Nick Foles 2013-14 Highlightts

Interesting.

OK. It’s a highlight reel. Still, it ain’t a bad one. My quick observations:

* He’s pretty mobile.
* He throws really well on the run.
* He seems to be sharp in the red zone.
* I don’t see–in these highlights at least–problems with executing under pressure.

He moves well in the pocket. Keeps plays alive. And makes throws on the run in a way somewhat reminiscent of R W. There are some shots of him standing in and making tough throws while getting hit.

Well, it is a highlight reel. And there are probably lots of low-lights where he doesn’t do as well under pressure.

Still, he’s better than the 3 schlubs we’ve run out there the 2.6 years. By a good distance.

And in the end, it comes down to a single question. We all know Sam is a really good QB. But can his knees be trusted?

If you don’t trust them–and I don’t–then this is a pretty damn good move to get decent QB play AND a bunch of cap room to build the roster.

This isn’t our year yet. But this seems to me a fine step in building toward Year 1 in Pasadena.

Agree with RFL. Foles can move. I’m not sure where people are getting the “no mobility” stuff from.

His pocket presence seems fine to me. Better than Bradford. I especially like the way Foles steps up in the pocket with very little hesitation. Keeps his eyes down-field while he does it, too. I know it’s a highlight reel, but still, I see some traits that look good.

I can see him doing well in the Fisher offense. And he costs less than $2 million.

nittany ram wrote:

By the looks of things Foles must be used to poor pass protection. He rarely had a clean pocket to throw from in that video.

I say, look again.

The Eagles have one of the 2-3 best OLs in the league, and their sack percentage is low.

If you watch the plays again, it’s not that protection breaks down, it’s that Foles holds the ball. He takes too long to get plays off and has a slowish release on top of it.

Cosell made that point about him:

http://theramshuddle.com/topic/segment-6-howard-balzer-3-11-15/#post-20187

The key with Nick Foles is you have to define things for him. The longer he stays in the pocket, the worse he is and his arm strength declines…because he tends to throw off balance. So things need to be defined for him so the ball comes out.

This will sound odd but you know who he reminds me of?
His stature, clunkiness, slowness, strength, mannerisms, etc === Roman Gabriel.

w
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• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by wv.

nittany ram wrote:

Well, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I did see him hold the ball on some plays but it’s hard to know why he was holding the ball. Maybe no one was open so he was trying to extend the play. Watch the highlites against the Vikings again though. He did not get good protection in that game but he was able to feel the pressure and buy time with his legs. I did see him throw off his back foot which I didn’t like.

If you look at numbers…he is one of the worst in the league at getting rid of the ball. He has a high percentage both years of taking over 2.6 seconds to throw. Meaning, he ranks poorly v. everyone else both years.

That isn’t because receivers aren’t open, I submit, it’s because he’s not confident making tight laser throws to tight windows. He waits for something more.

He is much, much better as a qb when he just throws it quick (under 2.5 seconds). In fact when he does that, he is one of the top qbs in terms of completion percentage.

When I watched those highlights, I saw a guy who was slow to throw it. It worked in what we watched because those are highlights. BUT if you look at his completion percentage when he holds the ball, it’s actually bad.

Passes over 2.6 seconds, percentage of attempts
2013: 61.5% (5th most in the league)
2014: 51% (5th most in the league)

Passing after 2.6 seconds or more, completion percentage
2013: 55.9% (15th in the league)
2014: 46.4% (38th in the league)

Passing under 2.5 seconds, completion percentage
2013: 74.6% (3rd in the league)
2014: 73.4% (6th in the league)

wv wrote:

So is that a coachable thing?

w
v

I listened to Cosell on it. From what I gathered? You have to coach him to get rid of the ball. You can’t improve his “release quickness” and you can’t improve his arm. You coach him to unload the ball and not take time on plays.

That was Cosell’s view.

He’s good when he unloads the ball.

Cosell didn’t say THIS but he’s good at play action.

So IMO that makes him a fit.

We’re all looking for tell-tails to try to get a sense of things.

I think we could all agree that the indicators are mixed. There are signs both ways.

And we have to remember that individual indicators can have both positive and negative sides as well. ZN quotes Cosell on NF holding onto the ball. That can be a positive as well as a negative. Someone makes a comparison to Roman Gabriel (!). Damn, I loved it when he would stand in like an oak tree. I know ZN is talking about stats when throwing slowly. But I just think this isolated issue can be over-blown. SO can all the others–positive and negative.

I think we all recognize that this is not Tom Brady II. But, he has genuine virtues as a starter. Including mobility and, apparently, a knack for late, clutch drives. (Sam was good then, too.)

I see him as a positive set of possibilities likely to raise our QB ceiling from where it has been the last 2 years. And as a transition to the future.

And who knows? Maybe he’ll be more than that. Not all champion QBs can pass the scouting critique for perfect form. Ugly can often get it done.

Get the OL fixed and we should be OK. That’s where my worries are.

I like the pocket presence and the play action. He’s the guy to steer the ship….. A ship with a good defense and a good running game.

If either of those things don’t happen for the Rams, then Foles likely won’t elevate them. If all these things do happen, than I don’t see why he can’t take us to the promised land.

I’m getting real worried about the o line though. I’m tired of “building” an online. We have to have something respectable.

How is Ramben, doing?

You think the Rams have
finally turned the corner?
Is Year Four, the playoff year?

w
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