Weekend Reading: Foles Over Wilson?
Photo by: Jeff Fusco.
We’re getting ready for the first training camp practice at NovaCare today. In the meantime, some links to pass along.
The Football Outsiders Almanac is out, and you can access a snippet from the Eagles’ chapter here. Last year, the Birds ran a play every 23.38 seconds. That was the fastest pace of any offense Football Outsiders had charted since 1997.
Chip Kelly likes to point out that the Eagles don’t always play fast, but clearly tempo was a big part of the offense.
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During a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, Ron Jaworski said he’d take Nick Foles over Russell Wilson.
“I’m taking Foles,” Jaworski said. “Not even close. Russell Wilson is just . . . because of that system he is in. Russell Wilson plays with that defense, the best in football. He just managed the game very well. I think Russell Wilson has played terrific, a great maturity, but I’m going to take Nick Foles.”
In his QB rankings for ESPN.com, Jaws had Wilson No. 9 and Foles No. 15.
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Doug Farrar of SI.com recently ranked the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL. He had Brandon Boykin No. 7:
Boykin was the best slot cornerback in the NFL last year, and a breath of fresh air on an Eagles defense that was too often betwixt and between in Billy Davis’ new schemes. Boykin picked off six passes last season, and all of them came in the slot, where he was targeted 75 times and gave up 44 receptions for 562 yards. That percentage is impressive because slot cornerbacks are asked to cover slants and other simple routes that are generally easy completions. Add in that Boykin allowed just two touchdowns all season, and that’s one more than he scored — he took a pick 54 yards to the house against the Bears in Week 16.
It’s also worth noting that Farrar had new Eagles CB Nolan Carroll II in his “honorable mention” section. As we’ve mentioned in this space, with a good summer, Carroll could steal a starting job.