Anyway, obviously after that one HoF performance against the Raiders and with the dreadful Cowboys game on tape it was definitely too premature to claim that Foles was the next franchise QB for the Philadelphia Eagles. But what have we seen since the Raiders game? You can't help but continue to be impressed. While Nick did some good things against the Packers, and overall had a very good game, I do think he got a little lucky. For the sake of nitpicking, he looked a little hesitant and uncomfortable at times. That said, his QB rating was 149.3. I just don't think he was as good as his rating suggested.

Several weeks ago, following the Raiders game I tried to make a bit of a tongue-in-cheek proclamation that Nick Foles, following that performance, was a Franchise QB . I got into a little hot water on twitter and really, it all starts with defining what a Franchise QB actually is. Perhaps that can be a conversation to make the next 2 weeks go a little faster (or slower, depending on your perspective).

However, yesterday against the Redskins, Nick had a paltry 104.3 rating, but I felt he was a lot better than that stat indicated. Moreso, I felt he played better against the Redskins than he did against the Packers.

The impressive thing about Foles through his last number of starts, is just how well he is doing everything. I mean, honestly, without getting carried away...what exactly CAN'T this guy do? He's throwing the deep ball alarming well, he can throw on the move, he is gaining yards with his legs, he is accurate, he is throwing with great anticipation, etc. I felt yesterday was a great display of the variety of things that Nick is doing well. If you don't have a QB that has one or two of those GREAT attributes (arm strength, accuracy, mobility, etc.) you certainly want a QB who does all those things well. Let's dive a bit into Nick's performance yesterday:

Anticipation Throws

For this blogger, the thing that I am most excited about in Nick's game is his anticipation throws. We are so used to a QB holding the ball and waiting for the receiver to get separation that watching Nick get the ball out early and throwing to a spot the moment he notices one-on-one coverage is about the most refreshing thing I've seen all year.

Check out Nick on this wheel route to McCoy:

Nick immediately spots McCoy matched up against Kerrigan, clearly a mismatch:

You can see now, just as McCoy starts getting separation, the ball is already well in the air. Nick is throwing to a spot:

Hits McCoy perfectly in stride, he doesn't have to slow down and he almost goes for a TD:

And here's another that we scored a TD on against the Raiders a few weeks ago. Again, the ball is already leaving Nick's hand, Cooper is not quite open:

Again, Nick throws to a spot. If it wasn't for the illegal hands penalty on the DB, Riley probably runs right under this ball:

In the red zone, Nick has been deadly this year. Why? Because he is big, can see over the line, and he's done just about everything. We've run the fade, he's sat in the pocket, he's thrown on the move, he's run for TDs. Yesterday, we saw him run a quick slant to near perfection:

Again, ball is out on the break, Cooper is open:

I thought this was a TD. It was really close though. One of those plays that if it was called a TD, it wouldn't have gotten overturned. Likewise, since it was called a non-TD, I don't think there was enough visual evidence to overturn:

This is a nice shot showing Nick's anticipation on a post route to Cooper. You can see Nick has his arm cocked and Cooper's back is still to him. Again, Nick throws it to a spot:

Hits Cooper in stride for a big first down:

Functional Mobility

Much has been made about Nick's mobility. I hope by now, people are starting to realize that despite his size, Nick is not Dan Marino or Drew Bledsoe. He's probably closer to a Ben Roethlisberger. He is not going to burn you for 40 yards with his jets, but if you don't respect his legs, he will burn you as an alternative to throwing the ball away. And yes, he's mobile enough that we'll even design some runs for him.

This is the part where I point out that I am almost convinced that Chip plays mind games with teams early on. By scoring with Nick on this TD, it sends an early message to the defense that they better respect Nick on the read-option, which of course sets everything else on offense up.

Here's our familiar inside zone read. Kerrigan is the unblocked defender and he explodes through the LOS on McCoy. Nick reads and keeps:

Kerrigan is out of the play, but Celek can't sustain his block:

Nick looks dead to rights, but he actually cuts back to the inside:

Hits the pile, and muscles his way over the goalline:

But Nick is also making plays with legs instead of forcing the ball downfield. He really is exhibiting terrific pocket presence and has a nice internal clock (a big improvement on last year).

Check out this play where he has a clean pocket, but nowhere to go:

He waits a few more seconds, but then decides to take off:

Outruns a defender, gets the first down and performs a slide Mike Vick wishes he could emulate:

Foles actually ran for a TD and 3 First Downs. Could have been 4 if he got another couple of inches on the reviewed play in the 4th quarter. Those are significant plays in the grand scheme of things when you look back, especially in a one-possession game. If Nick really was the statue that some think he is, he probably wouldn't have made those plays, and we probably would have lost.

And of course, as Nick has shown along, when he is not running for first downs and TD, he's very good at keeping his eyes downfield. Here he does a great job of leaving the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield:

Spots Cooper across the field. Makes a strong throw, on the run, across his body:

To an open Riley Cooper. Big 1st down:

Pocket QB

Finally, as nice as it is to have a QB who can make plays with his legs, most importantly, us Eagles fans are thrilled with the concept of a pocket QB. This is what Nick does really well. He works the pocket, trusts, his protection, and makes his reads.

This one is worth noting since we play so much Shotgun. Nice to see flawless execution of a play under centre off playaction:

Well, he could sell the fake a little better:

Stands high in the pocket (clean):

Sets feet and delivers a beautiful ball to Desean:

And this was just incredible. It ended up getting called back...but check out Nick hanging in the pocket. Shows a wicked arm on this throw despite having his jersey yanked:

and a perfect ball to Riley Cooper:

Some have described the Raiders performance as the perfect storm. Coverage breakdowns, stumbling DBs, etc. But yesterday was almost just the opposite. With a couple of breaks Nick could have thrown for 5 TDs yesterday. Instead, he only had one rushing TD to show for it.

Let's hope we see more of this Nick in December (and January!)