Nick Foles officially announced as starter for rest of the season
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) during the first quarter against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Redskins 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Eagles second-year quarterback Nick Foles has been on fire ever since the Eagles decided to take things lighter with Michael Vick’s hamstring, and it was only a matter of time until Chip Kelly officially named Foles as the starter. Vick is finally healthy and will be active as Foles’s backup, but there is no inkling of doubt that he is locked in as Foles’s backup. According to CSN Philly’s Reuben Frank, Kelly has confirmed that Foles will start for the Eagles for the rest of the season, and Frank tweets that Kelly was motivated to officially announce Foles as the starter since he doesn’t want Foles to be worried about losing his starting job just because he had a bad quarter.
The competition is officially over, although the fact that Foles has played three straight excellent games sealed that. Vick has some advantages to Foles, but it’s clear that Foles has been the better player this season; his only bad game was that Week 7 disaster against the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles are locked in a huge struggle with the Cowboys- and the New York Giants- for the NFC East crown, which is the only way that a team in this mediocre division can nab a playoff spot.
Foles has averaged a terrific 9.6 yards per attempt this season with 16 touchdowns and no interceptions, and those numbers are terrific even if they have come against woeful defense. Once the Eagles get by this week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, they won’t face an above-average pass defense for the remainder of the season.
It makes perfect sense to name Nick Foles as the starter, and I hope nobody is opposed to this obvious decision. I mean, the only surprise is the fact that Kelly didn’t name Foles as the locked-in starter sooner. He’s been on fire, and it’s going to be fun to watch Foles play now that he has some more mental security and has a perfect chance to prove himself as the Eagles QB of the future. It’s great seeing that Vick is giving props to Foles and being classy, because Foles is the reason why Vick will most likely be out the door at the end of the season.