ESPN.com's Philadelphia Eagles writer - Phil Sheridan - may have a man-crush on second-year back-up quarterback Nick Foles. There's nothing wrong with that. I have discovered I may indeed have the same man-crush as Stephen Colbert - himself. So, I won't judge Mr. Sheridan on this crush. However, when he's attempting to write objective news on the Philadelphia Eagles football team, he may want to distance himself from Foles love-notes. He also seems to hate starting quarterback Michael Vick with a passion, which is understandable, since he's the main competition of his man-crush, Nick Foles.
In a recent writing of his, entitled, "QB Watch: Eagles' Foles, Vick, Barkley," Sheridan wrote these bits:
- "It would be premature to hail Vick as a savior, though. He completed just 6 of 14 passes for 105 yards against the Giants' defense in the game. Vick and coach Chip Kelly will have to find ways to get the passing game back on track."
Translation: "Vick sucks right now. Hopefully Coach Kelly will be able to boost his game up to average. We can only hope."
- "He (Barkley) completed 11 of 20 passes for 129 yards -- not bad for one quarter of play -- but all three of his drives ended with an interception."
Translation: "I won't bash this guy as much as Vick, because he's a rookie, but he was sub-par in the game, to be nice."
- "Nick Foles just never looked like himself in Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. From the first series, on which he took a couple of hits, until he was knocked out of the game with a concussion at the end of the third quarter, Foles appeared indecisive, inaccurate, and uncertain of himself. Foles completed 11 of 29 passes for just 80 yards. A week after winning NFC offensive player of the week for his effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Foles had a passer rating of just 46.2. Even last season, when he was a rookie playing with an injury-ravaged offense, Foles never looked quite this off-kilter."
Translation: "Foles probably got the concussion in the locker room before the game. Sure, his numbers were lousy, but something just didn't look right about him at the start of the game. Perhaps he had the stomach flu or maybe he was up all night reading the poetry I sent him. I don't know what happened exactly. All I know is that's not the Nick Foles I began to admire and love. Come back soon, Nicky. We miss you."
Mr. Sheridan may need to get hypnotized so he can learn to write about the Eagles without showcasing just how much he loves Foles and how much he loathes Vick. Trust me, the Eagles have much bigger problems than at quarterback, where they have two fairly capable starters and a potential starter-in-the-making in Matt Barkley. The blocking up front has been inconsistent this season. There have been games when holes have opened up for LeSean McCoy, and Vick/Foles has/have received adequate time in the pocket. Then there have been other games when this hasn't been the case. The Eagles' receiving corps has been battered by injuries, and outside of the undersized DeSean Jackson, they don't have a receiver that can stretch the field vertically. The defense had been below average before the past couple of games, where it appears as if they've made some significant strides. The special teams units have been inconsistent as well, particularly in coverage. The playcalling has been lousy at times this season also.
Sure, the quarterback position is the easiest to either praise or scapegoat, but it's going to take a lot more than just solid quarterback play for the Eagles to make a run at winning the NFC East and making the playoffs. While I think a healthy Vick gives the team the best chance to do that this season, he's going to have to receive help from the line, the receivers, the defense, the special teams, and the coaching staff if the team wants to play past Week 17 of the NFL regular season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/1359/qb-watch-philadelphia-eagles-3?ex_cid=espnapi_public
In a recent writing of his, entitled, "QB Watch: Eagles' Foles, Vick, Barkley," Sheridan wrote these bits:
- "It would be premature to hail Vick as a savior, though. He completed just 6 of 14 passes for 105 yards against the Giants' defense in the game. Vick and coach Chip Kelly will have to find ways to get the passing game back on track."
Translation: "Vick sucks right now. Hopefully Coach Kelly will be able to boost his game up to average. We can only hope."
- "He (Barkley) completed 11 of 20 passes for 129 yards -- not bad for one quarter of play -- but all three of his drives ended with an interception."
Translation: "I won't bash this guy as much as Vick, because he's a rookie, but he was sub-par in the game, to be nice."
- "Nick Foles just never looked like himself in Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. From the first series, on which he took a couple of hits, until he was knocked out of the game with a concussion at the end of the third quarter, Foles appeared indecisive, inaccurate, and uncertain of himself. Foles completed 11 of 29 passes for just 80 yards. A week after winning NFC offensive player of the week for his effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Foles had a passer rating of just 46.2. Even last season, when he was a rookie playing with an injury-ravaged offense, Foles never looked quite this off-kilter."
Translation: "Foles probably got the concussion in the locker room before the game. Sure, his numbers were lousy, but something just didn't look right about him at the start of the game. Perhaps he had the stomach flu or maybe he was up all night reading the poetry I sent him. I don't know what happened exactly. All I know is that's not the Nick Foles I began to admire and love. Come back soon, Nicky. We miss you."
Mr. Sheridan may need to get hypnotized so he can learn to write about the Eagles without showcasing just how much he loves Foles and how much he loathes Vick. Trust me, the Eagles have much bigger problems than at quarterback, where they have two fairly capable starters and a potential starter-in-the-making in Matt Barkley. The blocking up front has been inconsistent this season. There have been games when holes have opened up for LeSean McCoy, and Vick/Foles has/have received adequate time in the pocket. Then there have been other games when this hasn't been the case. The Eagles' receiving corps has been battered by injuries, and outside of the undersized DeSean Jackson, they don't have a receiver that can stretch the field vertically. The defense had been below average before the past couple of games, where it appears as if they've made some significant strides. The special teams units have been inconsistent as well, particularly in coverage. The playcalling has been lousy at times this season also.
Sure, the quarterback position is the easiest to either praise or scapegoat, but it's going to take a lot more than just solid quarterback play for the Eagles to make a run at winning the NFC East and making the playoffs. While I think a healthy Vick gives the team the best chance to do that this season, he's going to have to receive help from the line, the receivers, the defense, the special teams, and the coaching staff if the team wants to play past Week 17 of the NFL regular season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/1359/qb-watch-philadelphia-eagles-3?ex_cid=espnapi_public
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