Is Foles taking focus away from the OL?

[DCH]

We're all killing Foles these days - and with good reason - but are his struggles masking offensive line struggles? After his great game against 'Zona, he got sacked 3 times at Green Bay, and since then, two things has happened: he's been terrible, and he's only been sacked 4 total times over 4 games.

Is Foles making the OL look better (statistically) with happy feet and a quick inaccurate arm? Is the OL still the primary issue? Is the 'Zona game indicative of what Foles can do with faith in his line, or simply an aberration in a bad QB's season?

 

[RAMBUSH]

Who cares , the pats won! Right?

 

[HometownBoy]

Nope, arguably he's making them look worse by how long he holds the ball and how late all his throws are.

Guy has earned all his criticism and more, not sure why everyone wants to rush to defend him.

 

[DCH]

Who cares , the pats won! Right?

Well, since I am a Rams fan first and foremost, I do.

 

[12intheBox]

I think he is making them look worse than they have been. Pocket presence means so much and he has so little. And heck, even if he is going to be a statue out there - get the ball out of your hands, man!

 

[DCH]

Nope, arguably he's making them look worse by how long he holds the ball and how late all his throws are.

Guy has earned all his criticism and more, not sure why everyone wants to rush to defend him.

Not so much trying to defend him as trying to see how much we should be discussing the OL as well.

 

[DCH]

I think he is making them look worse than they have been. Pocket presence means so much and he has so little. And heck, even if he is going to be a statue out there - get the ball out of your hands, man!

Have they legit been playing better as a unit (when all together)? PFF tends to give them bad, bad grades. I'm worried that we'll get into the mindset of "replace the QB and we'll be fine," setting ourselves up for another disappointment if/when Foles is not under center.

 

[12intheBox]

Have they legit been playing better as a unit (when all together)? PFF tends to give them bad, bad grades. I'm worried that we'll get into the mindset of "replace the QB and we'll be fine," setting ourselves up for another disappointment if/when Foles is not under center.

I look around the league and I see every single QB in the league getting pressured every single week. Some QBs can handle it - some can even use it to burn opposing Defenses - and some just wilt.

Its not all Nick Foles. But if I could replace any one piece of the team with a run of the mill average NFL player at the position, I would replace him.

 

[DCH]

I look around the league and I see every single QB in the league getting pressured every single week. Some QBs can handle it - some can even use it to burn opposing Defenses - and some just wilt.

Its not all Nick Foles. But if I could replace any one piece of the team with a run of the mill average NFL player at the position, I would replace him.

A totally fair point. And you are right, OL play seems to be at the lowest point league-wide I can remember.

 

[Orchid]

Is the 'Zona game indicative of what Foles can do with faith in his line, or simply an aberration in a bad QB's season?

I think it was aberration, particularly after re-watching the last 3 games and 'Zona's pass defense is not that good. They are giving up more yards and points this year.

As CoachO said before the game:

CoachO, Tuesday at 7:58 PM

"For me it's all about his lack of command in this offense. Even on balls that end up as competitions his accuracy just isn't there.

There were two completions on Sunday that are prime examples of what I'm referring to. First he throw a bubble screen to Bailey who had to jump to make the catch. If it weren't for a face mask penalty it would have been another negative play. Goes as a completion but it's a horrible throw.

Then in the same drive while bailing on the pocket and rolling to his left he finds a wide open Gurley on the sideline. He floats almost every throw he attempts and all he had to do was put the ball out in front of Gurley and he had nothing but green grass in front of him. Instead Foles throws the ball at his knees and he makes the catch falling down and goes out of bounds for a short gain. Again. It goes down as a completion but its a horribly inaccurate throw.

But in many minds he "made a play" because it was a completed pass.

I'm sorry. Foles just hasn't been good enough to make any positive difference. And all the excuses in the world won't change that. Austin Davis and Shawn Hill were better last year and that's saying a lot coming from me."
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To me Foles' slow/jittery feet, poor mechanics and pre-snap reads are not going away. He has had these problems since college.

 

[HometownBoy]

I look around the league and I see every single QB in the league getting pressured every single week. Some QBs can handle it - some can even use it to burn opposing Defenses - and some just wilt.

Its not all Nick Foles. But if I could replace any one piece of the team with a run of the mill average NFL player at the position, I would replace him.

Yeah, we're not giving him a perfect line, but in the NFL right now there's so few perfect lines he wouldn't be getting much better anywhere. I hate to credit Phil Simms for anything good, but the guy said it well when he said you're not going to always get a clean pocket, sometimes you have to stand in there and take the heat and let it rip. Foles doesn't seem to be able to do that, he's a real terrible combination of a lot of bad things. He's bad at reads, locks in onto a receiver, holds onto the ball way too long, alternates between rushing throws or being way too lackadaisical about making them and wrap that into a ball of almost zero pocket presence and the tendency to feel pressure that really isn't there and you've got the perfect storm of not good for our team and exactly why Chip Kelly moved on from him.

The guy has to step up and make plays, and he just doesn't seem like he can.