Evaluate Foles' performance on a half-by-half basis, and a fascinating trend emerges, one that was informed from watching him play.
After entering the lineup as the starter in Week 15, Foles looked good -- and got worse with each passing half. Since he returned to the lineup in the divisional round after two weeks off, though, Foles has improved half after half:. I think the bye week really helped the Eagles. It gave Pederson a chance to take a step backward, evaluate old Foles tape and integrate concepts that may have worked for the QB in the past back into Philadelphia's offense, including the emphasis on RPOs.
It gave Foles a chance to breathe and regain his confidence after seemingly falling apart over the second half of the Raiders game and in his lone quarter against the Cowboys.
Pederson was conservative with Foles on a windy night against the Falcons, and he kept his quarterback to quick decisions and short throws. Each of Foles' 23 completions were what the NFL defines as "short" passes, within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. He mostly attacked the middle of the field. On Sunday, Foles' scope widened. He threw the ball all over the field and attacked Minnesota vertically, going 4-of-7 for yards on his deep throws, and that includes a drop from Smith on a pass Foles slightly underthrew.
On the other hand, I think the Eagles aren't thrilled about having a bye week now in advance of the Super Bowl. The rest will be nice, of course, but I imagine Philadelphia would rather play New England this upcoming Sunday. It would give tight end Rob Gronkowski less time to clear the concussion protocol, and given how well Foles is playing, I don't think the Eagles want him to cool off.
Teams in the regular season have been slightly better after blowouts without extra rest; since , teams that have won by 30 in a given week have won With long rest 10 days or more , those teams have won Both Foles are going to show up, in part because there's only one player involved. What we've learned from these five starts is that Nick Foles is capable of looking like both Carson Wentz and Mark Wahlberg as the star of "Invincible II" over the course of a month.
The best data to use in evaluating a quarterback is all the data, and while it's tempting to treat the most recent performance from Foles as the most valuable information, it's just part of the broader story.
While I'd argue that Foles certainly has improved his play during the postseason, it will be the context that determines whether we see the best or worst of the Arizona product against the Patriots. New England can be beat on the defensive side of the ball. This is a defense that gave up huge chunks of yardage to Blake Bortles and a less effective Jaguars offense on Sunday, after finishing the year next to last in defensive DVOA.
Put Foles in positive situations, and Good Nick is likely to come out. Foles is perfectly capable of converting third-and-4 and throwing quick screens to his receivers, and if you're the Eagles, you want to be doing just that. The Pats have the league's third-worst run defense, making them a viable target for Ajayi and Blount on early downs and in power situations.
Bill Belichick is arguably the most brilliant defensive coach in the history of the league, but he has never won a Super Bowl with a defense this bad, and he can only scheme up so much when the ball is coming out 1. On the other hand, put Foles in negative situations, and Bad Nick is going to rear his head yet again.
Get Foles in third-and-long, and he's probably going to make mistakes. Get Foles to make mistakes, and they may very well compound on one another. If this sounds like it's true for just about every quarterback, well, you're not wrong. We've also just seen a more extreme range of outlines for Foles after five games, even if the overall package is about where we could have expected once Wentz was injured.
He's likely more sensitive to game situations than most other passers, given his lack of recent game experience, although the five starts have helped those concerns. They might not need Good Nick to look like the guy who ran roughshod over the Vikings on Sunday night. How does that mindset help them coach Nick Foles as he goes from backup to Super Bowl starter?
Why has this team connected so well with the fans? Head coach Doug Pederson has a theory. He explains it in the Eagles Update presented by Ticketmaster. Head coach Doug Pederson made a bold proclamation before the season started. He was questioned about it at the time, but it looks like it was the right call. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has put up his best career numbers against the Vikings.
Find out what he thinks heading into Sunday's game. Here we get some interesting insight into the two quarterbacks. Head coach Doug Pederson knows that the offense has a tough challenge this Sunday against the Vikings. The Eagles' defense, however, looks to prove it is just as good as Minnesota's. Foles played for the Rams in and then the Chiefs in ' He then re-signed with the Eagles in to back up Carson Wentz. Every Eagles fan knows what happened next.
Wentz got hurt in Week 14, and Foles led the Eagles to the first Super Bowl championship in franchise history. Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the Super Bowl. He also became the first player in NFL history to both throw and catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.
His famous play call Philly Philly is still immortalized with a statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field today. I walk by it every home game on my way to my seats. Foles may have been an Eagle for only five seasons, but they were five mostly magical seasons that included the franchise's only Lombardi Trophy. Lance Cpl. Edward L. Donovan McNabb didn't have the normal career of a top franchise quarterback, but that doesn't mean that he didn't put up the numbers and wins to earn this spot at the top of this ranking.
The franchise quarterback didn't receive the warmest of welcomes, however, as a busload of knuckleheads went to the draft to boo his selection. Unfortunately, McNabb never forgave Eagles fans, as a whole, for the misdeeds of a handful of fans. This thin-skinned reaction would become the norm for McNabb, and it kept him from becoming the beloved icon a franchise quarterback in Philadelphia should be.
McNabb's rookie year was uneventful as he only started six games. The starter in those other games during the season? By the next season, McNabb was entrenched as the starter and would remain there for a decade. McNabb led the Eagles to the playoffs in his first season as the starter in and even won a playoff game. In , he led the team to the playoffs again and they advanced to their first NFC championship game since Losing to the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" team was certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately, this would be the first of numerous failed attempts in the NFC championship game; McNabb would have a record of 1—4 in that game. Of course, at this point, the fans had no reason to doubt that McNabb was going to lead the team to greatness. The Eagles won the NFC East four straight years between and '04 while McNabb was establishing himself as one of the stars of the league.
The only problem was that he couldn't get that last win to get his team into the Super Bowl. That all changed in when head coach Andy Reid finally decided it would be a good idea for a passing offense to have a great wide receiver.
Unfortunately, McNabb once again couldn't come through in the biggest game of the season as he coughed up the Super Bowl to the Patriots. This was during the heyday of their Spygate days. But that doesn't mean that wasn't a magical season. In fact, it was the best season of McNabb's career. In , McNabb became the first quarterback in NFL history to finish the season with over 30 touchdown passes and fewer than 10 interceptions. He also added three rushing touchdowns on only 41 carries. The Super Bowl hangover was real for the Eagles the next season.
The whole circus ended up with Owens doing sit-ups in his driveway while reporters tried to ask him questions about being banished from the team. McNabb ended the season on the Injured Reserve after only nine games. Chase Daniel has attempted 78 passes over eight NFL seasons. Nick Foles has thrown 56 touchdowns in five. Foles has 36 career starts under his belt, and is proven capable of Pro Bowl production and guiding a team to the playoffs under optimal conditions.
There is truly no way to compare the two. Even third-string quarterback Matt McGloin has significantly more game experience than Daniel — seven starts to two. Maybe Daniel is really great, but has never had the opportunity. Regardless, Foles has actually executed in games, which creates a sense of comfort that was missing last season.
0コメント