Does Nick Foles’ steady progress signal the return of Andy Reid for the 2013 NFL Season?

Photo courtesy Brian Blanco/The Associated Press
Nick Foles runs for one of his three touchdowns, the other two of which came courtesy of his arm, as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to their fourth come-from-behind victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-21.

Nick Foles is growing up right before our eyes.

The third-round rookie quarterback stole the spotlight from rookie running back Bryce Brown by leading the Philadelphia Eagles (4-9) to their fourth-comeback victory this season on a time-expiring, one-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin that snapped the Eagles’ eight-game losing streak and gave them a 23-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7).

Brown has been the big story the past two weeks as much for his impressive 150-plus rushing games as his devastating fumbles. Foles, on the other hand, has been able to steadily grow as a quarterback in his fourth start, doing it mostly in the shadows of Brown’s spotlight.

Yesterday, the two rookies switched roles, as Brown was limited to a measly six yards on 12 carries. Two weeks after Brown broke an Eagles’ rooking rushing record, Foles broke one of his own, throwing for an Eagles’ rookie record of 381 yards on 32 of 51 passes and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). Perhaps most impressive of all was what he didn’t do: turn the ball over.

Foles’ steady improvement is a promising sign for a team in desperate need of a spark, but it might also signal some news that would make most Eagles’ fans cringe. Since Foles is making strides in Andy Reid’s system, it would not be inconceivable to see Reid back for another year.

Photo courtesy Chris O’Meara/The Associated Press
Jeremy Maclin caught Nick Foles’ time-expiring, game-winning touchdown throw to propel the Eagles to victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, snapping their longest losing streak in 42 years.

Think about it. Reid is considered to be a quarterback guru who knows how to develop quarterbacks. Look what he did with Brett Favre in Green Bay, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and even Kevin Kolb (before Kolb was traded away and exposed in a new system with the Arizona Cardinals).

To bring in a new coach would almost certainly mean learning a new system, which would essentially halt any progress Foles has made and send him back to square one. Jeffrey Lurie finds himself in a precarious situation because of the backlash he would receive if he kept Reid around for another year. Yet Foles’ steady progress may be the one thing strong enough to save Reid’s job.

Is an improving rookie third-round quarterback worth keeping the much-maligned coach around for another year? Foles’ performance in the last three games of the season may determine that answer.

Philadelphia Eagles still an enigma after Week 3 in NFL

Photo courtesy Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles squeezed by both the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens in the first two weeks of the season, but fell short against the Arizona Cardinals in week three.

After three games, two wins with eerily similar results and one head-scratching loss, the Philadelphia Eagles are still an enigma. They began the 2012-13 season in near-disastrous fashion, needing a late-game drive to offset a dreadful offensive performance from their supposedly high-octane offense to scrape by the Cleveland Browns, 17-16. The Browns are now 0-3 and expected by most experts to finish near the bottom of the league.

The Eagles then squeaked by with a one-point victory again…but this time against a much higher quality team in the Baltimore Ravens, winning 24-23. Again, the offense sputtered for the majority of the game, only to come up clutch on a 4th quarter drive with time running down.

In their week three match-up of the battle of the birds, the Eagles put in a lackluster performance, getting blown out by the surprising Arizona Cardinals, 27-6.

The argument could be made that the Eagles are the luckiest 2-1 team in the league after their conflicting performances. Luck, however, is something that Eagles fans know does not exist for their team. In fact, luck plays for the opponent. So what should fans make of the first three weeks of the season for the Eagles? Other than the fact that their team seems to love making them sweat, some interesting themes have emerged.

1) The Eagles defense has outplayed the offense

Let’s face it, we all ripped apart Juan Castillo in his first year as defensive coordinator for the Eagles’ defensive woes. Now in his second season and already on the hot seat (perhaps unfairly, but hey, we fans demand immediate success), Castillo seems to have whipped his defense into shape.

Photo courtesy gcobb.com
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense has shown vast improvement from last year’s squad, and has helped them to a 2-1 record.

As a unit, the defense has forced six turnovers and limited their opponents to an average of 275.67 yards of total offense per game, good enough to place them in the top ten for defenses. They’ve buckled down late in the fourth quarter to preserve leads (when they’ve had them) and played a swarming, up-tempo defensive attack.

The much-scrutinized secondary has been at times impressive and other times solid enough to get by, although I think we all expected more out of Nnmadi Asomugha, who only breaks up a pass if he is draped all over the wide receiver. Likewise, the linebacker corps has silenced its critics, including me. Middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans looked rusty in the preseason, but after only two regular season games he has emerged as the leader of the defense. He has a knack for being around the ball and complements rookie Mychal Kendricks, who flies around the field with a purpose.

2) Michael Vick can come up clutch…after putting himself in a bad situation

Vick broke out in 2010 with the Eagles after serving his time and getting a second chance. He made the most of it, throwing for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns with only six picks. He also rushed for 676 yards and an additional nine touchdowns on the ground. His performance was so stellar that he was mentioned as a contender in the MVP race. His brilliance was short-lived however, much to do with the fact that teams adjusted to his style of reckless play and learned that they could effectively take him out of the game by punishing him with hits.

Photo courtesy Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Kevin Kolb beat his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, by leading an onslaught at the helm of the Arizona Cardinals’ offense.

Last season, he demonstrated a worrisome tendency to turn the ball over, throwing 14 interceptions and fumbling 10 times. That small worry has resurfaced early this season in a big way. He has thrown six interceptions and fumbled the ball five times in the first three games this season. He is a play-maker, but he does not seem to grasp the difference between making a play and holding onto the ball too long. He forces passes into tight coverage as well, putting added pressure on his defense to come up with more stops. The defense was able to get it done the first two games, but could not stop the Cardinals’ onslaught behind their former quarterback, Kevin Kolb.

Despite these inefficiencies, Vick led two impressive, late-game drives against the Browns and Ravens to squeak by with two, one-point victories. He was clutch when the Eagles needed him most, driving them down the field on 91- and 80-yard drives, respectively. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they didn’t give themselves a chance for a comeback drive late in the game against the Cardinals.

If the Eagles expect to get back to their winning ways, they will need to limit their turnovers and stop relying on last-minute heroics. The good news is that the Eagles are a different team from last year. Last season, the Eagles did not win close games. This season, they’ve already notched two under their belts. The key for the upcoming weeks will be to establish some sort of consistency from game to game, something that was lacking in their blowout loss to the Cardinals.