After sitting out a week with a concussion, Nick Foles is ready to take the spotlight once again. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has officially been cleared by doctors to resume all football activity and it is coming at the right time. As Foles returns, Michael Vick exits. As Eagles fans hoped the fate of the team would not be placed in the hands of rookie Matt Barkley, the backup has all the confidence in the world to ease everyone's minds.
Foles was almost written off entirely after his terrible performance against the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback went 11 of 29 in passing for a mere 80 yards. He failed to connect with every receiver on the field while never looking confident in his abilities. However, despite the struggling game, general manager Howie Roseman wanted to give Foles another chance at proving himself, something the quarterback is thankful for.
"One game has never defined me, and it never will," Foles said, via Philly.com. "I didn't execute like I needed to. I was a little - I was inaccurate on certain throws that I'm usually very accurate on. Just watching film, there's big plays that I missed."
His play against Dallas was a far cry from what he put together against Tampa Bay the week before. The backup received NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. That displayed potential was enough to give Chip Kelly hope. Now, the backup will start once again as Vick remains out with what looks to be a severe hamstring injury. As of now, Barkley and Foles are splitting first-team reps in practice. Depending how Foles feels later in the week, the backup will likely start against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9.
With Vick out, the pressure for Foles to perform is on. After a positive game against the Buccaneers, fans know what he is capable and expect him to deliver each week he starts. Foles says he is not feeling the heavy expectations; he is merely concerned with improving his play all together.
"I've got to be very accurate with the ball, and I wasn't, and that's on me," Foles said. "That's something that I'm going to get out there and I'm going to work on. I play quarterback for a reason. I want the ball in my hands. I want to be able to make the decision. I want to be able to deliver it. I did not do that, that game. It was tough to deal with because it was a big game . . . You played bad, it creeps in that you let everybody down, but then you've got to get back to it and go, 'Hey, I can't mope, I can't do this.' You've got to study the film and man up and get out there."
Kelly will ultimately make the decision on who starts on Sunday. It seems all but a guarantee that Foles will be named the No.1 quarterback, but Kelly loves to keep people guessing.
