From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

ONE WINNER

With Marcus Mariota sitting out with a knee injury, four of my QBs played this week:

1. Nick Foles
2. Sam Bradford
3. Jameis Winston
4. Johnnie Manziel

But there was only one winner.

NICK FOLES

Nick Foles and the Rams beat the Browns 24-6 yesterday in St. Louis. It was a big win because it evened the Rams record at 3-3 and moved them into second place in the NFC West behind the Cardinals. The Cards are 4-2 – pending the outcome of tonight’s meeting with the Ravens.

The Rams have already beaten the Cards – on the road – and I’ve picked Nicky Football and the Rams to overtake the Cards and win the NFC West. The win over the Browns was a step in that direction.

It’s fair to say that Nick Foles managed yesterday’s game – as that seems to be the role that Jeff Fisher has thrust upon him.

Fisher seems hell-bent to win games by relying upon a dominating defense while relegating his offense into taking a conservative approach. His play-calling is curious and he rarely allows Foles to throw the ball downfield. Instead, he mixes dinks and dunks in between runs by Todd Gurley.

Gurley rushed for 128 yards and two TDs yesterday.

Foles went 15-23 for 163 yards – with neither a TD nor an INT. However, with the score 10-6 late in the third quarter and the ball on the Rams 12, Fisher loosened the leash:

• Foles hit Tavon Austin with a short pass that Austin turned into a 20-yard gain.
• After Gurley was stopped for no gain, Foles threw deep to Kenny Britt. The pass was incomplete, but pass interference was called – resulting in a 26-yard penalty.
• Foles then threw a perfect 41-yard bomb to Kenny Britt that looked like a TD – but the ball was placed on the six-inch line. And Gurley ran it in from there to give the Rams a 17-6 lead.

Bottom line – Foles drove the Rams 88 yards in four plays to put the game out of reach.

The 49ers are next up.

JOHNNIE MANZIEL

In that same game yesterday, when Josh McCown went down with an injury to his throwing shoulder with four minutes remaining, Johnnie Manziel came in to mop-up the balance of the game. He completed four of five passes for 27 yards.

If McCown can’t go next week, Manziel will be the starter.

I’d be remiss – since I detest Johnnie Moron – if I didn’t mention that Manziel is under investigation by the Avon (Ohio) Police Department. On October 12, his vehicle was observed speeding at 90 mph while passing one vehicle on the shoulder of the road and then crossing over several lanes. One witness said she saw Manziel using his arm and elbow to press a female’s head and neck against the passenger window as he appeared to be arguing with her – “her” being Manziel’s girlfriend Colleen Crowley.

An abrasion was visible on her arm. It was reported that she threw his wallet out of the window of the speeding vehicle as they were arguing. She was visibly intoxicated and Manziel admitted that they’d both been drinking. Officers responded to a 911-call – yet they didn’t administer sobriety tests to either.

Hard to imagine this, but the police reports painted Manziel as a hero who saved his girlfriend from jumping from the moving vehicle – even if he had to use force to restrain her. This conflicted with both the witness’s testimony and the words of Manziel’s girlfriend. She said he hit her – but was refusing to press charges.

I – for one – am curious why the officers didn’t administer sobriety tests for one individual who was visibly drunk and another who both admitted to drinking and had the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Supposedly, the NFL will begin its own investigation to see if Manziel violated the league’s personal conduct policy. If so, he could be placed on a paid leave of absence.

I – for one – will be following the course of both investigations.

SAM BRADFORD

Sam Bradford looked like – well, Sam BADford – as as he’s now being called by some Eagles fans. He put up one touchdown in 12 drives – which included three turn-overs on Cam Newton interceptions.

The Eagles (3-4) only TD in last night’s 27-16 loss to the undefeated (6-0) Panthers was a third-quarter, 63-yard gallop by Ryan Matthews. The score closed the gap to 21-13, but Bradford failed to put a touchdown on the board on any of his final three drives:

1. 24-yard field goal be Caleb Sturgis.
2. Missed 50-yarder by Sturgis.
3. A punt after five plays gained only seven yards.

Last night’s numbers were 26-for-46 for a paltry 205 yards (4.5 yards/attempt) for zero TDs and one INT. He was not helped by Chip Kelly’s play-calling or the hands of his receivers.

On a third-and-nine with the game still winnable, Kelly called for a screen pass – behind the line of scrimmage and to the short side of the field. Pardon my French – but for Christ’s sake, Chip, if you want to convert a third-and-nine, call a play that goes at least ten yards down the field. Yes, I’ve heard your – more French – bullshit explanation for calling that play. But your explanation is what I just inferred – bullshit.

Your braggadocio aside, I don’t think you comprehend the game of football.

Trading Nick Foles for an oft-injured, 13-million quarterback who hadn’t played in nearly two full years and was never any good to begin with – was a misguided move that’s set the franchise backward not only this year, but also the next three to four years.

Hate to say this Eagles fans, but Sam Bradford’s zenith came against the Packers in the preseason. He stinks. Stick the proverbial fork in him. He’s done.

All of that negativity aside, the Eagles could still win the dreadful NFC East – but I believe that would best be accomplished with the intervention of Mark Sanchez. But if the coach were to make such a move, he would be admitting he made a mistake by acquiring Sam Bradford.

JAMEIS WINSTON

Like Johnnie Manziel – I don’t like Jameis Winston.

Yesterday, I was getting ready to eat crow because Winston put his Buccaneers on top 24-0 in the first half against the Redskins – and looked like he was ready to really roll it up. In the process, he drove his team to three long scores:

1. 64 yards in three plays ending with a 40-yard pass to Mike Evans.
2. 71 yards in 8 plays leading to a 22-yard field goal by Colin Barth.
3. 72 yards in 14 plays ending with a seven-yard pass to Donteea Dye.

The Bucs also scored on a 43-yard fumble return by Howard Jones.

Although his numbers look great – 21-for-29 (72%) for 297 yards and two TDs without an INT, both he and the Buccaneers took their feet off the gas pedal and allowed the Redskins to put together its greatest comeback in team history.

With Kirk Cousins leading the way, the Redskins won the game 31-10.

In my opinion, a franchise quarterback – even a rookie – should not allow that to happen.

Below is a chart showing the cumulative stats for the entire 2015 season thus far. Some of the stats look uneven because some-but-not-all quarterbacks have already sat out their Bye Weeks.

In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com, Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Birth of the Birds
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow