Yes, I'm about to pick apart Nick Foles' record-setting day

I realize that I open myself up to accusations of contrarianism with a post that attempts to pour some cold water on Nick Foles' performance against the Raiders on Sunday. Really, though, intractibility would be the proper charge. I've always been a Foles skeptic, and his record-tying seven touchdown passes in Oakland have not done anything to lessen my belief that he does not have what it takes to be a franchise quarterback. In light of all of that, you will probably find it hard to believe that I sat down to re-watch the coaches film of Foles' performance with an open mind. In fact I probably just wasted two seconds typing that sentence. But I was genuinely curious as to how Foles managed to do what he did, and if, perhaps, I might re-evaluate some of my beliefs about his flaws (namely, that he does not make decisions fast enough and his footwork is stiff and clunky, leading to slow reaction times and shoddy accuracy).

I suppose I should start with my most effusive bit of praise for the young quarterback: Foles did a splendid job of taking what the defense gave him. Thing is, what the defense gave him was pretty much everything. It would be hard to find another NFL defense that played as poorly in 1-on-1 situations as the Raiders did. The two MVPs of the game were the Eagles offensive line and Chip Kelly, but both were aided by a Raiders defense that looked disorganized, disinterested, and, after the first quarter, disengaged. Foles was essentially playing 7-on-7. After the first couple of series, he had zero concerns about the Oakland pass rush. On several occasions he had enough time to go through his progressions twice before finally making a decision. On two of his touchdown passes, defenders fell down. On a third, nobody bothered covering LeSean McCoy, who took a swing pass and waltzed 25 yards for a touchdown with nary a defender paying attention. Hey, they were still touchdowns. But in order to avoid a weekly game of "We love him/We love him not," let's at least be honest about what we saw.

Touchdown 1:

As you can see, Foles has five yards between him and the closest pass rusher. The yellow square is Jason Avant, who is probably the right read, and if there was any amount of pressure on Foles, it is the read that Foles probably would have had to make. The red box is Brent Celek, who has a linebacker all over him. Foles has already locked on Celek, hoping he'll shed the linebacker. Celek does end up shedding the linebacker, and Foles delivers an easy pass.

Touchdown 2:

At the top of your screen, in front of the yellow arrow, Riley Cooper is singled up on D.J. Hayden. Foles decides to take a shot. Not a bad decision. Cooper has size on Hayden, but Hayden appears to have him played perfectly...until Hayden attempts to locate the ball and stumbles, allowing Cooper to run to the spot of the throw unabated. A nice throw by Foles, albeit one that could have been batted down or worse against a better defender (although, on the flip side, the Eagles could also have a better wide receiver out there).

Touchdown 3:

This is probably the most impressive touchdown throw Cooper made. Again, look at all the time he has, as well as the huge throwing lane. Cooper once again is 1-on-1 with Hayden. This time, he has inside position. Foles ends up delivering a strike, Hayden falls down again, and the Eagles score.

Touchdown 4:

Here's a play that is kind of a nutshell of why I am a Nick Foles skeptic. First, look at the yellow arrow, which is Zach Ertz, who has just made his break and is looking back toward the quarterback. Now is the time to throw the ball. If there was normal pressure on Foles, he would have needed to make a decision right around now. Instead, he feels a little bit of pressure. Instead of sliding forward to his right with his feet still set, he starts to scramble.

Foles is still scrambling and looking for options. Ertz has finished his route and is wide open. The Raider defender, for whatever reason, seems oblivious to Ertz. Ertz is waving for Foles.

Foles finally sees Ertz and hits him with an easy pass. The defender still seems without a care in the world.

Touchdown 5

This one is pretty self explanatory.

Touchdown 6:

Again, self-explanatory. The red X is the cornerback who has fallen onto his behind, with no safety (he's preoccupied by the tight end). Foles hit an open man 30 yards downfield.

Look, I'm not dumping on Foles, because how can you dump on someone who throws seven touchdown passes. He made the throws that were there. Personally, I thought the best throw he made all day was a 3rd-and-long throw to Jeff Maehle. It was the kind of throw that an NFL quarterback needs to make. It showed some zip that I was not sure that Foles had. Point is, you shouldn't fall in love with Foles based on this game any more than you should have fallen out of love with him after the Dallas game. He should be starting the rest of the season, and you should make your decision after all of the evidence has been compiled. I still haven't seen anything that would convince me to forego a potential franchise quarterback in the draft (if the Eagles have one that they like).