Eagles quarterback Nick Foles gets an incomplete grade

It wasn't much of a Monday Night Football game, so think of it as a pretty good episode of "Gruden's QB Camp."

There was no way to watch Nick Foles' performance against Carolina without wondering what effect it was having on ESPN analyst Jon Gruden - or any other potential Eagles head coach watching the nationally televised game.

Foles is going to have a lot to say about who succeeds Andy Reid. Not in words, but on videotape. How candidates feel about Foles could go a long way toward deciding how they feel about their chances of winning here.

That's the unspoken part of the ongoing discussion on whether Reid should stay with Foles even if Michael Vick is declared fit to return from his concussion. The Eagles need to find out about Foles before the end of this season. If he can't be a franchise QB, they need to know that going into their most uncertain offseason in 15 years.

But they're not going to be the only ones who know. An in-demand coaching candidate, whether it's Gruden or Chip Kelly or Don Shula, is going to take a hard look at a prospective employer's quarterback situation.

If the Panthers fire Ron Rivera, a coach with a choice may be weighing his chances with Cam Newton against his chances with Foles, Michael Vick and Trent Edwards. Those deliberations will not take long, unless Foles can show quite a bit more than he has so far.

The third-rounder from Arizona was better Monday than he was in Washington last week, but not that much better. He had the benefit, at long last, of play calling that leaned heavily on the running game, play action and low-risk pass plays. Foles didn't look like he was climbing uphill through an avalanche this week.

But he threw at least four passes that should have been interceptions, including two in the red zone on the game's opening drive. He was limited almost entirely to short passes. His one deep throw was an up-for-grabs bomb to Jeremy Maclin that resulted in a pass interference call.

"I was better this week," Foles said. "I had a couple of miscues. There will be a lot from this film to learn from."

Here's where it all gets a little blurry, though. Foles isn't playing in a vacuum here. It's tough to compare him to fellow rookies like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson - or even second-year man Colin Kaepernick - because you can't fully separate him from his coaches or teammates.

Kaepernick apparently wrested the starting job in San Francisco from Alex Smith with two dynamic performances as a starter. That's a credit to the player, but also to the Niners' staff for preparing him and taking advantage of his strengths.

Foles hasn't done anything to claim the job from Vick. He didn't get help from the coaching staff last week and the Eagles scored 6 points. This time around, he got some help. But if Bryce Brown hadn't gone berserk, it's easy to imagine another touchdown-less game.

"We moved the ball," Foles said. "We need to score more touchdowns. That's on the quarterback."

Can you blame Foles for not transcending the muck and mire of a lost season? Probably not. Would a really special QB have looked a bit more special? Probably so.

This is where we find ourselves. Going into the season, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie talked about catching the Giants, Saints and Packers - the last three teams to win the Super Bowl. Now the Eagles can't even catch the Panthers.

If Vick is able to play in Dallas next Sunday night, should he? Or should Reid keep running Foles out there, getting the kid more experience and exposing him to more scrutiny from the Grudens and Kellys of the world?

It doesn't much matter at this point. Any head coach worth hiring already has enough information. He can see Foles' arm strength, his footwork, his pocket presence. He can see the anarchy that keeps breaking out around him. He can see the decision making - good and bad.

It's all on videotape. Unfortunately, unlike the tape, there's no way to fast-forward to the end of the season.