Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Eagles hope fraction of old Foles gives them chance
LOS ANGELES » Nick Foles’ best years almost certainly are behind him.
He’s not the 2013 guy who threw 27 touchdown passes and just two interceptions, the gunslinger who tied the NFL record with seven scoring passes in a single game or the cat who led the Eagles to a go-ahead score in what would be a playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints that season.
Foles, 28, just isn’t that kid any more. He’s been sacked 77 times in 46 games. He wasn’t healthy to start this season, an issue with his throwing shoulder sidelining him virtually all of training camp and the preseason.
Foles may not be economy class transportation. But you don’t want to use him on the longer trips in this NFL, where speed and mobility are the difference between winning and breaking even — or just breaking.
Perception, of course, rarely matches reality, particularly when you’re debating Eagles quarterbacks. Resumes come in handy when you’re pursuing something as elusive as a Super Bowl crown. And that’s what the Eagles are doing now that Carson Wentz is done, as feared, with a torn ACL sustained in the 43-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson presented Foles Monday as the veteran pitcher who has had a lot of success.
“We feel we’re going to roll with it,” receiver Alshon Jeffery said. “We’re fully confident in Nick. Nick’s got playoff experience, he’s got game experience and we’re going to roll with him.”
Jeffery also said he’s waited six years to be part of a playoff team, and that’s where the Eagles are headed for the first time since 2013, when Foles had that big passing season. Jeffery echoed what Pederson and teammates spoke of in the playoff locker room celebration that Wentz was a part of, injured knee and all.
“We’re very confident in whoever is under center,” Jeffery said. “We’re ready to roll and we’re ready to make it happen.”
Malcolm Jenkins, the veteran captain, objected to a question about Foles’ credentials, and if he felt Foles could lead the Eagles to where they want to go.
“Do we have a quarterback on the roster?” Jenkins said, curtly. “Then, yes. Our plan is to win every game we compete in. Obviously that changes with your game plan depending on the personnel. I think offensively there must be some things that we change around just because Nick doesn’t have some of the abilities of Carson as far as mobility and all that. We’re probably going to run the ball more and rely on the great backs that we have. Our defense needs to step up and be the defense we’ve been all year.”
It’s not going to take defenses long to figure out that Foles cannot throw the deep balls that Wentz used to keep defenses from stacking the line of scrimmage. Stepping up the run game just isn’t the solution. The pass protection better improve. There’s no way Foles can take the pounding Wentz did.
Wentz and his league-leading 33 touchdown passes, and until Sunday his resillience, are the reason the Eagles are 11-2 and closing in on a firstround playoff bye. Not so much Foles, the backup quarterback.
While there’s no way to measure what Foles has done lately for the Eagles outside of leading them to a couple of critical field goals that put the team in front of the Rams for good Sunday, there’s no shame in rolling with perception.
Truth be told, Foles is 2016 as an NFL starter, including 15-9 with the Eagles from 2012-14, 4-7 with the St. Louis Rams in 2015, and 1-0 last year with the Chiefs. His career touchdown to interception ratio is 56/27.
The reality is Foles never played a complete NFL season due to injuries and or performance. He’s 0-1 in the playoffs. He’s been around. And at this point of a season, that’s not much more you can hope for in a backup quarterback.
“Nick has played a ton of football,” Pederson said Monday. “I was here when we drafted him, and we drafted him for a reason. Then we went out and got him again this offseason for a reason. You never want it to be under these circumstances but at the same time, my confidence is extremely high in Nick.”
The Eagles brought Foles in precisely to take the helm under these circumstances. That’s reality. The perception is that there’s really no other choice.
“Like we always say, next man up,” Brandon Graham said. “All I know is Nick came in, stepped in and made some plays for us to help us win. And we’re going to make sure we turn it up a little more, especially on defense.”
Said Chris Long, who earned a Super Bowl title ring on a Patriots team that overcame adversity, including the loss of all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski, “Carson’s led us to this point, and as a team we’re just going to have to up our execution whether Carson is back or not.
“It’s December,” Long said, “and we’ve got bigger goals.”
*** The Eagles can clinch the first seed in the NFC with a win over the Giants Sunday, and a loss by the Vikings (103) to the Bengals.
Just a win over the Giants at MetLife Stadium would give the Eagles at least the No. 2 seed, which includes a bye and a first-round game at home. They also would get at least the No. 2 seed with a tie versus the Giants, and a Rams loss or tie with the Seahawks, and a Panthers loss or tie with the Packers and a Saints loss or tie with the Jets.
Additionally there are three voluminous scenarios where the Eagles get the No. 3 seed, and a first-round home game; two of them include Eagles ties, while the third doesn’t.
*** NOTES » If you missed it Sunday, the Eagles-Rams full game broadcast airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the NFL Network. ... Eagles tight ends had three of Wentz’s four TD throws Sunday despite the deactivation of Zach Ertz (concussion). Trey Burton had his first multiple-TD game with two, giving him four on the season. He also finished with a career-high 71 receiving yards. Brent Celek had the other score, his 31st in the leauge but his first since Thanksgiving in 2015 . ... Wide receiver Torrey Smith had six receptions for 100 yards, his first 100-yard game since 2015.