NFL | Non-believers calling out Foles' followers? Gimme me a break

Nick Foles celebrates after leading the Eagles to a 38-7 win in Sunday's NFC title game at Lincoln Financial Field. The backup-turned-starter went 26-for-33 with 352 yards and 3 TDs.

by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Not saying he's a better quarterback than Carson Wentz.

Not saying the team is necessarily better off with him at the helm.

But, am saying ... yo, the dude can play, and play well – sometimes exceptionally so.. That he ain’t no freakin’ game manager.

With that, don’t hate on those of us who have known that all along.

Throw disbelieving, “gotta play close-to-vest, perfect now” scaredy cats like yourself under the bus, not us.

Look, we get it. Nick Foles has that droopy, hang-dog exterior view to him with a matching, goobery, “How y’all doin’ ” way of speaking. But the sport, any sport, ain’t about that periphery, personality-based crap that often is misread anyway. It’s what happens between the lines.

Frankly, anyone who claimed that Foles had never given any evidence of being able to produce a Herculean effort like the one he put up this past Sunday evening, well, it’s time for them to take a gander in the mirror and admit, “hey, maybe I missed the boat on this guy, maybe I’m not this all-knowing evaluator of talent and predictor of how things will play out, maybe I’m off-base to accuse others who actually believed in the guy of lying and own that I’m a little too wrapped up in myself and way too caught up in first-impression superficial crap at times.”

You want frames of reference, huh? Then forget the stupid sound drops, misguided notions and, apparently, bad eyesight, and pay attention.

For starters, we’re not talking 10, 12, 15 years ago that Foles posted one of the all-time standards of efficiency and production for an NFL quarterback. It was four years ago that he earned “Mr. 27-2” recognition, and the following season – the apocalypse to his first stint in Philly – was hardly the nightmare it has been painted as being.

The guy produced a brilliant 27-for-41, 325-yard, 3-TD, 0-INT effort in a wild, 37-34 win against Washington in 2014. Even after he left town, Foles posted 125 passer-rating games for both the Rams and Chiefs in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Go to this year. Coming off the bench once Wentz went down, Foles did rally the Eagles to victory in L.A. He also tossed four TDs against the Giants next time out and that 23-for-30, 246-yard outing in the team’s playoff opener against Atlanta was hardly “nothing.”

Thing is, Foles has given a multitude of examples that he was capable of going off like he did against Minnesota. On national stages, no less.

The guy wasn’t exactly a stiff in college. During his time at the University of Arizona, the top three programs in the Pac-12 were Oregon, Stanford and Southern Cal.

Foles lit them up, all of them, every time he faced them. In nine combined starts against that triumverate in his three years running the show for the Wildcats, he threw for 3,079 yards and 24 TDs with just 6 picks while completing 64 percent of his passes. He burned each of them with at least one 400-yard, 3-TD performance, too.

Clearly, this is a guy able, if not prone, to go off in gawdy fashion at times.

Truth be told, if we’re talking just throwing the ball, he is better than Wentz. Hell, so is Sam Bradford.

​By a lot.

Neither are better QBs, but they do pass it better – more accurate … short, intermediate and distance.
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If you really paid attention, you’d know the best ball during the Birds’ regular season was delivered by Foles to Nelson Agholor in mop-up duty of Wentz during that early November blowout of the Broncos. He tear-dropped that sucker perfectly into the receiver’s arms 35 yards down the right sideline. It was a thing of beauty.

So, spare us who knew about the guy, recognized his ability and acknowledged it, as to how we didn’t know and that we’re just jumping on board – like you are now.

Don’t blame us for your arrogance with not listening, and not knowing, before.
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YO, FRAME THIS

Those questioning Nick Foles' background being a precursor to him producing in a big way such as last Sunday's NFC title-winning, 26-for-33, 352-yard, 3-TD effort against the Vikings may want to take a closer look at his career.

TOP OF THE FOLES
​Year-by-year
2017
Dec. 17 vs. Giants
24-for-38 (63.2%)
237 yards (6.2 per att)
4 TD, O INT
115.8 passer rating
2016
Oct. 30 vs. Colts
16-for-22 (72.7%)
223 yards (10.1 per att)
2 TD, 0 INT
135.2 passer rating
2015
Oct. 4 vs. Cardinals
16-for-24 (66.7%)
171 yards (7.1 per att)
3 TD, 0 INT
126.9 passer rating
2014
Sept. 24 vs. Redskins
27-for-41 (65.9%)
325 yards (7.9 per att)
3 TD, 0 INT
114.4 passer rating
2013
Nov. 3 vs. Raiders
22-for-28
406 yards (78.6%)
7 TD, 0 INT (14.5 per att)
158.3 passer rating
2012
Dec. 9 vs. Buccaneers
32-for-51 (62.7%)
381 yards (7.5 per att)
2 TD, 0 INT
98.6 passer rating
2011
Oct. 1 vs. Southern Cal
41-for-53 (77.4%)
425 yards (8.0 per att)
4 TD, 2 INT
​162.1 passer rating
2010
Nov. 25 vs. Oregon
29-for-54 (53.7%)
448 yards (8.3 per att)
3 TD, 1 INT
138.0 passer rating
2009
Oct. 17 vs. Stanford
40-for-51 (78.4%)
415 yards (8.1 per att)
​3 TD, 0 INT
166.2 passer rating

​THIS AND THAT NICK
Career NFL passer rating
87.4
*-Carson Wentz 88.7
​1st year passer rating
79.1
*-Wentz 79.3
2nd year passer rating
119.2
*-Wentz 101.9
​400-yard passing games
3
300-yard passing games
9 (1 postseason)
​3-TD passing games
9 (1 postseason)
​100+ passer rating games
19
​(3 postseason)
​Career TDs
66
(5 in postseason)
Career INTs
29
​(0 in postseason)
Record as Eagles QB
19-11
​(2-1 postseason)
​*-Wentz 18-11
 
 
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