Wagoner: Foles might not be the answer

Bench Foles? Sure, But That Won’t Solve the Problem

Bernie Miklasz

http://www.101sports.com/2015/11/15/bench-foles-sure-but-that-wont-solve-the-problem/

Bench Nick Foles?

Sure. He’s overwhelmed, overmatched, and seemingly gets worse by the throw.

A slight exaggeration, perhaps. But with rare exception, Foles’ performance has deteriorated since he threw three touchdown passes and sculpted a 126.9 passer rating in the Rams’ Oct. 4 upset win at Arizona.

Foles has mostly struggled over his last five games, completing 51.7 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and five interceptions and a 60.2 passer rating.

Foles Failure is certainly a primary factor in the Rams’ 2-3 showing after leaving Arizona with a potential season-changing win.

The most glaring failure is on third down. Over the last five games, Foles has completed 40 percent of this third-down throws with one touchdown, five interceptions and a passer rating of 34.2.

(That’s right: I said 34.2.)

Foles wasn’t the only reason for the Rams’ abhorrent 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Left offensive tackle Greg Robinson presented another Jason Smith tribute, getting flagged so many times that the team equipment staff should have put him in a yellow jersey. And as much as I have praised and admired the Rams’ defense this season, the gang was deconstructed by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Jeremy Langford and tight end Zach Miller.

The Bears hit the Rams defense for more big plays — more home runs if you will — than the Cubs in their NL division conquest of the St. Louis Cardinals. It was just a wreck of a game, with the disappointing Rams drooping to 4-5 on the season.

But Foles was a significant part of the collapse. He completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes (17 for 36), got picked for an interception, sailed passes over (or under) open receivers, and was generally exasperated while tabulating a gruesome 53.0 passer rating.

And as the caretaker of the Rams’ offense, Foles fizzled after the Rams’ authoritative opening drive that ambushed the Bears for a 7-0 lead. On that first march Foles had two completions for 60 yards to set up Todd Gurley’s touchdown run, but passed for only 140 yards the rest of the game.

After that first strike, the Rams and Foles went into a deep funk over their next eight possessions. The numbers are almost unbelievable: 28 offensive snaps, 36 total net yards, two first downs, 40 yards lost in penalties, six punts, and a lost fumble.

Foles was put in some unforgiving third-down situations because of the penalties and the missteps on first and second downs, but he couldn’t pull the Rams out of their inertia.

The Rams offense was so depressing after the first series, I wouldn’t have objected to a decision to yank Foles and go with the No. 2 quarterback Case Keenum. (I can’t believe what I just typed. More on that later.) The Rams required a shakeup, and the somewhat frantic Keenum can at least run around a little, and maybe get a defense scrambling out of position.

Of course Rams coach Jeff Fisher would have none of that.

When asked if he considered making a change, Fisher said: “No. That’s my choice, but no. I’m just going to look at it. We have to play better around him (Foles). I’ll look and see how he played, but he was prepared. He had a great practice this week and he missed a couple of throws and we had a couple of drops. We’ll look at it, but at this point, no.”

The door was left open a bit.

But I’d be surprised if he benched Foles.

Coach Fisher enthusiastically endorsed the trade that sent Sam Bradford and Sam’s left knee to Philadelphia for Foles and the Eagles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2015 and their second-round choice in 2016. And before Foles even played a regular-season game, the Rams gave him a contract extension that could keep him in place through 2017. The deal included $14 million guaranteed.

And Keenum’s own record as an NFL starter offers little stimulation. He has a 2-8 record, 11 touchdowns, eight INTs, three lost fumbles, a 55 percent completion rate and 76.8 passer rating. But a coach of a catatonic offense shouldn’t rule out making a switch for shock-therapy purposes. Keenum was fantastic in his first two NFL starts with Houston, with a passer rating of 118.0 back in 2013. But in his last eight starts, Keenum threw seven TDs and eight picks and had a passer rating of 67.8.

OK, but what if Foles keeps slumping? After leading the Rams to an exciting season-opening win over Seattle, Foles has lost confidence. He isn’t as decisive in his throws. He went into the game having absorbed more pass-rush hits among NFL quarterbacks. Too many dropped passes bring him down even more. The O-line penalties are a joke. Foles is being supervised by a first-year offensive coordinator, Frank Cignetti. So many moving parts. So many malfunctioning parts. There’s little creativity or cohesion.

It’s gotten ugly, and you wonder if it’s possible for Foles to overcome such quarterback-hostile conditions. Other than Gurley and wide receiver Tavon Austin, there’s no electricity in this offense. It starts with yawn-inducing coaching, a shaky offensive line, and (mostly) undependable targets. The Rams were so panicked to add a receiver, they’re trying to revive Wes Welker’s career.

That said, Foles doesn’t receive immunity from criticism. He has to make more impactful plays. There’s too much dinky stuff; Foles has averaged only 5.95 yards per passing attempt over his last five games. When a quarterback goes bad, it’s a sad thing to watch.

Fisher doesn’t see what we see.

“He’s a confident, competitive person,” Fisher said. “He thought, with seven minutes left to go in the game, we were going to put two drives together and score. That’s how he is and it’s real. It’s got some realness to it. It’s not one of those things that you think how someone is supposed to act. I don’t think confidence is an issue with him.”

As for Foles …

“Throughout my career,” he said, “games like this, situations like this, I look back at these moments like, ‘Hey, that was that moment that built character in me. That made me the person I am, that made me the teammate I am.’ Even with teams that have been on, there’s always that moment early on that you look at that moment like, ‘Hey, without that moment, we wouldn’t be the great team we are today.’ So, that’s how you look at moments like this is, ‘Hey, it’s just a character building moment.’ That’s all it is. Now, it’s how you handle these situations from here on if your character’s going to build or if you’ll diminish.”

The Rams have been engaged in sustained, seemingly endless “character building” since Fisher took charge of the program in 2012. But we’re watching the same scenes over and over again. Too many idiotic, undisciplined penalties. Too many draft choices that apparently require seven or eight seasons of developmental time. Drafting an offensive tackle No. 2 overall (Robinson) who is often a liability. And just a seeping, creeping dullness that the Rams can’t break.

The unpleasant truth?

The Rams offense isn’t a priority.

We know that for a couple of reasons, including Cignetti’s in-house promotion to coordinator.

When Fisher needed a new coordinator for his defense, he patched up his damaged relationship with Gregg Williams and rehired Williams before 2014. The Rams defense was off form and easily conquered on Sunday, but it’s still the strength of the team. And hiring Williams — one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators over the last 15+ years — was attributable to Fisher’s desire for a great defense. It was a smart hire.

But when Brian Schottenheimer left as STL’s offensive coordinator last offseason to take the same post at the college level with Georgia, Fisher didn’t conduct an ambitious national search to recruit a top OC or an emerging creative mind. Fisher’s search began and ended several yards from his own office at Rams Park, when he knocked on the door of his quarterbacks coach and gave Cignetti the OC gig.

That tells us a lot about Fisher’s view of offense.

The other revealing part is Fisher’s lengthy record that isn’t open to interpretation.

The facts are clear.

Fisher’s Tennessee Titans last won a playoff game in 2003. In his last 11 seasons as a head coach (including 2015) his team’s best NFL ranking in most offensive points scored was No. 12, back in 2008. That was also the last time the Titans made the playoffs under Fisher; his offense has finished no better than No. 16 since then. In his first three seasons in St. Louis, the Fisher offense has ranked 28th, 22nd and 23rd. This year, through the first eight games, the Rams were ranked 30th in offensive points scored. Sunday’s 13-point output won’t move them up on the list.

As I wrote earlier, I’d welcome a change at quarterback if Foles continues riding on a downbound train. But we should remember two important things: (1) the alternative isn’t necessarily an upgrade; and (2) without question this is Jeff Fisher’s offense. We can make Foles the fall guy, but that doesn’t address the real problem. Jeff Fisher’s offense has been dragging for years. Pick a quarterback; any will do. That quarterback will be working for the same coach, functioning under the same philosophy, and operating the same system. That’s the reality.

PA Ram wrote:

It will solve ONE problem.

Well. Maybe not SOLVE it.

Maybe lessen it, depending.

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