is because the Eagles are either 31st or 32nd on runs in between the tackles.
Part of it is McCoy is an ill-suited back to run that style but man this interior line has been utterly pitiful in the run game.
The line is bad because it is currently made up of 2nd and 3rd team players.
Also, Bethea said he knew when a run was coming because Foles would pat the top of his head before the snap. That obvious a “tell” has got to change.
I can’t believe that’s true.
It’s not… That’s not what it means because you see him pat his head plenty before pass plays also
What is with Chip saying today that Cooper has been playing well & Matthews won’t be playing outside anytime soon? I get not wanting to criticize guys through the media & all, but come on with that. He’s been flat out horrible.
I think they view Matthews as a slot receiver.
That said, I’d be all for benching Cooper for Maehl or Smith at this point.
Put me down in the Maehl camp. I liked what we saw of him in the pre-season.
This is a pretty silly debate…. We like to use 3 WRs, anyway you slice it, coop, Mac and Jordan are the best 3 WRs that we have,,
Pooper is playing like a 4th stringer. Should have kept Momahtron.
If these were the old days were teams just used two outside WRs and occasionally threw to a smaller slot, I would understand… But no matter which you designate as our #2, we will still use plenty of 3’WR sets so you still have to count on coop…
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Then again, I think this Coop mess is over rated… I’m sure he will step his game up a level or two soon… We aren’t seeing his best ball right now, I’m sure we will…
If we had Momahtron on that 3rd and 4th and goal, we’d be 4-0. We’d thrown it over the cross bar, like a natural pick. He’d jump up behind it and catch it (but in bounds, b/c he’s Gumby).
Know you’re joking, but Coulda, Woulda, and Shoulda have never won a Super Bowl either. ;~)
I think people are particularly concerned about Foles as a franchise quarterback because we need to make a long term decision this offseason and live with that decision for the next 5 or so years.
But that’s not really the case. Foles has a four year contract. The Eagles do not need to extend him this coming offseason. Sure, we’d like to know for sure and re-sign him a year early so we don’t risk losing him in free agency, but if there are still questions then there’s no reason to sign him early.
I think the Eagles and will eventually ask themselves this question after the season: If he was a free agent now, would we lose him? If the answer to that question is “probably not” then let him play out his deal.
I am particularly concerned b/c if he isn’t the answer the team could be set back many years. The OL isn’t young, etc. Starting over at QB doesn’t only put tremendous pressure on that position as someone learns on the job but then other positions that are hopefully ok in the near term need replacements.
It’s a fine line between trying to find a QB and being bad. I can see why the Bengals resigned Dalton. Even if he’s 85% of elite. There is only so much time (with your current roster) and resources.
So it’s his struggles that give me more concern than most others.
Regarding the Eagles decision to take the penalty and replay third down, I thought this piece by Kempski was right on the money: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/Does-the-Eagles-defensive-staff-lack-self-awareness-of-the-defenses-capabilities.html
If you go to Birds 24/7 the 4th down play is shown in progress and boy it looks like Foles should have given it to Shady rather than faked. Several SF defenders are already outside. Yes a safety or LB will be meeting Shady around the 1 or so, but that’s all on who has the angle when diving.
I think that was play action pass all the way. Not a read option.
I agree it was. I don’t know why though. Well, I do know why but don’t agree.
I’d say seeing the play unfold on film, there is a nice hole. Being the guy on the sideline having to call it when there was no hole all day…..I can’t fault that play too much in the grand scheme of things.
Hindsight, blah, blah, blah. If he would have given it to McCoy and he didn’t make it, the conversation would have been “he should have thrown it to…he was wide open”.
well with that attitude all 3,000 of our posts are blah blah blah since Sunday’s game and we should just shut down the site.
Also, Earl Thomas!
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE…. EARL THOMAS. RABLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!!!!!! RABBLE
I think I’m far from a Foles basher, but I feel confident saying that Foles is highly unlikely to be a “franchise QB” at any point in his career. To me, there are very few (5?) worthy of that designation right now, and most of them are closer to 40 than to 25. After those 5 or so, there are a lot of guys who either have an established track record of being very good, but not a guy that makes his surrounding cast consistently that much better (think Cutler), or guys that have that potential, but haven’t had the sustained opportunity to prove that they can carry their team (any of the young QBs who played on stacked rosters and for whom sub 200 yard passing games can be considered good games).
The more contentious question is whether Foles can be a QB under Kelly’s system that allows the team to be a consistent contender with a legitimate shot at a SB win. IMO, the evidence to date weighs slightly in favor of an affirmative answer to that question, but I agree with Tommy that the sample set is just too small to draw conclusions with any confidence. He fits in best with that younger half of the second tier who haven’t proven that they can carry a team on their own.
There is just such a variation in a definition of “franchise QB,” so I can’t argue with what you say. However in my opinion anyone that can throw 7 tds in one game has to be above average.
Defining a franchise QB debate is stupid…
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If you aren’t looking for another QB and you are happy building around the QB you have, he is a franchise QB….period . You either have a QB or you don’t… The teams who DONT have a “franchise QBs” are pretty obvious
The only reason I define it the way I do comes down to economics. Franchise guys are guys who you break the bank for. The next tier gets paid well, but you can’t break the bank because they need a strong team around them to win big games.
Obviously, even with the franchise category, there’s a floor to how bad the surrounding team can be. It’s just a matter of how much responsibility for wins and losses you can reasonably expect the QB to bear.
Furthermore, at least one of the guys I consider franchise is possibly a system QB (Brees).
Finally, it is abundantly clear you don’t need a franchise QB to win it all.
No… If you have a QB who is going to start for you the next few years, in TODAYS NFL, he is getting PAID!
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There are about 20 franchise QBs in the NFL… Then there are like 4-7 ELITE franchise QBs..
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Trade FOles today! and he would fetch you a franchise QBs compensation..
Josh huff is in chips Kelly’s doghouse..l not sure why, but Chip is really pissed at Chip…. I think Chip isn’t happy with his command of the playbook, but I’m not 100% sure
This is something not to……. Huff at? LOLOLOL
FOles will be the eagles QB for the next decade,,. Call that whatever you’d like
Foles absolutely, 100%, has the skills and potential to be a franchise QB. We saw him do it last year. The things that he’s failing at this year are fixable and are not issues that plagued him last year. He’s identifying the correct/open receiver, pulling the trigger and then being wildly innacurate with his throw. This is a mechanics issue. He doesn’t trust his line protection and is constantly running backwards, failing to set his feet and ducking his head as he releases the ball. (My grandfather always used to tell me while we were playing golf, “lift your head and all you’ll see is a bad shot.” – this holds true for throwing a ball too, duck your head and turn away from where you’re throwing and you’re not going to be accurate.)
Now, whether Foles ever fixes these issues and is able to develop or regain consistent repetitive accuracy like he had for most of last year, is an entirely different story. That we don’t know. Many a QB has shown that they are capable of being a franchise QB and then fail to become one. Vick teased us for years showing how good he could be, but could never put it all together. Here’s hoping Foles figures out the mental part the physical act of playing QB. He’s got the mental part of where to go with the ball down pat, that’s a huge part of being a QB. He’s got the necessary physical skills to compete in this league, which is another huge part of the equation. Right now he’s battling a terrible case of the shanks, it seems, where a part of your brain, unconscious or conscious, is keeping you from doing the things that you know you’re physically capable of doing. Time will tell if he ever breaks out of it. A good game could snap him out of it just like that. Or this can turn into a death spiral where he presses more and more and over thinks things more and more which only makes things worse and leads to his total loss of confidence and eventually his starting position.
Everytime he has ever had a bad game, he responded with some jaw dropping performance
Lol do people realize how fucked up your team looks when you don’t have a franchise QB? You don’t have to do this silly debate, when you don’t have a franchise QB, you know it!
I like Foles and want him to succeed. But having questions after 20 games should be expected. No, he doesn’t need to be perfect, but we should see a general trend of improvement, and we have to some extent. Regressions are expected, and seeing how he handles adversity is also part of us coming to learn who he is.
Unfortunately, not every player improves, so to sit here and claim that he will, with out a doubt, be a franchise QB is just as crazy as claiming he has reached his ceiling and is on the way down. Yes, the fact we can have this debate is extremely encouraging, but to say “You don’t have to do this silly debate, when you don’t have a franchise QB, you know it!” is just incorrect. You don’t know what a player will become until after it is proven, until then it is just probability and speculation.
Having questions or concerns are not slights on Foles, it is being objective. Hell, having concerns and hope are not mutually exclusive.
No, you shouldn’t see improvement when you take away his elite line and stick a line in shambles in front of him… It’s not at all normal or realistic to expect improvement….. Take his stellar play behind a healthy elite line, then stick a ruined up mess of a line in front of him, and it’s sheer stupidity to expect improvement…
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As a former offensive lineman,.. I can think of maybe two games where me and my line mates played like crap and a QB was still able to will us to a win…
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Shady and FOles regression isn’t some crazy davinci code mystery…. Take a pro bowl line, replace it with a mess of a line, and this is EXACTLY what happens… It doesn’t matter if you switch Peyton and Jammal Charkes with Shady and FOles, they are going to regress too…. If not, there would be no need for an offensive line.,. I can assure you LT don’t get 60 million because QBs can overcome them having a bad day easily
you misunderstood me. I wasn’t criticizing Foles, but pointing out that questioning how a player will develop after 20 games is not criticism.
1. Improvement is not necessarily improvement in numbers. He has shown improvement as a leader. As I said, we have generally seen improvement.
2. The way numbers are presented in sports is so completely flawed. Averages are meaningless without std, mean and mode. Furthermore, imposing gaussian statistics on a distribution is not always the correct approach. I didn’t say anything about regression in terms of numbers. The regression we are seeing is in chemistry with the receivers and impossible to determine where the issues are arising, why we should question and watch how it plays out.
3. The Divinci code was just stupid on so many levels – I refuse to let myself be compared with that garbage… ok ok I did get a kick out of the movie but that doesn’t stop it from being absurd or for me finding it sequel to be anti science.
4. I said I like Foles and want him to succeed. I think he will. I in no way am criticizing him by questioning. It is our duty to question and see if we can find answers. Not all are obvious – yes the OL has played a big part in it, and will be interesting to see how things evolve as they get healthy. But you are dismissive of all the other variables if you blindly blame them for all the issues.
Here is the thing… A QB at FOles level is like a jump shooter… When I step on a basketball court, if no one is around me and I take the time to shoot with the perfect form(mechanics) I’m going to make like 95% of my shots… Same with A QB like FOles… When we see a bad game where he looks less accurate than he normally does, that’s just a product of not throwing with his perfect form…
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I can make as many shots as a want if I can take my time and concentrate on my correct form(mechanics)..but I can’t play in the NBA because under fire during live games, I don’t have the time to make sure I shoot with perfect mechanics every time..
… Same thing happens with QBs..
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We go watch FOles throw around in practice tomorrow he will make it rain with perfect passes… But in games, with live bullets, big dudes blasting, some times mechanics(footwork) breaks down and that’s what leads to a bad game..
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We have seen FOles handle himself during live action really well about 16 of his 20 starts… That’s not an accident..
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As for the Niners game, after the beating he took against the skins. I wasn’t shocked to see him not play his best this week, especially when the OL was letting him take a beating again…
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Every time he has ever had a bad game, this fanbase starts this crap, and he shuts them up with a BIGTIME performance in the following game..
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You are welcome to disagree, but I’d bet majority of NFL front office people and players around the league view FOles as one of the special QBs…I’m fine with my oppinion differing from fans, as long as it’s in line with NFL peoples…
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And I highly doubt that NFL front offices don’t have FOles as a franchise QB.. If you wanted to trade him today, conversation would start at 1st round pick…. Negotiations would NOT start with 3rd round pick…if a team thought they could trade for him, initaial offer would be a first round pick.. That means front offices don’t have the same questions about this kid as the fans and philly media
did you read anything I wrote? I didn’t say anything about his accuracy being a regression and what I did say was you can’t distinguish between a missed throw being on him, his receiver, the OL, good defense or any other number of factors. You really should read before writing a novel. I pointed out that we have seen a lot in terms of his leadership and that was very positive.
I keep pointing out that you can’t make definitive statements, a lot can change in a short period of time, and that the discussion is valuable if handled objectively. you dismiss opposing viewpoints and even people who share your viewpoint on Foles (which I do and have said repeatedly that I do).
Read like the first 3 sentences if I’m being honest
please be respectful of the rest of us. I won’t comment unless I actually have read and thought about what you have written, at the very least, please do the same.
There have to be some questions about play calling this year also. I’d hate to see the whole team regress to Andy level of “we saw something downfield” or stick with the same play or player over and over even though it doesn’t work! I’m referring to the thousand times trying to get McCoy more than 1.5 yards in Levi stadium. And if Nick is waving his hand above his head every time there is a run play, like Bethea said, something needs to change.
Excellent point, I have been curious about play calling and if it has been more limited than last year due to Kelly not trusting the interior of the line. I mean, that was pointed out for the goal line stand, but is it apparent throughout the game? I know Chris from smart football pointed out the lack of new wrinkles which isn’t in keeping with Kelly’s MO from UO. I guess that is a question for Tommy since he actually studies the film. And I guess that is something to watch as the line returns to full strength/gains experience.
“Even if Foles leads the Eagles to the Super Bowl this year, that doesn’t mean he’s a franchise QB.”
If two full seasons of stellar play doesnt make him a franchise QB nothing will.
You’re not the type that thinks if a team wins a Superbowl, then the QB is responsible for it, right? I mean, the kind that thinks Dan Marino sucked because the Fins never got one?
No, I am not.
I am the type who thinks a rocket-arm and gunslinger-attitude is overrated at a position that’s supposed to distribute the ball as efficiently as possible.
That is one of the reasons Im not surprised that the chargers and the bears(just to name two) arent winning the big one with their current “franchise quarterbacks”.
Cutler is kind of a joke, but I think Philip Rivers is a good QB. I don’t care about the overwhelming physical tools (fools’ gold, more often than not). I am big good Foles fan, just not a big bad Foles fan. I wish he were just a little bit better when he’s bad. I guess you never can get everything though…
“I wish he were a little bit better when he’s bad”,. Really?
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I see Bonafide franchise QBs that have BAD games all the time which look like 170 yards, 3 INTs and a fumble, maybe 1 TD…great QBs have BAD days that look like that.,. A bad day for FOles is just missing open WRs, looking indecisive..his BAD games aren’t the unraveling bad games that you see from great QBs who have rough days… Even during bad games he still takes care of he ball as well as many QBs do in their good games…
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I can’t imagine what would happen in this city if he had the BAD 3INT games that many great QBs have had..
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As for the few times he has looked indecisive,, people wanted to see him improve getting rid of the ball and not taking bad sacks…well why isn’t he getting credit for the huge strides he has taken in improving?
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The kid played 4 games behind a mess of a line, has been under crazy pressure for weeks, and he was only sacked 6 times this season… He had to make some serious Improvement in this area to only be sacked 6 times behind this line..
you realize the offense only got to plus territory one time last game right? that’s a bad game, for everyone involved.
take away the DST points and it’s a 26-0 schelacking. we put up like 200yds total offense. that’s bad considering we aren’t a ball control team.
Dear Eagles fellas,
I am going to drive down to Philly to watch the game against the Rams this Sunday.
With regards to parking I have the following questions:
+ do I need to purchase a ticket for the parking lot in advance?
+ when will the parking lot open, given the fact that kickoff is at 1pm?
+ any other friendly and honest advice?
Many thanks!
GE
Dude, seriously, what I’m about to tell you to do is probably going to sound like a pain in the ass… But trust me, much easier….
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Go park your car somewhere near broad street in between Oregon and Snyder streets… Take the subway on broad street! cost you 2$ take you right to the game…..
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Paying for stadium parking is crazy, but even worse is trying to get your car out of the parking lot afterwards… It takes forever… Just go down to the subway, and you will see 500 fans in eagles gear, just follow them… Enjoy the subway ride, it’s like part of being an eagle fan…
Thanks, mate. You made some valid points. Are you talking about “off street’ parking on Broad which is free?
I have taken the subway a couple of times to the Stadium already. Don’t mind doing that again.
Btw: would you like to join me on Sunday? 🙂
Yeah… The subway runs
is he going to have to ask you out twice? answer the man
Oh shit,, he might have edited that, because I didn’t see it…. I’ll be at the game for sure this week…I’m down, it’s just me and my cousin on sunday
Sweet. If I am defo going I will give you a shout. Would be nice to finally catch up…
Where are your seats?
8 rows up behind the eagles bench… U?
That sounds like awesome seats. I don’t have a ticket yet. 😉
Sorry to have missed you at the Birds/Skins game– we went in about an hour before kickoff, and I didn’t check my messages after that….. Perhaps another time!
Friendly advice: Don’t be shocked at the amount of idiots fans we have at the game. It doesn’t seem as bad if your as intoxicated as they are.
Lol, don’t worry, I have been to quite a few games at the Linc. 😉
German–
Parking in the stadium lots is $35 per car, plus as GE said, unless you have a predetermined route out of the stadium, or you plan to leave the game early….. It can literally add hours to the commute.
If you are comfortable with the subway, park some place else and ride in….. Oh, and if you are planning to buy a ticket from a scalper (2nd hand source)- the closer you can get to kickoff, the cheaper the tix become; nobody wants to get stuck with unused tix, so you should be able to make out pretty well!
Have a blast!!
Thank you!
What do you mean with 2nd hand source? I have checked nfl ticket exchange yesterday and instead of going down the prices of a ticket did even go up?! How come???
Let’s be honest and just lay our cards on the table..
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It’s not easy to win in the NFL, everyone says our defense sucks.. Yet FOles won 10 of his last 12 regular season games…
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I’d say out of 20 games, he may have had 4 rough outings… Let’s just get it over with and be honest… Every time we lose, and the rare occasions the kid has a bad game the same exact people will start these FOles questions… That’s never going to stop… No matter how great FOles becomes, occasional bad games will always exist… At what point can the kid have a bad game without this shit coming up afterwards? Never… Because the same people just hope to eventually be proven right, and hate that the kid continues to make them look foolish… The only reason they can get away with this crap is because he wasn’t drafted in the first round.. If a first round pick played his first 20 games like FOles and people would dare say this dumb shit after a rare loss, they would get placed in a looney bin….. BUT Because the kid fell to round 3, everytime he doesn’t look like a hall of famer, the same people will always bring this up…..
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This is ONLY a fair debate. If the eagles front office is having the same debate… My guess is Chip would laugh at someone doubting Nick at this point… If the eagles still have these same questions, I apologize, but the impression I get is that everyone at Novacare knows who the leader of the eagles is…. There is also a pretty accomplished big name QB sitting on our bench that our players have witnessed look really good…yet I’d bet they would laugh at you if you suggested switching to Sanchez…
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I believe this is he, isn’t he a franchise QB only exists in the media and with fans… I don’t at all believe that inside Novacare we have any intention of replacing Nick after this year, and if that’s true…then it makes this debate absurd…if the eagles do question Nick, which it think is laughable, then I will make sure to appologize.
GOOD NEWS BOYS!!!
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Mathis is ahead of schedule, both Mathis and Kelce are targeting week 10 return against the Panthers…
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Al I know is someone will get the ball ran down their throat the first game we get those two hogs back
Where does Foles rank in accuracy on deep balls and what is the league average?
I read earlier that his deep throw accuracy % (20 yds or more in the air)is a hair over 25% on 38 attempts so far. The article went in to say that the avg. for the leagues better QB’s, interpret that gem however you like, is just over 50%. Incidentally, in Foles 10 games last year, he was right at 50%. Hope that helped some.
Think it’s pretty simple.. 3rd,game, FOles started finding his groove! with spectacular passes all day long, like the perfection to Jordan Mathews! come the second half he got the shit beat out of him. Goes into the Niners game sore as hell, elite front line like Justin smith, dominated our mess of a line, beat the shit out of a banged up FOles, and since he was already in pain, it wasn’t as easy for him to stay in the pocket, make the big throws while taking the big shots like he was able to do against the skins… When he was taking those shots against the skins and standing tall and delivering the ball, he wasn’t already banged up…. Go into the Niners game banged up already, and he couldn’t take those big shots again so being under pressure made him skittish and threw off his mechanics…. No big deal.. THIS happens to all the greats from time to time…
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Is there any doubt that he was banged up going into Niners game? You beat on any QB the way Nick has been beaten on these past two weeks and they probably aren’t going to look their best….. Yet we take it to the “maybe he isn’t a franchise QB” level… Duh duh duhhhh
If he’s got a sever bruise that’s affecting his accuracy he’s got to sit down. It must be something they saw in practice all week and just decided to let him play.
Additionally, it’s time for Foles to change up his hand signals since the whole league knows what they are now. I think Chip was severely limited in his play book last week but it almost seemed like he wasn’t trying to scheme help for Nick or the RBs.
While I hear you… And if this were basketball I’d agree… But he is the leader of the eagles. There is something to say for your leader who will play thru anything to lead HIS guys… This team LOVES Nick.. Sanchez might be a great backup, but these are NICKs guys…. In the grand scheme of things it’s probably more important that he guts thru this injury for his guys, than to win a game against the rams…
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With that said, I think this week our offense will be much better,,. I expect the right side of our line to open holes for shady and Sproles and get our run game going.. I expect Chip to stick Peters in between Lane and Herremans and go unbalanced lines to get the run game going against a week run Defense… Personally I have never seen Nick play two bad games in row.. Rare occasions that he has had a stinker for whatever reason, he has always answered with a monster game..
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I also expect Chip to put together a coaching masterpiece this week after self scouting our last 4 games… I think we will see a good offensive game even with Nick under center
i see what you’re saying but it’s different if the problem is physical vs. mental. rams front 4 is crazy and they’ve had 2 weeks to prepare for the eagles. i wouldn’t be surprised if robert quinn tests how rusty LJ is. I don’t understand putting a guy out there if he’s clearly hurt and the injury is making him inaccurate. we have sanchize for a reason.
hopefully nicky heals and plays lights out.
You think Jason peters would be so pissed to see someone hit FOles if he didn’t view him as the franchise QB? What makes you a franchise QB is the belief the men you have to lead have in you…not what a few jerkoff fans and media thinks… Don’t think there is any doubt in our locker room or Novacare who the franchise is
absolutely he defended his teammte Foles, not the franchise QB Foles.
no question…is an insult to Peters to even suggest such a question.
Apparently you didn’t see Mcnabb bet sacked 37 times by Winston justice, and no one help him up, or when Rg3 got cheap shotted last year and none of his OL even cared
apparently this team has more like a `one for all,all for one` attitude that those others you mentioned didn`t have.
Kendricks likely missing next two games too. Boykin also sat out today.
where will Huff even get to play, now that Polk seems to be the answer at KR? So Huff is missing 2-3 plays a game? Does he play special teams (other than KR)?
Huff is in chips doghouse right now…
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Huff says he has been ready, Chip got kind of pissy and said huff knows we didn’t think he was physically or mentally ready last Friday when we told him he would be inactive(normally players don’t know they are inactive til game day)
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Chip stressed “mentally ready”… Sounds to me like Chip isn’t happy with his command of the playbook
think it started early with Huff sayin right off the bat that the players could come to him if they were having trouble with the Chip`s style of playing football, like since he played for his college team`s coach,it would be the same with him at the nfl level. And to his rude awakening, reality hit`m hard, and it`s he who needs the help, and he`s not adjusting well.
It’s almost funny. Folks complain that the defense doesn’t take enough chances, then when they do and it doesn’t work, these same folks go into a frenzy of blame and “off with their heads”. I still also think that the new QB coach may be messing with Nick’s mind and that far too many long downfield passes are being called. Try a few more shorter routes and, for crying out loud, try using all of the RBs on the roster, at least once in a while! Innovation! Creativity! Remember?
Many of us thought the ultimate end to the FOles doubt would be if Johnny Manziel fell to the Eagles and Chip passed on him….well that hasn’t made the doubters support FOles… So enjoy the next 8 months…
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If you don’t see Chip trade FOles to Wisenhunt and the titans for Marriotta! no one better ever doubt our gunslinger again,..
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FOles is the closest thing Wisenhunt can ever find to Big Ben….I’m sure he would love to not have to deal with a rookie QB, and be able to aquire a developed young QB with many of big bens attributes,,,
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The jags won’t draft Marriotta, The Raiders won’t draft him, so Wisenhunt and the titans will end up having to draft Him… I’m sure if we offered Wisenhunt FOles we can get Marriotta, because FOles is a young QB who you don’t have to deal with the growing pains,,,.
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If FOles isn’t traded for Marriotta on draft day this debate better be put to bed, since it’s obvious that no amount of good play will shut the FOles haters up, and stop them from crapping on the kid after every rough game,,
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Support your young gun slinger!
the last thing we need is a rookie qb to go through all this crap again for a few years.
Yup!!!
the franchise debate is stupid, and Chip has said so as well….
the point is week to week getting wins, scoring points and playing well.
i love Foles and want him to play great and hit every pass and win etc…
the question is only and will always be, is the QB maximizes the chances the scheme is giving him enablbing us to beat good teams?
thats all that matters. not whether he will be resigned for 125 mil.
sure he is leaving palys on the field, like all qbs will.
the real issue is how well sanchez looked in poreseason and i know that means next to nothing but he did look good getting the ball out etc…but now the line is in tatters…
i would never want foles to lose the starting job because then it gets hairy.
but frankly even if we won that game in San Fran, it still didn’t look good the whole game. we won’t get that kind of ST play every week, if ever again actaully.
so he just needs to make better throws when he has the chance, nothing more. i think he will.
also, no shady is a much bigger issue then missing throws and we all know it.
sproles needs the ball more.
we have to win thsi next game becasue i do not want us goign into the giants game on a 2 game losing streak…. we need some confidence.
Totally agree on changing up the RB once in a while and being in a position to win are more important than Foles salary.
Foles looks to not have found his comfort zone this season. Last season the crisp and sudden play of the OL yielded the best running game in the league. Foles made the most of the cheating safeties and corners who kept one eye on McCoy, and he had a great season. This year the running lanes are not there because of back-up personnel, and also because defenses are consciously jumping and plugging the holes that are being created. The best counter to the committed run stopping is short, quick passes to hang up the charging linebackers. Ertz and Celek and Cooper and Matthews should all be deployed to move the chains. Foles has been looking long (and missing), but this may be simply a result of no rhythm, no long drives and no running. Kelly should show a look that is identical for a zone run and a 3 or 4 yard quick slant. I believe that if St.Nick can get some possession time, and if he can prove to himself that he can connect with receivers quickly, the longer completions will come. He’s been taking a beating too, and not many QB’s play their best football under duress
Jacksonville he was bad, but they stink so we blew them out anyhow. Indy he was ok but came through big in the clutch. Washington he was really good, looked like he’d completed his transformation back to his old self again. Then Sunday happens and it feels like we’re back to square one, with perhaps the worst game of his career (or Dallas last year, take your pick).
Very frustrating because he’s making it difficult to have faith in him this year. If the Jacksonville game had been an odd blip on the radar like Dallas was last year, I’d say we’re all systems go, lets make some noise in the playoffs.
As it stands, I’m having trouble getting excited about him or this team, despite the 3-1 start. Feels like it’s held together with scotch tape and staples.
Are you that surprised?
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In today’s NFL were starters don’t play much in preseason, most teams feel Iike the first two games are an extension of the preseason, FOles finally was able to get consistent snaps with his starting WRs who didn’t practice in August… So it takes FOles and a lot of other teams first two games to shake the rust off..
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3rd game, he is back to his normal self lighting up the skins… Come second half he starts catching a major beating, gets beat up, goes into Niners game banged up.. If he has a giant bruise on his left shoulder down to his arm today imagine how bad it looked the week leading up to the Niners game…so he goes into Niners game in tons of pain and from the beginning of the game our backups couldn’t block Justin smith and the Niners line who were beating on a QB who went into the game feeling pain… No surprise, QB struggled with his mechanics which led to an inaccurate FOles…
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Don’t think it’s rocket science…weren’t people worried about the beating he took against the skins going into the Niners game?
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You might question if FOles is a legit QB, but no one questions shady being one of the top RBs in the world… If the top RB in the world can’t do anything because of the state of our OL, it’s not normal to expect it to not negativity effect our banged up QB with 20 games under his belt….. Take Peyton manning, Brady or any of your favorite QBs and if they took the beating FOles took in the Skins game, and went into a Niners game in pain when your OL can’t block Justin smith, I doubt Brady, manning or insert any QB would have looked amazing..
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There is no doubt that Aaron Rogers is one of the best QBs in the World..notice how horrible he looked the week before when his line got manhandled?
Well I certainly hope injury can explain his struggles, that’s a lot better than any of the alternatives.
“You might question if FOles is a legit QB, but no one questions shady being one of the top RBs in the world… If the top RB in the world can’t do anything because of the state of our OL, it’s not normal to expect it to not negativity effect our banged up QB with 20 games under his belt…..”
This is an excellent point.
been lots of people questioning whether something is wrong with shady. you also get the benefit of the doubt once you’ve built a track record.
FOles has a giant bruise on his left shoulder that goes halfway down his arm…
Stop hiding in the showers….
No way,, I love it there
Gotta go to sanchize especially considering the front 4 that we’re about to play. It’s either let the injury heal (by avoiding contact) or playing through it when it’s obviously affecting accuracy and losing us games.
Actually saw Cox doing the same thing.. Just 2 gapping to the inside shoulder when he should of went out.. Was little stuff like that i noticed
We’ve all seen a lot of guys like Tommy mentioned. QB’s who struggled mightily and then had the light went on. What concerns me is with Foles, is he seemed to take his lumps and learn alotvduring 2012. Then the light seemed to go on in a big way with Chip last year.I think whatever he’s going through is a bit more than a slump. This goes back to training camp, pre season, right up till now. So did the light go “off” does it come back on? His just feels like a bit of a different feeling to it. Did all the success get to him in a negative way? Like with him pressing maybe? Or succumb to all the hype and pressure? I have no clue. I’m just worrying” out loud” I really like Nick & want so badly for him to succeed.But the reality is he hasn’t REALLY inspired any confidence in me since July. All training camp the best report I saw was ” Foles was OK today”. Anyhow, here’s hoping that the porch light switches back on.
i agree, the only inspiring performance was against the skins. he made some sick passes for TD’s… i bet the light goes back on if shady can get some yards once ina while.
every qb needs a running game to succeed. he had the best last year, this year, the worst… give the ball to sproles!
the line is the big problem but i do think mccoy looked a little weird after that head hit against wash. i mean he was turning the corner but then running up field for 5 yards out of bounds like he didnt know where he was.
Sure as heck can’t disagree with feeding the ball to Sproles more. He’s playing like a man posessed. I just read that his touches on offense have decreased each week. Can’t get behind that! And being honest, one of the things driving me absolutely nuts about this “difficult time” or whatever ppl want to label what Foles is going through. Has all the talking heads, trolls & haters that predicted he was a one year wonder & would crash & burn are strutting around like bantty roosters right now. : /
It’s 8PM.. NFL network just started airing condensed version of eagles vs. Niners for whoever was asking me about it last week