Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is one of the best backups in the NFL
Foles 20-16 record as a starter gives him a .555 winning percentage, the best among the nine backups who have started at least 25 games.
Nick Foles is back as the backup quarterback, and some people will tell you there is no better position in professional sports. The pay is great, the game-day pressure is nil as long as the starter remains healthy, and, most of the time, the fans love you for what you might be able to do.
For Foles, there is no better place than Philadelphia to be the backup quarterback because he has the added benefit of already having done quite a bit for the team that employs him. No other No. 2 QB in the NFL gets to finish practice each day by walking past an enlarged newspaper headline that celebrates a personal NFL record.
Stairway to Seven
Foles throws himself into record book as Birds romp
That is the headline on the Inquirer sports page that hangs in the hallway leading to the locker room at the NovaCare Complex. Foles tied an NFL record in that 2013 game with seven touchdown passes against the Oakland Raiders. That, of course, was also the year he replaced an injured Michael Vick as the Eagles starter and threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 10 starts.
"I definitely have walked by it a few times," Foles said of the newspaper headline. "It's a great memory. It's on the wall, and it will probably be there for a long time. It's a great team achievement . . . but life has gone on since then. I'm not living in the past."
The present is quite an interesting place for Foles and the Eagles, too. It is no secret that, in addition to being a great job, the role of backup quarterback can also be a vital one. We see it every year. Last year in Oakland, the Raiders were dead on arrival for their first playoff appearance since 2002 because Derek Carr went down for the season in Week 16.
On the flip side, the Eagles survived the loss of Donovan McNabb in 2006 because they had a quality backup in Jeff Garcia, and Foles made sure the season was not lost in 2013 when he replaced Vick. Dallas, of course, hit the backup quarterback jackpot with rookie Dak Prescott last season.
So where does Foles rank among the projected 2017 backup quarterbacks?
It is an impossible exercise to rank the backups because so many of them have limited resumés. New England's Jimmy Garoppolo, for instance, always gets high marks, but he has made just two starts in three seasons. How do we know for sure he's not another Matt Cassel?
Based on a lot of numbers, Foles is definitely one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL and the absolute best in the NFC East, where the competition is Colt McCoy in Washington, Kellen Moore in Dallas, and Geno Smith with the New York Giants.
Foles' 36 career starts rank sixth among the projected 32 backups for 2017, and only Matt Schaub's 89.1 passer rating ranks higher among the five guys with more starts than him. Foles' 20-16 record as a starter gives him a .555 winning percentage, the best among the nine backups who have started at least 25 games. Foles is still only 28, which makes him one of only two backups under the age of 30 with 30 or more career starts. The other is the Giants' Smith.
Yes, there was the disastrous 2015 season with St. Louis after Chip Kelly traded him for Sam Bradford, but it's entirely possible that was more about the dysfunctional Rams than Foles' ability.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing about Foles' resumé as the backup quarterback is what he did when called upon by Andy Reid in Kansas City last season.
He won one game in relief of an injured Alex Smith by completing 16 of 22 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, then won again as a starter the following week against Jacksonville while completing 20 of 33 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.
If Foles lost any confidence during his one season with the Rams, he regained it last season by being reunited with Reid, the coach who drafted him.
"The only guy I wanted to play for [after leaving the Rams] was Coach Reid," Foles said. "He knows me really well. I love him. I think he's one of the greatest coaches of all time. I will always keep in touch with him."
Foles, signed at $11 million for the next two seasons, insisted he is a better quarterback now than ever because of his experience. He is comfortable, however, with the idea that Carson Wentz could prevent him from proving that this season.
The Eagles, of course, hope that's the case, but they are also quite happy about having one of the best backup plans at the game's most important position.
@brookob