Chip Kelly: Nick Foles might not be fast, but he is fleet of mind

Chip Kelly didn’t want to name a starting quarterback when he took over the Philadelphia Eagles. He wanted to enter training camp and evaluate them for himself. The expectation was that Michael Vick would start to start the season instead of Nick Foles because he is more mobile, and Kelly’s offense has relied on mobile quarterbacks.

Injuries forced Foles into the starting line up and he has impressed. He tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a game against the Oakland Raiders. Since then, Foles has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,25 yards, 16 touchdowns and no interceptions.

While he might not be quick athletically, he is quick mentally. His ability to read defenses quickly and correctly have helped him to successfully execute Kelly’s offense.

“The thing with Nick is, he may not be fleet of foot, but he’s fleet of mind,” Kelly told CSNPhilly.com. “He’s a really, really good decision maker. Part of being a guy that can distribute the football throwing the ball, being a good decision maker is the same exact situations in the run game. You have to be a good decision maker to know when to give it and to know when to pull it. It’s really just taking advantage of what the defense is. If they’re all going to commit and try to take away the running back and no one’s responsible for the quarterback, you’ve got to be able to make them pay, and Nick has done that for us.”