From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe
Six QBs
Six quarterbacks will draw the attention of a great many Eagles fans as the 2015 NFL season unfolds, so I’m going to keep my eyes on them and keep you posted as the season progresses.
- Sam Bradford
- Nick Foles
- Marcus Mariota
- Mark Sanchez
- Tim Tebow
- Matt Barkley
Only four played this week.
Bradford & Sanchez
Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez didn’t dress for the Eagles final preseason game – versus the New York Jets on Thursday night.
Barkley & Tebow
Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow suited up and played:
- Barkley played the first and third quarters.
- Tebow played the second and fourth quarters.
But, as it stands now, it looks as if it was the last time we’ll ever see either playing for the Eagles.
Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley played poorly against the Jets – 4-for-9 for just 45 yards and he threw a killer interception. After completing a 5-yard toss to Raheem Mostert, Barkley went deep on the next play.
Josh Huff was running wide open down the right sideline. All Barkley had to do was throw the ball in Huff’s vicinity and lead him, and he had an easy six points. But Barkley woefully under-threw the pass and the ball landed straight into the arms of Jets DB Darrin Walls.
The Jets converted the turnover into seven points.
And Barkley didn’t redeem himself the rest of the way – 20.4 QB Rating.
On Friday, the Eagles settled Barkley’s hash by sending him to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a conditional draft pick. It starts as a seventh-rounder but, as I understand it, moves up to a sixth-round pick if Barkley dresses for at least six games for the Cards this season.
Tim Tebow
On the other hand, while not looking especially pretty while doing it, Tim Tebow played pretty well – 117.0 QB Rating. He went 11-for-17 for 189 yards, two TDs, and one INT.
Trailing 17-6, Tebow got the ball on the Eagles 15 with just 1:44 remaining in the first half – a perfect opportunity to demonstrate his ability with the two-minute drill.
And demonstrate he did.
Tebow orchestrated a 7-play, 85-yard drive culminating with an 18-yard pass to Rasheed Bailey.
Late in the fourth quarter, Tebow took the Eagles 45 yards in nine plays that ended with an amazing one-hand, rolling, trap-the-ball-against-his-shoulder-pad catch by Freddie Martino. See throw & catch in VIDEO below.
After the game, it looked as if Tim Tebow had won the battle for the Third-String-QB job with the Eagles – but no. On Saturday, the Eagles cut him. So it looks as if Tim Tebow joins the long list of Heisman-Trophy-winning quarterbacks who never quarterbacked an NFL team to a championship.
Staubach, Plunkett, & Hornung
Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett, and Paul Hornung all won the Heisman Trophy as collegiate quarterbacks and went on to win the Super Bowl:
- Staubach quarterbacked the Cowboys.
- Plunkett quarterbacked the Raiders.
- But Hornung was a running back for the Packers.
Nick Foles
Nick Foles played the first two series against the Chiefs on Thursday night.
On the first drive, he threw an interception – but wasn’t to blame. His pass was right in the hands of Jared Cook, but Cook bobbled it into the hands of Chiefs DB Daniel Sorensen.
On the second drive, Nicky Football took the Rams on a seven-play drive that covered 73 yards. Nicky completed a 43-yarder to Tavon Austin in the midst of the drive that ended with Isaiah Plead plunging in from a yard out.
Nicky Football finished the night 2-for-3 for 43 yards – 70.1 QB Rating.
Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota threw his first NFL TD – a 59-yarder to Harry Douglas. He played just four plays on the Titans first drive of the game. He finished 2-for-3 for 74 yards and that one TD.
Now, we’ll see what he can do once the regular season begins.
Adding Name
Starting this coming week – Week 1 of the Regular Season – I’ll be adding the name of Stephen Morris to the Quarterback Watch.
As it works out, on Sunday, Chip Kelly signed Stephen Morris to the Eagles 53-man roster. Morris will be the third-string quarterback.
No one in the football world has any idea why Kelly would sign Morris:
- Undrafted in 2014 out of the University of Miami.
- Signed by Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent.
- Spent 2014 on Jaguars’ practice squad.
- Spent 2015 Preseason in camp with the Jags.
- Cut last Saturday after going 23-for-42 (54.8%) for 242 yards, one TD, and a 79.7 QB Rating.
In addition to being an official Eagles Outsider, Barry Bowe is also the author of:
- Born to Be Wild
- 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
- 12 Best Eagles QBs
- Soon-to-be-published novel Caribbean Queen
- Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
- Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow
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