Anthony Mazziotti
Since Carson Wentz suffered a season ending knee injury the hottest debate in the greater Philadelphia area has been this: “Who should be Nick Foles’ backup?”
The most popular name is the most polarizing name in sports right now, Colin Kaepernick. One of my colleagues seems to think Robert Griffin III would be a good understudy to Nicky Six. Jon Ritchie (ex-Eagle and co-host of a mid-day radio show with Joe DeCamara on 94.1 WIP) thinks they should sign 47-year old Jeff Garcia. I think the answer is already on the roster, Nate Sudfeld should continue to be the backup to Nick Foles.
I like not many people know much about “Nasty” Nate Sudfeld, so here’s everything I know about the guy. Sudfeld attended Indiana, over a four year, 37 game career (26 starts), he threw for 7,879 yards, 61 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. In his lone bowl game appearance, a controversial overtime loss to Duke in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl, Sudfeld threw for 389 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. After that season he declared for the NFL Draft.
The following is Nate Sudfeld’s draft profile and scouting report courtesy of NFL.com:
Strengths: Steps onto the field with terrific NFL size. Three-year starter who lead Big Ten in yards per pass play at 8.2 yards. Comfortable operating in timing based systems and shows ability to throw with desired anticipation. Ball usually comes out on time. Able to expedite throws when pressure finds him early. Feels pressure and gets rid of the ball over taking the sack. Makes catchable, accurate throws from the pocket. Shows off NFL arm when he steps and drives to target. Does not fear the field side throws and has arm and accuracy to make them. Puts plenty of air under touch throws allowing receivers a chance to make a play. Showed off consistent touch on deep corners. Competitive as a runner and lays out for first downs over sliding early.
Weaknesses: Sets up with a very wide throwing base and slight dip in his delivery. Rarely gets full hip rotation through delivery forcing him to push throws. Touch in close quarters is below average. Field vision is only average. Inconsistent with reads against zone coverage. Makes up his mind and opts for tougher throws over open throws. Struggled in this way against Iowa. At times, rushes throws over sliding in pocket waiting for routes to develop. Saw substantial dip in completion percentage when rushed by five-plus defenders. Underthrows were culprit with deep ball accuracy. Not much of a threat with his legs.
Sudfeld was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 draft by the Washington Redskins. He was the third quarterback on their roster for the entire season. Last September the Redskins decided to part ways with the second-year quarterback. The Birds saw the news and signed him. Once the Redskins found out they tried to re-sign him. After some thought Nate decided to take the trip up 95 to become a Philadelphia Eagle. He was placed on the practice squad back in September.
A few weeks later the Indianapolis Colts tried to sign him off the Birds practice squad. The Eagles answered by signing him to the 53-man roster.
Now that you’re caught up on most things involving Nate Sudfeld let me ask you, who should be the Eagles backup to Nick Foles? I maintain it should be Sudfeld.
The Eagles like him, they talked to him at the draft. After he was picked up by the Redskins the coaches texted him to wish him luck. The team has enough faith in him that they keep him on the 53-man roster in fear of losing him.
If that’s not enough, think about it this way. From reading the scouting reports his draft profile, some of his strengths are “Comfortable operating in timing based systems and shows ability to throw with desired anticipation. Ball usually comes out on time. Able to expedite throws when pressure finds him early. Feels pressure and gets rid of the ball over taking the sack.”
Tell me that doesn’t sound like a Doug Pederson offense? Even in his weaknesses seem fixable with the right coaching: “Sets up with a very wide throwing base and slight dip in his delivery. Rarely gets full hip rotation through delivery forcing him to push throws. Touch in close quarters is below average.” I feel like working with guys like Frank Reich and John DeFilippo he could have worked on those weaknesses. Even if it’s not the coaching, having two guys in front of you like Carson Wentz and Nick Foles could have done wonders for his game.
At the end of the day, Nate Sudfeld is the best option to be Nick Foles’ backup. He is acclimated to the offense and the team culture, well-liked by the coaching staff, and has some upside as an unknown commodity. Colin Kaepernick lost his last QB battle to Blaine Gabbert and hasn’t played this year, and Robert Griffin III is injury prone and, in my opinion, not a good quarterback anymore. Then there are other guys like Matt McGloin who proved last season that he couldn’t lead a team as a backup quarterback (and was hard to watch in the Eagles’ preseason). I won’t waste my time typing up why Jeff Garcia isn’t a good idea.
They say good help is hard to find. That is for good reason, if the other quarterbacks in free agency were any good they would be on teams already. The grass may be greener on the other side, but I would rather try and fail with Sudfeld as my back-up than take a chance on a washed-up veteran.
You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram.