Eagles quarterback Nick Foles returned to practice Tuesday and opened up about his disastrous performance against the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago and where he needs to improve.
Nick Foles returned to practice Tuesday and may or may not ultimately make his third start of the season in Oakland this Sunday against the Raiders.
That is the great unknown this week at One Novacare Way and largely dependent on his health and whether or not head coach Chip Kelly sees enough from the 24-year old to deem him ready to start over rookie Matt Barkley. Kelly pointed out Monday that he does not expect Vick to be ready to play by the time Sunday rolls around.
What is known, is that Foles is ready to move past his disastrous performance against the Dallas Cowboys on October 20th which concluded with him exiting late in the third-quarter with a concussion after passing for just 80 yards.
There had been some speculation that Foles' abysmal performance was due to him having his bell rung earlier in the game, but the University of Arizona product wasn't making any excuses Tuesday.
"No I was healthy," Foles told reporters Tuesday at the Novacare Complex. "I just didn't play well. I did not play well. It's on me but I'm going to get better because of it and better from it."
Foles said that he looked over the tape on Sunday and that the results weren't pretty but there was enough he could take away from it to improve.
"I didn't execute like I needed to. I was a little — I was inaccurate on certain throws that I'm usually very accurate on," Foles said. "Just watching film, there's big plays that I missed … It was great to get back out there today, work on it, get back into my footwork, get back to delivering the ball with authority."
Foles' performance against the Cowboys was highly uncharacteristic.
His 37.9 percent completion percentage was among the lowest you'll ever see from a starter at the NFL level and there's little defense for that kind of performance. It also is his lowest since hitting the target just 47 percent of the time in his first start against the Redskins last season as a rookie, but overall Foles only has two games in his eight starts where he finished with a completion percentage below 62 percent.
"I just didn't play well," Foles said when asked if the moment of having the opportunity to perhaps win the starting job factored into his poor play two weeks ago. "I was able to watch film and see what I missed and now I'm able to correct it, even something as simple as putting the ball where it needs to be to be a big play versus an incompletion. That's on me and that's something I'm going to work on.
"I'm an accurate quarterback and I take pride in that. I wasn't accurate in that game and that's something I need to get back to."
Even with Vick sidelined, Kelly has yet to name a starter and the plan for this week is for Foles and Barkley to split reps this week in practice.
What will it take then to help tip Kelly's scales in Foles' favor?
"Just to show them I have command," Foles said of what he needs to show the coaching staff to prove he's ready to make the start. "To show you have command of the huddle, command of where to put the football and really just be myself. I have to go out there and play the game I know I'm able to play."
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
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