Nick Foles has his fans and his critics. Something that is just the nature of how his career has gone. A Pro Bowler in 2013, he eventually went on to win a Super Bowl with the Eagles. At the same time, a lot of people can’t ignore his rough down periods with the Rams in 2015 and again with the Jaguars last season. Just who exactly is this guy?
Is he a high-end starter who’s just had some bad luck at times? Or is he a career backup who happened to get hot a couple of times? The Chicago Bears are fixing to find out the answer to that question. Foles will compete with Mitch Trubisky for the starting job this month. The quarterback has stated he already feels at home in Matt Nagy’s offense, having played a similar variation in Philadelphia.
Still, playing in Jacksonville is not the same as a place like Chicago. Foles was on his “The Mission of Truth” podcast speaking with Bears legend Matt Forte. The running back stated that Bears fans embrace hard workers but they also demand winners. They’re expecting the QB to deliver success. No pressure, of course!
After a chuckle, Foles’ reply was fairly eye-opening.
“Yeah, yeah no pressure at all. Just one day at a time. That’s all I gotta do. Hey, I know the pressure. It’s going to be there. It’s fun playing in cities like that where there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of passion and you know they’re going to be on the edge of their seat. They’re going to live and die every single play. There’s a lot of responsibility with that.
That’s a big part of being part of the Bears. Just being one player on that team that I’m super excited about. Being in a city with that much passion makes the game that much more special.”
A common trend one will find with athletes is how they talk when referencing pressure. Most will say they’ll deal with the pressure as best they can. A normal response. However, the truly great clutch performers in any sport tend to say the same thing. They want the pressure. They thrive on it. The higher the pressure, the better they play. Foles is living proof of that.
His career regular season passer rating is 88.2. His career playoff passer rating is 98.8.
This guy lives for the big moments. He understands perfectly well the expectations that are on his shoulders. That is fine. Great even. This way it will help motivate him to constantly work harder and harder to get himself ready. If he could survive Philadelphia, there’s no reason to think he can’t handle Chicago.
