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Foles on Philly Mag profile: I am who I am

Nick Foles said that he didn't agree with the portrait a recent Philadelphia Magazine profile painted of him and the conclusion the author made that the Eagles quarterback didn't have enough ego to be a successful NFL quarterback.

"I don't agree with it just because I think a quarterback and a leader – it's not necessarily what you do in the limelight," Foles said Friday as Eagles players reported to the NovaCare for the start of training camp. "Obviously, handling yourself in the appropriate manner is very important for the organization and for teammates. I've always believed you need to be who you are.

"If you are a guy who loves to go out and be at everything and do that and you can be a great leader and a great player, as well, that's awesome because that's naturally what you're great at. … See, if I were to go and do all that stuff, that's sort of out of my norm."

Foles had declined to be interviewed for the article. He said the cover photo of him holding a football in his Eagles interview was originally from a FOX Sports photo shoot. He said he read excerpts of the piece and had heard about it from others, but that he didn't read it word for word.

"I just didn't want to put that much time on me," Foles said in explaining why he didn't participate with the magazine. "It's not really about me. I can't go out there by myself and win these games."

The story, written by Buzz Bissinger, a former Inquirer reporter and the author of Friday Night Lights, described Foles, for the most part, as a unselfish, God-fearing, Texas native, who has shed the spotlight.

But Bissinger called Foles "chickens---" toward the end of the story for not agreeing to be interviewed. Foles was made available to the media more than a handful of times in between late April and mid June.

Many players, since Foles was drafted by the Eagles in 2012, have said they admire his selflessness. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has played with four starting quarterbacks since coming to the NFL. He said that having a large ego isn't a prerequisite for the job.

"I think it just varies on who the person is," Maclin said. "I think when you talk about Nick, I don't think ego and Nick even go in the same paragraph … and he's still a tremendous quarterback."