Nick Foles Impressive in Regular Season Debut

Philadelphia Eagles fans got something many have been waiting for Sunday night, they got to see the highly anticipated debut of rookie quarterback Nick Foles. This was due to starting QB Michael Vick suffering a concussion in the first drive of the second quarter that forced him to sit out the rest of the game. Enter Nick Fole-adelphia. For a rookie who hadn’t played since the preseason, didn’t have an opportunity to work with the first team during the week of practices and was thrown into a must win situation, Nick Foles looked sharp. He wasn’t perfect by any measure as he threw across his body and luckily hit WR Jeremy Maclin, but for the most part Foles did very well. Much like he did during the preseason, Foles stood tall in the pocket, got the ball out quickly, showcased a cannon arm and more than anything he didn’t buckle under pressure. Foles completed 22 of 32 passes for 219 yards, one of which was a 44-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin, and a screwball interception intended for DeSean Jackson that was returned for a Cowboys pick six. The Eagles offensive line played much better against a touch Cowboys defense allowing just two QB sacks — a big improvement over last weeks seven sacks. Does this mean that the amount of hits Michael Vick is taking is his fault? Very possible. While discussing this possibility with my collegue, Brian Tallon, he explained it as follows. “Its because Vick isn’t a scheme guy. He doesn’t care where his line is blocking, he just looks for a place to scramble. If the OL has a weak side blocking scheme, you can count on Foles scrambling strong side. Vick is more athlete but isn’t football smart at all. Plus, they changed the play calling. Foles did a lot more west coast offense type dink and dunk. Vick is always looking for the big play. I think Foles should stay in as the QB for the season, now that its about over. But they need to keep doing exactly what they did today to support him.” I whole-heartedly agree with the statement that Foles should be the Eagles starting QB for the remainder of the season. Vick is not going to be back in Eagles green in 2013 due to his lousy play over the past two seasons and the bonus he is due following the Super Bowl. By giving Foles the opportunity to build some continuity with his teammates now will pay off in 2013. The question is does Andy Reid care about how the Eagles do in 2013 and beyond if team owner Jeffrey Lurie has no intention of keeping him around? Probably not.