WESTLAKE’S BEST
meet in the NFL playoffs.
The game will be kind of a testament to how far each has come.
When Brees was setting his records at Westlake in the 1990s, Foles sort of knew who he was but wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention.
After all, he was only 7 years old.
“I can’t say I remember watching him play,” Foles said. “I was probably running around playing tag if I was at a game, throwing a little football.”
Brees’ first memory of Foles was a little clearer.
“I remember seeing him play in high school,” Brees said. “The 10-year anniversary for my high school football team state championship was 2006. It was actually during the season. It was a Friday night. I remember flying back and kind of being part of that homecoming experience,
and the starting quarterback for my high school at the time was Nick Foles. Funny how things play out, but he’s done a phenomenal job.”
Foles has had a fragmented career with flashes of recordsetting brilliance. The only two seasons in which he opened as the top quarterback on his team’s depth chart, he failed to complete them.
The first time was because of an injury while still in his first stint with the Eagles. The second time, which came the following
year in St. Louis, was because of ineffectiveness.
But none of that matters to Foles or his friendly hometown rival.
“He’s always been a pretty calm, cool customer,” Brees said. “You look obviously at what he was able to accomplish last year and certainly what he’s been able to accomplish this year during the latter part of the season. He makes plays and I think he’s got a lot of confidence in himself. I think their team seems have a lot of confidence in
him as well.
“We played them in the playoffs in 2013 when he was a starter there with Chip Kelly. Obviously, they had a great team then and he was playing well then too.”
So good that Foles (23 for 33, 195 yards, two TDs, no interceptions) at least statistically outperformed Brees (20 for 30, 250 yards, one TD, two interceptions) and led his team to a go-ahead field goal on his last series.
The Saints countered with a
big kickoff return by current Eagle Darren Sproles that set up a short field and, eventually, a 32-yard field goal as time expired for a 26-24 win.
In contrast to Foles, Brees has been on a fast track to the Hall of Fame for some time. His 74,437 career passing yards and 67.3 completion percentage are tops in league history, and his 520 TD passes are second. He’s been named to 12 Pro Bowls.
Foles will never approach those kinds of numbers, not that he cares.
“Playing against him then I was a younger player, it was something that was really special — growing up and getting to play against someone you really looked up to,” Foles said. “But a lot has happened since then. I mean, life has happened. I’m definitely a different player.”
One that’s a lot closer to Brees than the 63,272 yards between them indicate.
nfierro@mcall.com Twitter @nickfierro 610-778-2243