Meet Mister Joe Cool

Meet Mister Joe Cool.

Laid back, just hanging out, probably not a drop of sweat on his brow. He stood in the pocket with Philadelphia defenders flying at him, and this time he didn't look helpless. The Vikings didn't look like a mismanaged pee-wee football team like they did last week against the Bears.

No not this time. Now, Joe Webb was so cool he could've pulled off the sunglasses look under his helmet — a la the original Joe Cool, Snoopy.

He was calm. He was poised. Did you see the tight spiral he snuck into Percy Harvin on the key third down conversion that led to Minnesota's final touchdown? It was like he curved the ball around a diving defender and then away from the two hanging on the backside of Harvin.

The jump ball — nullified touchdown pass — he threw to Sidney Rice was right on target.

In the second half, he didn't look like a rookie.

His cadence was seasoned when he pulled the Eagles offsides in the middle of the third quarter. And Minnesota scored a touchdown two plays later.

That's the part of his game that could distinguish him immediately. When Webb drops back and gets flushed from the pocket, it doesn't take the savvy of a Pro Bowl quarterback to evade pressure and glide down the field like Webb does — that's instincts and ability. He knows how to scramble, but what was interesting to see was the passes he was able to complete.

The touch on some of his passes was still questionable. Webb nearly got Rice killed when he led the pass right to Asante Samuel, who launched his helmet at Rice and knocked him out of the game. That seems to be a part of his game he has yet to refine — leading receivers in the right direction with his passes, and not just throwing to spots. But that's a skill only a handful of quarterbacks master (see: Drew Brees).

Webb's arm looked promising, and we knew that he could make plays with his feet. And one game won't be enough evidence to prove to the higher ups that Webb is the quarterback of the future for the Vikings. Tarvaris Jackson has had better games than that in his career.

But what was telling about Tuesday night's performance was how he carried himself — we saw Joe Cool playing at quarterback. The offense didn't score in the first half, and he was far from perfect, but you saw his potential. Something about how he conducted himself instilled confidence.

This was the Eagles defense that loves to get after the quarterback, and he stood in and made big throw after big throw.

Who saw this coming after his opening acts? The sixth-round pick out of Alabama-Birmingham let it all roll off his shoulders, just like opposing defenders.

It certainly helped that Adrian Peterson was a stud and the defense held the NFC Pro Bowl starting quarterback in check and scored a touchdown of its own.

But Minnesota beat the Eagles because of Joe Webb. The final game against Detroit could be his encore.

For now, he can't just be cast aside. This was enough of a performance to buy him another shot, and maybe more than that. And he's far from a polished quarterback, but there's something to like about him, right?