It’s amazing what a difference a year makes. In the summer of 2019, Nick Foles was viewed as a rising force on the quarterback scene. He’d led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl after Carson Wentz went down in 2017. Then the next season when it happened again, he got them back to the playoffs and engineered a major upset of the Chicago Bears in the wild card round.
The Jacksonville Jaguars gave him a lucrative $88 million contract to help turn around their fortunes last season. A few months later he was benched in favor of rookie Gardner Minshew as the team slogged to yet another disappointing finish. Just like that, all the credibility Foles seemed to have built up winning so many big games for the Eagles had evaporated. Most people now view him as a flash in the pan.
Hall of Fame executive Gil Brandt is also skeptical of his coming to Chicago. Just not for the same reasons.
He believes Foles deserves the benefit of the doubt. While Jacksonville was a fiasco, not enough people account for him getting hurt in the first game. Something that derailed everything.
“The MVP of Super Bowl LII should have the trust of the Bears coaching staff, having worked with Nagy (in Kansas City and Philadelphia), offensive coordinator Bill Lazor (in Philadelphia) and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo (in Philadelphia and Jacksonville). I’ll give Foles a mulligan for his disappointing stint as the would-be savior of the Jags last season, which was derailed by a broken collarbone suffered in the first quarter of the opener.
That being said, I’m not sure how good Chicago’s offense is going to be regardless of who’s at quarterback, with the skill-position group short on established standout talent outside of receiver Allen Robinson.”
Nick Foles will debunk or confirm his critics this year
It’s a fair concern on Brandt’s part. Foles is a quarterback who seems to offer a barometer on how talented an offense is. When he has pieces to work with, he can put on some great performances. When he doesn’t? He’s never proven to be a guy who can elevate the players around him. This is where the Bears come in. Outside of Robinson, who do they really have?
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Anthony Miller showed flashes of brilliance last year but staying healthy remains a problem for him. New addition Ted Ginn Jr. is 35-years old. Javon Wims and Riley Ridley have proven nothing to this point. Jimmy Graham, their latest attempt to fix tight end, just turned 34. Cole Kmet is a rookie who spent half his collegiate athletic career playing baseball. David Montgomery showed promise last year but still has a lot to prove and Tarik Cohen regressed in every category.
There is lots of physical talent on the Bears offense. Just not much of it is proven. It’s hoped that changes in 2020. One thing is for sure. This is probably Foles’ last chance to become a long-term starter in the NFL. If he can’t beat out Mitch Trubisky for the job, people will have their answer on who he really is.
