Nick Foles said Thursday in New York that he learned many valuable lessons from watching Peyton Manning execute the Denver Broncos offense against the Eagles earlier this season. (Image courtesy of FoxSports.com)
Peyton Manning probably makes the ideal role model for any up and coming quarterback, even those already in the NFL, and Nick Foles certainly agrees.
Back in October as Manning and his Denver Broncos were in the process of dismantling the Philadelphia Eagles 52-20, the Eagles second-year quarterback was standing on the sideline as one of the game's all-time greats executed his offense to near perfection, all the while taking mental notes.
Foles, while on the set of Mike and Mike in the morning, who are in New York this week as manning prepares for Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, leading the Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks, and said he learned some valuable lessons on that October afternoon in the Mile High City.
"I was definitely watching Peyton and how he commands the offense," Foles explained. "He's fast and he's one of the best in the game.
"How he takes command of his offense, how he owns everything. His receivers are always on the same page, his offensive line gets the right calls and gets them quickly, you can tell that he's taking it over in Denver and that's something guys really respond to."
Foles of course took the reigns of Chip Kelly's high octane offense in relief of Michael Vick for the first time the very next week and full time in November and put together one of the greatest statistical seasons in league history.
Foles threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In doing so, he posted the best TD/INT ratio in NFL history and became the only quarterback to throw over 20 touchdowns and fewer than two interceptions. Foles’ 0.63% interception percentage ranks as the third-lowest in NFL history. Foles is currently the franchise’s all-time leader in QB rating (101.0) and completion percentage (62.5). He also set the single-season franchise mark in completion percentage (64.0).
While it's wildly over simplistic to equate what Foles saw in Manning early this season to having any impact on his success during his first season as a starter, under his second head coach and in his second offensive scheme, it's certainly noteworthy that he acknowledged learning lessons from Manning's dominance.
Before Foles even took a snap in the summer-long training camp quarterback battle against Vick, detractors said that he could never succeed in this system because of his lack of mobility.
That was a flawed argument since it was first muttered.
"In Chip's offense I believe playing quarterback the main thing is giving the playmakers the ball and doing it quickly," Foles pointed out. "In chip's offense you have to distribute the ball, be smart and be able to react while doing it fast. I was a basketball player so that helped"
Along the way, Foles wound up posting the most completions 20 yards or longer downfield than any quarterback in the league.
Perhaps most encouraging for Eagles fans is that Foles has no intention of resting on his successful season, and quite frankly he cannot.
Because of the collective bargaining agreement, neither the Eagles nor Foles can even explore the option of extending his rookie contract until the end of next season.
"We have a great team and we had a really good year," Foles said. "It's something we have before us now to build on. Just because we played well last year doesn't mean we are going to do it again next year.
"I'm excited to get back to philly and get back to work"
