My reasoning is just the opposite of yours i think. Let the vet play while the defense and O-line get settled out. Take the pressure off Geno of having to carry the team early in the year. A least we have an option for the first time in years.
Again, Reid got fired for overall team record and for mismanaging the situation with Castillo, who in turn ran the D into the ground. In 12 the Eagles ranked tied for third in points allowed at 444, giving up 27.8 points per game. That is an atrocious number, and was certainly the main reason the Eagles sucked that year. Ftr Vick was replaced by Foles following an injury to Vick in the Dallas game. Foles was 1-5 as the starter. Last yaer the Eagles were sorting out their new offense early in the season. And after their opening win against DC, their next three were losses, but to a reall improved San Diego team, and then to KC and Denver, the two hottest teams in the league at that point. As far as Foles being evidence of Vick incompetence, again Foles arguably was the best NFL Qb down the stretch last year. Vick being replaced by Foles is not like starting Smith over Vick. If Foles is hte metric, then pretty much anyone other than P Manning, Brady, Brees and Rodgers sucks. Smith is no Foles.
Foles had a better rookie year, conceding he did not play as much as Smith. He had better stats near across the board. He completed over 60% of his passes, had an Int. rate of 1.9 compared to Smith's woeful 4.7, and rated 79.1 versus 66.5. Other stats he was similar or better. He also had an impressive pre-season, compared to Smith's meh effort. Smith Fans complain that he did not get enough support from the rest of the team. In fact the Philly D constantly put their Qb's in difficult situations in 12. But the relevance of the discussion was not about a comparison of rookie seasons. It was in answer to Brad's lack of support comparing Vick being replaced by Foles to not getting to start before Smith. Foles replaced Vick in both 12 and 13 due to injuries. Foles kept his job in 13, not 12. Foles in 13 was a far, far better Qb than Smith. Brad's argument lacks merit.
Foles in his 2nd year improved greatly from his rookie year. Thats some wild stuff. I don't think thats allowed. On this board whatever you are your rookie year you are for your career. Right?
I remember foles being much more impressive as a rookie than geno. There were fans on this site who wanted to trade for him least offseason as it was rumoured he was available.
Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, LeSean McCoy and Jason Avant. That's some real options. He didn't even have DeSean Jackson for his starts but he had professional NFL receivers.
Foles and Bryce Brown for Revis was it? Or it was the picks, but I remember me and you both talking about those players.
They spent a 6th round pick on a 3 year SEC starter who won 32 out of 40 starts and QB'd a team that was AP 10, AP 11 and then AP 8. He won bowl games against LSU and Ohio State. He has an NFL caliber arm but has flawed mechanics and is a bit short. I was surprised he lasted until the 6th round. I figured somebody would take a shot on him in the 3rd or 4th. He has a long road in front of him but I wouldn't be shocked to see him starting for the Jets in 2 years.
The qualifier for professional NFL receivers is a displayed ability to perform the role of an NFL receiver. The Jets had 4 of those last year. Holmes who was hurt and obviously in recovery mode for most of the season. Kerley who was hurt for several games and in recovery mode for several more. Nelson who was signed a quarter of the way into the season and wound up as the Jets most dependable receiver after that. Winslow who was suspended for a quarter of the season and then in the doghouse after that. There wasn't a single professional receiver on the Jets who suited up for more than 12 games last year.
I wasn't talking about the Jets, I was referring to the Eagles, and so were you. Not really trying to make an argument, but you get stuck on these solid definitions and I wanted to see who on the Eagles' roster you considered under that definition.
Ok, for Foles rookie year they had: Jeremy Maclin - 1st round pick who caught 56 balls as a rookie in 2009 and then averaged 67 a year for the next 3 years including 69 in Foles rookie season. LeSean McCoy - 2nd round pick who averaged 55 catches a year including 54 in Foles rookie season. Brent Celek - 5th round pick who averaged 57 catches a year and caught 57 in Foles rookie season. Jason Avant - 4th round pick who established a 50+ catch a year record from 2010 to 2012 as the Eagles 3rd receiver. The Jets leading receiver last year had 43 catches. That was at least partly because he was out for 4 games and hobbled for a couple of others. That was the story for several other guys also.