To a man, Birds’ faith in Foles is unwavering
NEW ORLEANS >> Each time Fletcher Cox was asked about Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who the Eagles oppose here Sunday in the NFC divisional playoffs (4:40 p.m., Fox, WIP 94.1-FM), the response began with “Nick Foles.” How good is Brees? “Nick Foles is the Super Bowl MVP,” the All-Pro defensive tackle said.
Yeah, but what about Brees? “Nick Foles is the Super Bowl MVP,” Cox said.
It turned almost comical when Cox was asked how adept Brees is at stepping up to get away from the pass rush.
“Nick Foles gets rid of the ball,” Cox said. “He’s a great leader. He’s always got energy and I’m looking forward to him playing on Sunday.”
Cox’s teammates have his back on that, too. The Eagles are tired of hearing about Brees, who has had an MVP-type season. They’re sick of being reminded of how they were embarrassed, 48-7, by Brees and the Saints earlier this season.
You really don’t want to be the next person to tell the Eagles they have no shot at defeating the Saints. Been there, took care of that on national TV by defeating the Los Angeles Rams, who were double-digit favorites. Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham got a few laughs talking about the latest underdog role in front of a few of the team’s critics.
“Man, people that don’t even know anything about football are saying, we’re going with the Saints,” Graham said. “At the end of the day all we’ve got to do is be us. That’s how I want to go out, if we’re going out, is by just being us. We’re going to go out there, have fun, bring energy and see what happens.”
Let the record show that Graham was smiling at the same faces who underestimated Foles and wrongly predicted a loss to the Rams.
Foles is on a tear, having guided the Eagles to four straight victories, all of them must-wins.
At the same time, you need not know a lot about football to realize the Saints (13-3) earned the top seed in the NFC.
The Saints averaged 31.5 points this season, second in the league. The Eagles averaged a shade under 23 points on the season, but 28.6 points in the last three games of the regular season with Foles.
Since Doug Pederson became head coach, the Eagles are 19-0 when scoring 27 or more points. A couple of stops against the Saints and — just say the numbers don’t overwhelm the players. Foles intimated this isn’t a good time to be awed by statistics.
“You go into games against a team that’s been very successful and you’re like, ‘man I’ve got to score X amount of points,’” Foles said. “And that’s not the case. Just go play the game, go play the play. Each game is a new entity. You don’t do this game alone. Our defense is going to be ready to roll, our special teams, our defense. We’re going to go play great team ball.”
Foles caught fire in the playoffs last season and is hot again this season.
Foles completed 77 percent of his passes in the last quarter of the season, tops in the league. He tied a league record with 25 straight completions against Washington.
Most of Foles’ attempts were short passes of less than 20 yards, per insideedge.com. Only Marcus Mariota (two) and Cam Newton (five) attempted fewer long passes. The Saints know that, as well as the lack of pressure applied to Foles in that span, due partly to the quick release with the shorter throws. Look for blitzes Sunday.
“It’s been amazing to watch,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said. “This past week as a football fan you just watch them and see how it all unfolds. But having a chance to see his season last year and see what he’s done this year has really been, not just a great story but a credit to him, his teammates and to Coach (Pederson). He’s playing with confidence. The ball is coming out. One of the best defenses in the tournament last week. He was cool, calm and collected.
“Man, it’s a good problem to have the way he’s playing.”
Payton had to throw that dig in about the quarterback situation. For the fourth straight game, Carson Wentz will be scratched. He threw three interceptions in the loss to the Saints.
It would be smart for Foles and the Eagles to get off to a good start. Only the Raiders scored fewer times on their first possession this season than the Eagles, who posted points on 17.5 percent of their opening possessions.
With Foles on the job, the Eagles have scored on 75 percent of their first possessions starting with a field goal against the Los Angeles Rams. Foles also guided the Eagles to a TD on Houston, threw an interception against Washington and last week guided the team to a field goal on the first series of the win over Chicago.
The Eagles know how to finish, as they’ve averaged 13.5 points in second halves this season.
The same with the Saints (16.0), second in that category with Brees.
CHECKLIST
Summary: The Eagles are healthier than the team the Saints buried, 48-7, at the Superdome in November. And the Saints are rusty, having not played much meaningful football in about a month. The Saints were perfect in the earlier meeting. They won’t be Sunday. And don’t forget, Carson Wentz, not Nick Foles was the QB way back then.. The pick: Make it Eagles 27, Saints 23.
— Bob Grotz
“For us, we’ve got to at least make sure we take away that first read,” Graham said. “You take away that first read and now you’ve got a progression. And that’s when you kind of get your hiccup and we can get after him.”
The Eagles were hit by injuries and a Saints offense that played almost perfectly back in November. Brees threw four touchdown passes and exited with a 153.2 passer rating.
The Eagles, to a man, they aren’t the same team.
“I’m sure from how we prepared, we’re not going to put that out there again,” Graham said. “I’m just excited to compete this time. We’re playing good football right now. I’m excited for this game. It’s a big one, and we’ve got to go in their place and take what we want.” insist