Tape-watchers are all over the map on Nick Foles.
When Around The League's Chris Wesseling ranked the quarterbacks this week, he placed the Philadelphia Eagles starter in his "borderline franchise" category, noting that Foles' "numbers are more impressive than his game tape."
ESPN.com's Mike Sando released a QB list of his own, a docket channeled from talks with 26 league insiders who collectively placed Foles in the second (best) of five tiers.
Those personnel men were divided, with one general manager calling the third-year passer "a four (tier) who played like a two" during last year's breakout campaign. A second GM "boldly placed Foles in the first tier based on what he saw last season."
Eagles running back LeSean McCoy has heard the wide-ranging perceptions of his signal-caller and fully expects Foles to put the debate to rest in 2014.
"Nick, he wants to play, he wants to get better. He's playing lights out even in camp, but he still wants to be at a higher level," McCoy said Wednesday night, via CSN Philly. "He's at that peak where people know him like, 'Man, this Foles, is he that good?' Because you see the stats, you see the numbers. I think this is the year he blows 'em out like, 'Yeah, I'm Nick Foles. I'm Philadelphia's quarterback. I'm the guy.' And this is the year he blows it away."
Foles was a statistical revelation in 10 starts last season, taking over for Michael Vick to rip off an outrageous 27:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and lead the league with a passer rating of 119.2.
As part of an Eagles offense that piled up a whopping 80 plays of 20-plus yards -- 14 more than Peyton Manning's Broncos -- Foles topped his peers with 9.1 yards per attempt. Still, the challenge with Foles is piecing together how much of that production is attributable to his difference-making versus a Chip Kelly-led scheme that saw players shatter career bests at every skill position on the field.
"Foles could be like a Kerry Collins or Jake Delhomme, a three (tier) who plays like a two or four," one talent evaluator told Sando.
McCoy believes these summertime questions will fade away for good -- in his quarterback's favor -- come Christmas.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" ranked the top quarterbacks in the NFL today.
