journalists on camp, 8/1 … articles, tweets, vids (starting with JT & Wagoner)

Foles looks good early in camp

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/foles-looks-good-early-in-camp/article_68f1ec83-d191-5b4b-aa4b-0f4f8393b91a.html

Nearly five months since the Sam Bradford trade brought him to St. Louis from Philadelphia, it has been an extended honeymoon for quarterback Nick Foles.

“I love it here,” Foles said. “I love the players. I love the coaches. It’s a great place to play, and I haven’t even played a game here yet.”

The feeling evidently is mutual because the Rams are talking about a contract extension for Foles — you know, the guy who has yet to play a game in St. Louis.

“There’s some discussion, and that makes sense,” coach Jeff Fisher said.

In fact, general manager Les Snead told reporters Thursday that it was “definitely realistic” that an extension could be worked out by the end of the 2015 regular season. On the pecking order of re-signing prospective Rams free agents, it’s safe to say that Foles is at the top of the list, probably followed by cornerback Janoris Jenkins.

That doesn’t mean anything will get done. Sometimes, if deals don’t get done early in camp or before the start of the regular season, they just don’t materialize. And in the case of Foles, it’s difficult to know his value given the fact he’s had only 24 NFL starts and his third year (2014) wasn’t nearly as good as his Pro Bowl second year.

For his part, Foles is focused more on reading defenses than dollar signs at this point.

“Honestly, I just zone it out,” Foles said. “That’s why you hire agents, because my thing here is to be with these guys, to be a player, to be their quarterback. We have to win games.

“We hire agents so that clears the clutter out of our brain. And you know, I trust them to do the job. … That will take care of itself. I’m just excited to be out playing.”

Some players don’t like the distraction of contract negotiations once the regular season begins. Foles doesn’t sound like that guy.

“It’s never been a distraction,” he said. “I’m one of those guys that I enjoy playing the game. I know that we’re fortunate to play this game, so whatever happens, happens, and we’ll go from there.”

Foles has had a good start to training camp the first two days, in stark contrast to his first week of OTAs in June — which was just a couple steps shy of a train wreck. At that time, his accuracy was off and the Rams’ pass rush was all over him.

But Foles didn’t panic or get down on himself. That doesn’t seem to be his nature. He just kept working and got better every week. That trend continued Friday on the first day of camp.

“Usually the first couple days of camp you tip your hat toward the defensive side — they have the advantage,” Fisher said. “That wasn’t the case. Nick did a nice job.”

It was more of the same Saturday, although the defense had its moments, including a sparkling interception of Foles by safety Rodney McLeod on an intermediate pass Foles tried to feather into tight end Jared Cook.

Foles has shown good arm strength on out routes, and more than enough arm for deep balls. The emphasis has been on screens and quick throws to a large degree early in camp as the team goes through its offensive installation.

“I feel really comfortable (with the playbook),” Foles said. “A lot more comfortable than I did during OTAs. But that’s a daily thing. There’s so much to an NFL playbook that you’re always adding stuff, you’re always critiquing stuff. There’s better fundamentals you can do. … So I’m feeling good, just gotta keep going.”

But as was the case in the spring, job No. 1 for Foles is getting to know his teammates. Not just getting in sync with his receivers — which takes time — but establishing his leadership with the squad. A successful quarterback has to have a presence, and Foles set about the business of establishing his presence from his first day at Rams Park.

“It’s not like he had been the quarterback for two years, you had a case of first day at school, hello to everybody … he kind of took charge there,” Snead said.

“He’s done a nice job building relationships with his partners per se. I think that’s the biggest thing I can say about him.”

Those relationships still need to be forged. And the Rams have yet to see how Foles reacts under pressure in a game situation or when something goes wrong. But Snead is encouraged by what he’s seen so far — Foles knows how to relate to teammates, be they wide receivers or the big guys up front trying to block for him.

“I think that’s just his personality,” Snead said. “If you knew a little bit about his family, his dad is a restaurateur and really successful but started probably in the kitchen somewhere.

“I’m not going to relate the O-line to the dishwashers of your team, but you know what I mean? Nick kind of fits in the locker room.”

And for starters, that’s not a bad place to be.

“The way you win games is you’re a family,” Foles said. “That’s it. It’s as simple as that.”