Howie Roseman Is Wrong Comparing Eagles Backup QBs to Nick Foles

Nick Foles is a franchise legend, a quarterback that could make his case to be on the Mt. Rushmore of Philadelphia Eagles legends.

Foles was the quarterback that won the Eagles their first Super Bowl, winning MVP honors and having one of the greatest postseasons in modern NFL history. Foles still has the highest completion percentage in NFL postseason history.

Only Jalen Hurts can lay claim to what Foles has accomplished in an Eagles uniform.

Howie Roseman was unjust in comparing Tanner McKee or Andy Dalton to what Foles accomplished as a backup quarterback, using the criticism of Foles from August of 2017 and 2018 to fuel his justification of the Eagles' backup quarterback situation.

The comparison to Foles is unfair for McKee and Dalton. Yet Roseman couldn't help himself to compete two quarterbacks that couldn't win the QB2 job this summer to a player that went seven years without someone else wearing his number.

"Can you tell me some things that were written in 2017 about Nick Foles?" Roseman said when asked by SportsRadio WIP about the Eagles backup quarterback situation. “I remember Nick Foles and his August. And some of the questions when we put the roster (together) is ‘Are you gonna cut Nick Foles?’

“And I think the other part of this is — we got those receipts from 2017 and in 2018 when his preseason were under scrutiny. There’s a statue in front of our stadium by the way, and it is Nick Foles.”

There are ways to defend a decision regarding your franchise's backup quarterback situation. Going the Nick Foles route isn't it.

Neither McKee nor Dalton have the resume as Foles

Entering the 2017 season, the Eagles bringing in Foles was already one of their better signings of the offseason (and the Eagles had some good ones). They immediately upgraded their backup quarterback situation from Chase Daniel the year prior.

Foles was already a successful quarterback in the league, having 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions in his second season with the Eagles (his first year as a starting quarterback) and winning Pro Bowl MVP honors. He may have remained the starting quarterback past the 2014 season if Chip Kelly didn't go power hungry and depleted the roster in his one season as general manager.

What's McKee's resume as a starting quarterback? Until last season, McKee wasn't even the QB2 of the Eagles. The franchise thought so highly of McKee as QB2 that they traded for Dalton to compete against him for the role.

Dalton couldn't even win the job, and he's an established quarterback in this league. He's made three Pro Bowls and is entering his 16th season in the NFL, which is one heck of a career. Dalton has thrown for 39,793 yards and 254 touchdowns in his career. By definition, a success.

Even with a long career, Dalton has never won a postseason game in four starts. he hasn't played well on those games either, completing 55.7% of his passes with one touchdown to six interceptions -- a 57.8 rating.

That is not near the level of postseason success Foles had -- not even close. Even entering the 2017 season, Foles had postseason success. Even though he lost his first playoff start, Foles left the field with the Eagles holding the lead.

Neither McKee or Dalton are Foles, and won't be without a postseason run for the ages. Foles could win multiple games when the starting quarterback got injured -- and did.

The same can't be said for Dalton nor McKee heading into the season. Not by how either performed this summer.

The Eagles don't have a QB2

Play the competitive advantage game, the reality is the Eagles don't have a QB2 (or one that we know of). Many teams know their starting quarterback and their backup, and perhaps the Eagles do too.

Then why hide it? If you know the answer to the test question, you don't leave it blank.

Maybe the Eagles don't want to give an absolute because they are looking for an upgrade over McKee or Dalton. That upgrade doesn't have to come by Week 1.

The Eagles had Joe Flacco and Gardner Minshew as their backup quarterbacks entering the 2021 season. They acquired Minshew in late August after Flacco struggled as the No. 2 quarterback in the summer.

Roseman was proactive, not reactive. The Eagles eventually traded Flacco in October of that year, handing the No. 2 job to Minshew. There's plenty of time to make a move and to upgrade.

That wasn't the case in August of 2017, even with Foles battling through a strained flexor tendon in his elbow. The Eagles knew Foles was the QB2, and believed rest was the best way to handle the injury.

Of course, they were right. They also knew Foles was going to be the backup entering the year.

Can you say with a straight face who the QB2 is? Could be McKee or Dalton.

Maybe it won't be any of them. Whether that's in Week 1 or later in the year.

The Eagles just don't have a No. 2 quarterback right now, or one they want to reveal. Whether it's McKee or Dalton, neither compares to Foles and what he was able to accomplish for this franchise.

If McKee or Dalton have a Foles-type run, perhaps the PowerBall jackpot will hit my way this winter too.

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