Twitter Mailbag: The Foles/Sanchez Dynamic

For a chance to have your question published on Birds 24/7, send it to @Tim_McManus.

@Tim_McManus what does foles injury and his play b4 that do to contract discussion after season

— Satwinder (@Satwinder09) November 4, 2014

I’d imagine the contract discussions will be put on hold. 

Nick Foles has one year remaining on his rookie deal. He is scheduled to be paid a base salary of $660,000 in 2015. The two sides can begin negotiating a new deal after the regular season. If the Eagles were sold on the idea that Foles is their quarterback, it would make sense to try and lock him up early while leverage is still on their side. (Nick, would you rather make $660K or $12 million next year?)

It’s quite possible that the last eight games have planted seeds of doubt into the minds of the Eagles’ brass when it comes to Foles, however. Fortunately for them, they don’t have to make a concrete decision on what to do with him for another year. I think they’ll take a wait-and-see approach.

@Tim_McManus if Sanchez plays well what are the chances of him being the long term QB? — Jeff (@PhillyFreck215) November 4, 2014

I don’t see a scenario where Chip Kelly backs up the Brinks truck and commits to Mark Sanchez for the next one-thousand years. (He already named Foles the starting QB for that time period, anyway.) That’s not to say that quality play won’t lead to a deal with the Eagles. There are ways to structure a contract where the player gets his money and the team has flexibility to cut bait if they so desire. Even Colin Kaepernick is on a “pay as you go” deal.

The best-case scenario for the Eagles is one where they can hedge their bets. It’s understandable if you’re down on Foles at the moment, but it’s also important to remember that he is just 24 starts into his pro career and his overall numbers (62 percent completion rate, 46 touchdowns, 17 interceptions) are pretty fantastic. While I’m not sold on him being the long-term solution, I think the Eagles should keep a window open just in case.

Maybe the answer is Sanchez. Maybe it’s Foles. Maybe it’s someone still playing on Saturdays. Whatever the case, give yourself some flexibility until you know for sure.

—

This next question was submitted by Cochise Lucas at WhiskeyFest. We had a Birds 24/7 booth set up at the event back on October 23 and people stopped by and wrote down questions for us to answer on the site. Cochise was the winner. If you didn’t attend WhiskeyFest this year, add it to the priority list for 2015.

Is the Eagles’ success based more on Chip Kelly’s scheme or the talent of the team?

Kelly might very well answer: c) culture.

It’s a mix of the three, I think. Scheme is nothing without players that can successfully execute it, and talent is useful only when it is pulling in a common direction. If you have both scheme, talent and culture working for you, then you’re championship-caliber.

That said, Kelly deserves a big tip of the cap. He’s been the Eagles’ head coach for 24 regular season games now. In that time, four different quarterbacks have been under center. Despite changing personnel and overhauling the system on the fly, the Eagles have gone 16-8 under Kelly’s stewardship. There’s something to be said for that.