PHILADELPHIA — A year ago Nick Foles was battling dynamic veteran Michael Vick and rookie Matt Barkley for the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback job under new head coach Chip Kelly.
This year there is no real competition. After earning the third highest quarterback rating in NFL history (119.0) and becoming the MVP of the Pro Bowl, Foles is the undisputed starter for the Eagles. Not coincidentally, Vick is now with the New York Jets.
And, according to Kelly, Foles could be even better this year, based on the quarterback’s obvious improvement just in OTA and minicamps.
“Just a better command and an understanding of what’s going on,” Kelly said of Foles Tuesday. “You know, lining guys up. Coaches were lining everybody up last year, but now Nick has really got a great command of what we are doing offensively to kind of
and you can just see it.
“There’s a lot more confidence in how he’s playing and now it’s just a matter of refining the little things for him — footwork, hand offs, carrying off fakes. Not the minor details; they are really major details, but he’s not worried with where he’s going with the ball.”
In fact, Kelly says the whole offense is much more advanced than it was last year, his rookie season in the NFL after wearing out college scoreboards with his high-scoring offenses at Oregon.
“Yeah, it’s a lot different,” he said. “(I) spent a lot of time in our first year explaining what we were doing, why we were doing it. Now it’s more of the older guys grabbing the younger guys and saying, ‘Hey, this is where we’re going and this is what’s going on and this is the reason we are going to do it’ so we don’t have to spend as much time on that stuff.”
Last year at this time, there were questions as to whether Kelly’s fast-paced, wide-open football would work in the NFL. Now, after the Eagles scored 442 points and won the NFC East Division title with a 10-6 record, the only question left is, will this team get in the next Super Bowl?
Kelly was asked how he evaluates and coaches the kind of quarterback it takes to run the Eagles’ fast-break offense.
“We focus on everything, there’s not one thing that we look for and say, ‘You know, he has a quick release but it’s OK, he doesn’t have a very strong arm.’
“I think you want the whole package in terms of what you’re looking for. You don’t look at one and say, ‘Hey, we’ll take this over this.’ I think it’s a combination of how accurate a thrower he is. I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, I want to take this guy, he can get it out of his hands really quick but he’s inaccurate when he throws the football.’
“There’s a lot more that goes into it than one thing,” Kelly added.
And, apparently Foles has it figured out.