Ex-GM Ranks Foles 12th Among QBs

Some links with Eagles angles: An ex-GM ranks every QB in the NFL; the 1991 Birds’ defense gets some love; and one more mock draft is released.

In a piece for The Sideline View, former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo ranks every quarterback in the NFL. And he’s got Nick Foles coming in at No. 12.

Angelo breaks down the list by tiers and uses a 9-point scale. The upper class (8.5 to 9.0) are his elite QBs. This category includes seven signal-callers: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Andrew Luck.

The next category is where Foles is listed. It’s described as: “Played at a high level. Was one of the reasons – but not the reason – for his team’s success… not elite.”

On Foles:

Put up top numbers and achieved the best QB rating in football. Once they made the change to him, they won. He knows how to protect the ball and get them in the end zone. Oakland got a dose of how good he is doing it.

The other QBs Angelo has ranked ahead of Foles are: Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith.

Rankings like this are tough to evaluate because we don’t know the exact criteria. Is Angelo basing his rankings solely on 2013 performance? If so, Foles deserves to be higher. Is he ranking the QBs based on who he’d want if he were starting a franchise right now? I doubt it, considering the older guys he has in the top tier.

The guess is full body of work factored largely into Angelo’s rankings. Considering Foles has only started 16 games, I have no issue with the No. 12 spot (although I would put him ahead of Smith).

Tip of the hat to Tommy Lawlor of Iggles Blitz for the link.

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Statistically speaking, Andreas Shepard of Football Outsiders writes that the 1991 Eagles are the best defense of all time:

Shifting to the other side of the ball, the 1991 Eagles are the best defense for now and it’s not even close. The 1969 edition of the Purple People Eaters, who come in second, are closer to 35th place than they are to first. The Steel Curtain makes three appearances in the top-10 in a four-year span (and they won the Super Bowl in the fourth year). Having four Hall of Famers on one defense is a good thing.

…The fact that the 1991 Eagles were still able to end up in the conversation despite their albatross of an offense is perhaps their most impressive accomplishment. I say perhaps, because the 1991 Eagles have another remarkable thing to brag about –- their incredible balance. They had the No. 2 defense against both the pass and the run.

The defense was loaded, but can you name the four QBs who attempted passes for the Eagles that season? I’ll include the answer down at the bottom.

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And finally, one more mock draft is out. This one from Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com:

Louisville S Calvin Pryor: They had big problems on the back end last season. Pryor would start right away.

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Trivia answer: Jim McMahon, Jeff Kemp, Brad Goebel and Pat Ryan.