The last Eagles quarterback we saw break in with the Birds who was billed as a future starter was Kevin Kolb. Mike Kafka could never be taken seriously as a starter in this (horizontal) deep throwing pass offense with his weak arm. Remember that Andy Reid believes in going for the jugular and he isn’t willing to forfeit weapons, which is one of the reasons Nick Foles is on the roster.
As for Kolb, I was never convinced he could be the guy because he was never willing to stand in the pocket and take the pounding needed to be a pocket quarterback. He wasn’t fast enough to run away from the defensive linemen in the league like Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb, so he had to play the game from the pocket.
Foles is willing to play the game from the pocket. He showed me that last night. The shot delivered by rookie defensive end Jake Bequette was a knockout blow. Kolb would have had to come out of the game after that hit.
Too many NFL writers and commentators are unaware of the fact that an NFL quarterback has to be physically tough as nails. Did you hear Jon Gruden stressing Foles’ toughness? Any NFL quarterback who is willing to stand in the pocket, deliver the ball and take the hits, is a tough son-of-gun. NFL defensive linemen average about 280 pounds and they put the hammer on quarterbacks.
I like Foles much better than I did Kolb because he knows how to stand in the pocket with pressure in his face and deliver the football. Unlike Kolb, the youngster knows he’s not fast enough to run away from the defensive linemen in the league so he stands in there and delivers the football.
Kolb is in his sixth year and still isn’t willing or strong enough physically to stand in the pocket deliver the ball and take the hit. The slightest sign of pressure forces Kolb out of the pocket and every time he gets hit he has to be taken out of the game. You see that it’s still dogging him in Arizona.
Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg are starting to get very comfortable with Foles because they were calling a great variety of plays. They’re confident about his grasp of a good portion of the playbook.
Last night Foles passed another test, and made another major argument with his play for being the Eagles number one backup quarterback. The dude plays with a cool and calm demeanor which doesn’t fit his inexperience.
In the New England game, Foles continued showing us all the prerequisites for being a star quarterback in the NFL. He displayed his strong accurate arm, coolness under pressure, toughness in the pocket and the acuity to quickly decipher the coverages.
He was 18 for 28 for a 64.3 completion percentage for 217 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. The pick was an underthow on a corner route to Jeremy Maclin. He should have thrown the ball deep into the corner of the end zone, so that Maclin and nobody else had a shot at it.
Jake Bequette nailed Nick Foles with a cheap shot personal foul penalty from behind. Nick Foles brushed it off and completed his next 2 passes to Clay Harbour, one for a first down. It would have been 3 straight completions after the Bequette illegal hit but D. Johnson dropped a 13 yard slant 3rd down pass.
Nick is Foles-rule! Excuse the pun. Anyway really like this guy. He’s 6’6 so its gonna be harder for dlineman to bat his ball down, he’s accurate on the deep ball and he’s a big guy. Unlike Kolb-sh*t who screams he isn’t scared when he really is, Foles can take a hit. And to think I thought this was the worst pick in the Eagles draft this year. He might become the best pick for the eagles this decade.
PAtriots Ryan Mallet (another 6-6 Player) also played pretty well for the PAtriots.. Look around the NFL, Cam Newton, Andrew Dalton, Andrew Luck, Steve Tannehill, Brandon Weeden, these players are all over 6-4 and 230-240 lbs.. QB in the NFL has become a big-mans game..
Get used to seeing him boys, Kafka & Edwards BLOW, & Vick ain’t the answer, & WON’T/ CAN’T stay healthy. PERIOD!!!!!
🙁 🙁
not so fast, half of you guys thought kolb was the real deal.and the truth is Kolb will be outta the league in 2 yrs ( with 32 mil in his pocket )
this just in, most of the responsibility dddfor vick getting nailed was on the o-line ddEvan Mathis ( who a yr ago was a journeyman ) missed the o-line call by Kelce ( who decided to help Watkins on that play ) Kelce, ( who Im not yet convinced is an NFL center ) is in his first yr making the line calls ( vick had to do it last yr
Way too early…I’m a ride or die Eagles fan…and just as much a Vick supporter…not giving up on him, no way!
But I will say this, Vick should have just thrown the ball away…even though its easier said than done…in all honestly, we don’t know if that was a heave or an actual attempt on that throw where he got here, considering DJAX was around the football. But I did expect Vick not to make that kinda of play this season…
On another note, I’m not too sure about that game plan with Vick…I designed run, 2nd play of the game? for a QB that you want to keep from getting hit? also not too sure about the routes the WR’s were running, were they 20 yards down the field or so…I dont think anyone knows…
Was the play calling a little different when Foles came in the game? maybe a little more vanilla, I think that is very possible…
But I will also say this, Foles does not appear to be a Kolb…Thus far, I like the kid…just like I liked Kafka, his rookie season (from what I saw from him in pre season)
Vick needs to play better come regular season, bottom line!
Edwards has the game experience and should be the backup. He’s playing behind a bunch of guys that won’t be in the NFL in a couple weeks. He’s doing fairly well with what he’s been given.
I say trade or release Kafka, make Edwards the backup and Foles the third QB.
Charlton, you may not be convinced he is an NFL center, but he graded out very well last season. Apparently you know more than coach Mudd, he has only dedicated his life to coaching offensive linemen, and has done it at the top levels of the sport for a few decades.
The most popular guy with eagles fans is the backup QB… I give you Hoying, Feely, Garcia, kolb it’s complete lunacy to think that Foles is the answer at this point. He has looked great in preseason, vanilla defense etc… I really am hoping he is another big Ben but really to get giddy about him now is silly.
Expect Foles to be #1 by end of season if Vick screws up or gets hurt. Vick cannot work in this offense without freelancing with his legs, therefore, he’s done as a project. Foles is legit. He was also drafted as a basketball player… had quick moves to go with quick thinking. True athlete. So coachable and down-to-earth guy. Learned toughness in pocket working behind that awful Arizona O-line. Finally, a tall dude at QB.
If you look at Foles form he looks alot like Tom Brady…I have no doubt he is the future QB for the Eagles
GM, don’t compare a rookie QB, who hasn’t even played in a real game yet, to arguably a top 5, all time NFL great QB. It’s WAAAAAY too early for that. Let’s not get carried away! He looks good, but let’s see him complete some sort of resume first, before electing him to the HOF.
I liked this Foles kid back in December/January Gmcliff.. Remember us talking about the 2nd Tier QB’s in this 2012 Draft.. I had Foles right at the top of that list and thoguh he had all the Physcial/Mental Tools to be a legitimate QB in the NFL and compared his style to a young Big Ben.. Now he has some mechanical issues with his footwork and needs to develop some touch on his short-passes, timimg on screens,etc,etc as any young QB needs to .. but I think the Eagles have a good young one to work with as a real future starter in the NFL..
Nick Foles Mania… You’ve gotta love philadelphia…