What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles this week.

ESPN.com’s Todd McShay has the Eagles taking Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel with the fourth pick in his mock draft:

The Eagles have major concerns along the offensive line, and also have a need at cornerback. The line situation will improve when C Jason Kelce and OTs Jason Peters and Todd Herremans return from injured reserve next season, but you could not fault Philadelphia for taking the best available offensive tackle. Joeckel is a smart, technically sound and tough player in the mold of Joe Thomas, and Joeckel started all 37 games at left tackle in his first three seasons with the Aggies. He could play right tackle opposite Peters and allow Herremans to move inside to guard.

SI.com’s Don Banks has the Eagles 27th in his power rankings:

Nice, confidence-building win for rookie quarterback Nick Foles. One game is not a revelation. But at least there’s the possibility that 2012’s trials and tribulations have not all been for naught in Philadelphia.

Brian Billick of FoxSports.com has the Eagles 26th:

Nick Foles earned his first career win and is putting forth a good argument that he could be the quarterback of the future of this team. Then again … the Bucs have made a lot of quarterbacks look good this season.

The Eagles are 27th in ESPN.com’s power rankings. Writes Dan Graziano:

A win! At long last, the Eagles get to move back up a couple of notches after breaking their eight-game losing streak Sunday in Tampa. Perhaps rookie Nick Foles can quarterback them back toward respectability before it’s all said and done. I have them 27, as does everyone else but Ashley, who has them 28.

Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has the Eagles 27th:

To quote a colleague: “Holy Nick Foles!” How’s this stat line: 32 of 51 for 381 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and rushing score? Don’t forget the game-winning TD pass to Jeremy Maclin with no time remaining.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has Foles’ performance last week ranked No. 1 among rookie quarterbacks:

Foles’ performance had some Andrew Luck-like characteristics. He was absolutely hammered by the Tampa pass rush, but kept firing. He showed terrific pocket movement to keep plays going. He made a number of “wow” throws on plays that looked over, especially on third down. He even scrambled for two key first downs and a touchdown. Foles had more passing yards (381) than the team had total yards. Think about that.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has the Eagles 28th:

Nick Foles looked like he might be the guy for the long term with his play against the Bucs. Impressive.

Football Outsiders had Foles’ performance No. 9 among quarterbacks last week:

Foles had a lot of success on deep passes, going 5-of-10 for 126 yards. All five completions were third- or fourth-down conversions, including successful plays on third-and-14 and third-and-17. Foles only ran three times for 27 yards against Tampa Bay, but each of those runs was a big play. The first was a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter. That was followed by a 14-yard gain on third-and-8 and a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-1.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the Eagles 26th:

So will the “Keep Andy” signs show up on Thursday night, now that they’ve beaten the Bucs?

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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