What in the Foles???

[Orlando Eagles]

The biggest problem I saw this year with Wentz was holding onto the ball too long. What changed from last year to this year when it comes to that part of his game ... I don't know. He also stopped throwing people open ... it became tunnel vision to Ertz. When receivers stop getting chances unless they are college open, they won't play nearly as hard; quite often you could see the frustration in their demeanor (especially Alshon). I get that Wentz probably came back too early from the injury ... but shouldn't that make him actually get rid of the ball quicker?

Foles on the other hand is getting the ball out of there in Brady like fashion the past 2 games and the difference in the Offense is clear. Even with Jason Peters getting hurt early (Big V is horrible) and going against one of the best pass rushing teams in the league ... he still got it done. He's also spreading it around and giving receivers deep shots, thus keeping them involved. All of a sudden Nelson Agholor looks like a player again ... the Back is getting used in the passing game again ...

Well said in the challenges this year. Wentz has a very abridged rookie offseason due to the trade. He had a so so first year. He got a full offseason next and he was in the MVP hunt. Last offseason he didn’t get any reps due to injury. I think it’s been seen before with young guys. No reps and exactly the things we saw show up. Locking on receivers, holding the ball too long, not throwing open. He REALLY could have benefited from simplifying things before his back came up....but that wasn’t there. I felt like he was struggling mentally. I felt like he struggled physically (leg brace and mobility at first, then more and more with his back).

Now he can get a full offseason and (hopefully) the right support upgrades at T, LG and RB. I feel like that time and reps can help get past the yips that came up because.....the time and reps did just that between season 1 and 2.

 

[old duke]

Good point about Agholor, Rey. He is the speed receiver we need. We just need to use him that way.
So, I think we sign a LT in FA, Peters is gone. He's done! We need to stud RB, ala Kamara, Cook, Gurley, Barkley, Elliott, etc. The 1st 3 picks need to be DT,DE, and LB.

 

[Orlando Eagles]

Good point about Agholor, Rey. He is the speed receiver we need. We just need to use him that way.
So, I think we sign a LT in FA, Peters is gone. He's done! We need to stud RB, ala Kamara, Cook, Gurley, Barkley, Elliott, etc. The 1st 3 picks need to be DT,DE, and LB.

Taylor Lewan or Jake Matthews could be out there to take in FA. Could be a veteran stopgap. Colleges are struggling more and more to produce enough pro caliber Tackles. Maybe sign a FA and draft one later, or keep working on Mailata.

 

[old duke]

Exactly!

 

[Rey]

OT Taylor Lewan is signed for several more year ... I wish he were available

 

[Orlando Eagles]

OT Taylor Lewan is signed for several more year ... I wish he were available

Yep. That’s my bad. Didn’t check the date on the piece I researched. Probably was a “way look ahead”.

Plus....I think in my haste I overlooked that it was Bleacher Report. Yikes.

Ok. I looked closer. Trent Brown and Daryl Williams could be added to the list. Maybe Howie would trade for one. Don’t know. Too early. They could also be really high on what Mailata could possibly do with another offseason.

 

[old duke]

Love Mailata! He and Pryor could be the future OT's.

 

[Orlando Eagles]

Love Mailata! He and Pryor could be the future OT's.

I totally forgot about Pryor. He had a good camp and preseason. I’m thinking Howie and crew might not be sweating Peters replacement next year as much as I first thought. While there is not much cap (at this point) there is plenty of picks if they want to address it more through trade/pick.

 

[old duke]

Howie will get cap room. Here are most of whom could get cut/retire/ or restructure:
AJAYI
TATE
B.GRAHAM (restructure?)
C.GRAHAM
PETERS
SPROLES (restructure?)
LONG
SMALLWOOD
WISNIEWSKI
GIBSON
PUMPHREY
MCLEOD
JERNIGAN (restr.?)
VAITAI (not even a decent backup)
SEUMALO (ditto)
WALLACE

Any of these are easily replaced in free agency, if Howie/Douglas make better pickups than they did last offseason.

 

[PhillyGreen]

It really is simple. When Foles has no pressure to perform he does well. When the pressure is on him he plays like shit.

 

[TheSnowdog]

Even if Foles leads the Eagles to another Superbowl win this year I'm still sticking with Wentz
I respect what Foles does last year and so far this year filling in at the end of the season and he will always be a Philly legend

But when it comes to the future of the Eagles Wentz is the future

Let's say the Eagles trade Wentz and go with Foles - I can pretty much guarantee that 4-5 games into the season everyone on here will be wishing that Eagles kept Wentz

I'm not sure why Wentz is being labeled as "injury prone". He has had 1 season ending injury - the knee injury. The back injury is from last year anyways right?

If Wentz doesn't get injured last year he is the MVP of the league and the Eagles roll through to a Superbowl win just like what Foles did. The Eagles offense was firing on all cylinders with Wentz as QB and after a warm upgame with Foles as well

Foles to me is like Case Keenum - fool's gold. Denver got suckered into Keenum - Eagles should not be suckered into Foles.

If Foles wants to stick around to be the backup QB then great.
Wentz will get a full off season in of recovery of training in so I don't see why he can't come back next year playing at a high level

As others have mentioned the Eagles have a lot of other areas of concern - QB is not one of them and no need to make it an area of concern by trading away a franchise QB to stick with a backup QB

 

[Guy Incognito]

Nick Foles is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Plays great in stretches, is bad in others. Christ, there was a point last season where some posters here were suggesting that there be a quick hook for Foles to go to Sudfeld, if not outright benching Foles for Sudfeld in the playoffs.

I love me some Foles, but let's recognize what this guy's game is.

 

[Orlando Eagles]

Even if Foles leads the Eagles to another Superbowl win this year I'm still sticking with Wentz
I respect what Foles does last year and so far this year filling in at the end of the season and he will always be a Philly legend

But when it comes to the future of the Eagles Wentz is the future

Let's say the Eagles trade Wentz and go with Foles - I can pretty much guarantee that 4-5 games into the season everyone on here will be wishing that Eagles kept Wentz

I'm not sure why Wentz is being labeled as "injury prone". He has had 1 season ending injury - the knee injury. The back injury is from last year anyways right?

If Wentz doesn't get injured last year he is the MVP of the league and the Eagles roll through to a Superbowl win just like what Foles did. The Eagles offense was firing on all cylinders with Wentz as QB and after a warm upgame with Foles as well

Foles to me is like Case Keenum - fool's gold. Denver got suckered into Keenum - Eagles should not be suckered into Foles.

If Foles wants to stick around to be the backup QB then great.
Wentz will get a full off season in of recovery of training in so I don't see why he can't come back next year playing at a high level

As others have mentioned the Eagles have a lot of other areas of concern - QB is not one of them and no need to make it an area of concern by trading away a franchise QB to stick with a backup QB

The way I’ve read it the back injury is from this year. It’s relatively minor (as backs go) but the injury prone worry is less that it’s coming on the back of the knee and more that he had a similar back injury in college.

All that said....I just don’t see how you can do anything but roll the next few years with him and gamble he is not “injury prone”.

Maybe Foles stays on as backup (would love that). But he ain’t a full time starter. Already said....but I agree with the Fitzpatrick comp. I love some Fitzmagic too, but he is great in spurts, bad in others. Foles can be a bit like that too.

 

[PhillyGreen]

Nick Foles is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Plays great in stretches, is bad in others. Christ, there was a point last season where some posters here were suggesting that there be a quick hook for Foles to go to Sudfeld, if not outright benching Foles for Sudfeld in the playoffs.

I love me some Foles, but let's recognize what this guy's game is.

I love Nick Foles and like you I am realistic as to who he is as a player. I think it is laughable that some would rather take Foles over Wentz. Thankfully the Eagles are not that dense.

Nick Foles is your typical "fools gold" back up QB. He can play during a pinch and actually perform well. However, when he is the man and the pressure is on him he is not your QB of the future IMO. Last season after Wentz went down he was underwhelming in his play. That carried on into playoffs in the first game against the Falcons and his performance in that game was nothing special. Then came the NFCG and the SB. While we were underdogs at home against the Falcons many still believe we should beat them as we were the better team. Against the Vikings and Patriots we were given absolutely no shot at beating either team. That took every bit of pressure off Foles and he played like it. Then at the start of the season when the pressure was on as the defending SB champs and he was the MVP he sucked. So now we fast forward to the end of the season and Wentz is shut down. The season is pretty much over for the Eagles and he plays well again. The template is pretty simple. Foles with no pressure to perform is really good. Add pressure.....not so much.

 

[seattlefan75]

If the eagles make the playoffs and make some kind of run with Foles I would probably look into trading Wentz and keeping Foles it seems like there is some kind of better chemistry with foles back there and I think its a red flag that Wentz has been injured this much before his rookie deal is up. Don't make the same mistake the Vikings made and give a bunch of money to a QB and let the QB that you won with walk out.

If a team like the Jags or Broncos are willing to deal multiple first round picks for Wentz I think its something to consider

 

[Orlando Eagles]

If the eagles make the playoffs and make some kind of run with Foles I would probably look into trading Wentz and keeping Foles it seems like there is some kind of better chemistry with foles back there and I think its a red flag that Wentz has been injured this much before his rookie deal is up. Don't make the same mistake the Vikings made and give a bunch of money to a QB and let the QB that you won with walk out.

If a team like the Jags or Broncos are willing to deal multiple first round picks for Wentz I think its something to consider

It sure does look on the surface like the chemistry is better with Foles. But I believe that is illusory.

With Foles they simplify the playbook. With Wentz they allow a lot more for improvisation of his talents. I think knowing just what you need to be doing in a play really helps cohesiveness.

Not to mention...the offense had a whole offseason with Foles and none with Wentz. Sure....that should have balanced out by now. But with the lack of play call support I feel like this greatly stunted things.

Foles is amazing to have where he is. Wentz is the future.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

I just don't understand why the coaches don't taylor the offense better for Wentz when he is in there. So many times, the shortest pattern is 12 yards. They are designing play for wentz to hold the ball. Then top that off, wentz is actually going thru long pattern progression - whereas Foles locks onto his first option 90% of the time. Why in the world the coaching staff wouldn't recognize the weakness of the OL and pressure of defense, and get rid of the ball faster - including more designed check downs (DAL was eating us alive with it), I will never understand. And waiting 3-4 weeks to get tate more involved is beyond ridiculous. I also agree that Alshon was the most underused WR this season under Wentz. That guy is super physical, talented and healthy and he should have been utilized a LOT more. Agholor went completely quiet, and that guy is a burner and a true team player. This team has WAY too much talent at WR to be a one-man Ertz show. THat said, Ertz is a beast, and has been very reliable. But I honestly put 90% of the problems on coaching/play-calling. That said, I do also believe the coaching staff is creating a team environment that mentally has the team working harder and believing in Foles more than wentz. That is not going to serve this team well on into the future. And wentz was clearly getting mentally frustrated. That kid does not usually lose his cool, and him throwing his helmet down on the ground way back around week 7 or 8 should have been a huge wakeup call for the coaches.

 

[eaglesnut]

It really is simple. When Foles has no pressure to perform he does well. When the pressure is on him he plays like shit.

Gotta disagree with that.

There's tons of pressure manning a team through the playoffs. Nick even had the lead when he left the field in his first playoff game ever. And we all remember his most recent performance under Super Bowl pressure.

 

[Rey]

Check down options are always available to the QB ... Wentz just didn't look at them this year. He was determined on pushing the ball in the 10-15 yard area downfield between the hash marks (mostly to Ertz) ... that's his comfort zone and didn't sway away from that much. He has to learn to take the dump offs when the other options aren't there instead of holding on to the ball and absorb the sack or a hit. Since Foles took over we are the least sacked team in the league because he gets it out quickly one way to the other. Wentz also has to also lead receivers better and put some touch under the ball; he has a great arm, but you don't have to throw lasers on every play. Ditto his deep ball ... Foles doesn't have his arm, but he lays out the deep ball with touch and it gives his receivers a chance to settle under it and make a play. Hopefully Wentz can watch and incorporate some of what Foles does into his game for next year.

 

[Center Ice]

I bet the dark lord makes a play for Foles in the off season. What a good fit it would be for the Pats. Foles wouldn't be mugging for Brady's job and the Pats get a SB MVP holding a clipboard ready to produce magic when needed. Foles would be happy with it and Brady would be happy with it.

As for Wentz well, I know many are on his band wagon but I've been an Eagles fan for long enough to remember the Cunningham years. That dude was magic but always injured. Eagles management are in the no win scenario in decision making on Foles.