Computer Simulation Says Eagles Are Better Off With Vick Than Foles
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – As the quarterback debate (it's short of a controversy right) rages on in Philadelphia, the discussion is regarding whether Nick Foles is better for the Eagles than Michael Vick. Vick was injured in the Eagles 36-21 win over the Giants, and Foles came in and impressed, throwing for two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Everyone has an opinion on the matter, but Prediction Machine has weighed in with what the computer says.
PredicitonMachine.com ran 50,000 simulations of the rest of the rest of the Eagles season, and it looks like the advantage goes to Vick.
If VIck was to play the remaining games, including Sunday against the Bucs, Vick would throw for 19.4 touchdowns, 8.4 interceptions, run for 458 yards, and throw for 2,890 more. The team wins an average of 8.6 games in the simulations, and have a 49.9% chance of winning the NFC East, along with a 58.9% change of making the playoffs.
With Foles under center,, the Eagles finish the season with 7.8 wins and 8.2 losses. The Eagles odds of winning the NFC East drop to 34.6% and their playoff odds decrease from to 42.4%.
With Vick, the Eagles have a 2.7% chance of winning the Super Bowl, that drops to 1.5% with Foles.
"Conspiracy theory, the Dallas Cowboys are driving the Nick Foles bandwagon," John Ewing of Prediction Machine writes. "Dallas has the most to gain with Foles as the starter for the Eagles. The Cowboys odds to win the division increase from 44.0% to 54.5% if Foles is the starting quarterback for the rest of the season."
