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Today’s Question of the Day asks: Which Eagles opinion were you most wrong about?
Honestly, it’s tough for me to answer this one since I’ve never been wrong about anything. And I’m sure the same sentiment applies to most of you readers as well.
In all seriousness, though, my answer is obvious ... Nick Foles.
I was skeptical about Foles from the jump. Look at what I wrote in a FanPost making the case for Mike Kafka as the Eagles’ backup quarterback in 2012:
There’s been some articles hyping up the Eagles 3rd round draft pick this year as a legitimate competitor for the backup QB job. Bullshit. Maybe Foles is better than we expected, but I doubt he’s as comfortable in the system as Kafka is. If you’re not comfortable with Kafka, who’s been in the system and has some experience (although limited), how the hell are going to be confident with a rookie like Foles?
Wrong. Kafka got hurt and cut. The Eagles stuck with Foles, who posted an impressive 110.1 preseason passer rating, as their No. 2.
I was skeptical again when people wanted to merely hand Foles the starting quarterback job in 2013. I supported the Eagles’ decision to re-sign Michael Vick. I thought it best for Vick and Foles to compete for the No. 1 spot. Obviously, Foles ended up being the better option as he threw 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions that season.
I was still skeptical about Foles as the Eagles’ long-term franchise quarterback heading into 2014. Yes, Foles “left the field with the lead” against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, but he also missed a number of key throws in that game which left the Eagles with a smaller margin for error. Foles got a lot of credit for “just winning” in 2014 but the reality is the Eagles’ record was buoyed by scoring defensive and special teams touchdowns at an historical rate.
And so while I didn’t love the Eagles’ decision to acquire Sam Bradford, I did believe moving on from Foles was the right call. Foles’ apparent struggles with the St. Louis Rams only vindicated my belief.
I was fine with the Eagles bringing Foles back as Carson Wentz’s backup in 2017. But there’s no way I thought he would be good enough to lead the Eagles on a Super Bowl run with Wentz going down. Especially after watching Foles really struggle at the end of the 2017 regular season.
And, yet, that’s exactly what happened! After a “meh” divisional round performance (aided by a very fortunate dropped interception from Keanu Neal that ultimately turned into an Eagles field goal instead), Foles was absolutely sensational in the 2018 NFC Championship Game. There’s obviously no doubt he earned his Super Bowl MVP award with his performance against the New England Patriots.
I was rightfully dragged by Eagles fans on Twitter and BGN alike for doubting Foles. Despite this, though, I didn’t fully learn my lesson. I still doubted the Eagles’ decision to keep him around for the 2018 season. I thought it would be best to maximize his value by trading him. I once again looked foolish as Foles almost had the Eagles going back to the NFC Championship Game for the second year in a row. We can always wonder what would’ve happened if Alshon Jeffery didn’t drop that pass in New Orleans.
Truth be told, I’m still not done doubting Foles as a long-term franchise quarterback. He really struggled with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year. I actually do think he might do well with the Chicago Bears. But is it really impossible to think he could get beat out or benched in favor of Mitchell Trubisky? Even if Foles plays well, he still has the durability question to answer as he’s never made it through a full 16-game season.
While I maintain that Foles’ struggles justify some of my skepticism, it’s obvious that I was too harsh about BDN’s outlook in the past. I was wrong about him. Just like I was wrong about being so high on Chip Kelly and many other things.
Okay, now that I’ve come clean, it’s your turn.