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Rams not getting enough from quarterback Nick Foles
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ot-getting-enough-from-quarterback-nick-foles
MINNEAPOLIS -- On a blustery Minnesota afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings sent a clear message to the St. Louis Rams with a simple choice made after a simple coin toss.
As the team captains converged at midfield before overtime in an 18-18 game, the Rams called tails and the coin came up heads, giving Minnesota the choice. Because of NFL overtime rules, teams almost always take the ball first in overtime because a touchdown on the first possession ends the game without the opponent ever touching it.
But with the wind swirling on the west end of the stadium, the Vikings threw a curveball, opting to have the wind at their back and giving the Rams a chance to win it to open the extra period. Rams coach Jeff Fisher admitted he was not expecting the Vikings to make that decision.
"I was not, no," Fisher said. "It worked out for them."
That it did as the Vikings couldn't have scripted it much better, getting the Rams to go three and out, forcing them to punt into the wind and promptly picking up enough yards to kick a game-winning field goal. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he didn't want to give the Rams the wind at their back because kicker Greg Zuerlein had connected from 61 and 53 yards kicking toward the east goal posts.
What Zimmer didn't say but was implied was that the Rams offense, particularly quarterback Nick Foles, could beat his defense without something special from running back Todd Gurley or receiver Tavon Austin.
"The first thing is I was surprised," Vikings end Brian Robison said. "The second thing is it tells me he has confidence in us to go out there and get the job done. Anytime your coach has that type of confidence in the defense, you don't want to disappoint."
After Gurley lost 6 yards on the first play from scrimmage, the Rams were essentially done. Foles and the passing game had barely pushed the ball down the field most of the day with a couple of notable exceptions. Coordinator Frank Cignetti didn't show much desire to try it in overtime as the next play was a quick screen for no gain and then an overthrow from Foles on third down.
That brought to an end another long day at the office for Foles. While Foles didn't have any turnovers, that was really the only statistic on his final line that looked like a positive. He finished 18-of-33 for 168 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 68.8 and a QBR of 32.0.
Of those 33 attempts, Foles attempted just five passes that traveled 20 or more yards down the field. He converted two of those for 78 yards and should have had another on a deep ball that Austin dropped though that ball was also under thrown.
Foles wasn't fond of his performance in evaluating it after the game.
"Not good enough to win," Foles said. "I put a lot on myself and I have to just keep playing better and growing as a quarterback. We have to get touchdowns, especially on the road. We have to get touchdowns when we get in the red zone."
The Rams aren't going to ask Foles to suddenly start throwing it all over the yard in part because of spotty pass protection and inconsistent receivers but until or unless they can get more from him, it's going to be hard for them to be a complete offense.
Part of that includes Foles taking advantage when he does have opportunities to get the ball down the field. On the game's opening play, Foles had Britt running free for a possible touchdown and didn't throw it. While the Rams were going into the wind on that play, Foles later hit Britt for that 55-yard gain going in the same direction.
For the season, Foles is 12-of-31 on throws traveling 20-plus yards in the air for 448 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for a 94.5 passer rating and an 87.8 QBR. Those numbers aren't bad, actually, but the Rams need to do it more and Foles has to be willing to cut it loose when it's called.
Since throwing for 297 yards in the season opener, Foles hasn't so much as even hit 200 passing yards in the seven ensuing games.
"We're not as productive as we'd like to be on offense," coach Jeff Fisher said. "We made some bigger plays but when it came down to it, we did not continue to keep drives alive. That's been a problem for us here the last few weeks so we have got to keep working on that."
Halfway through the season, there's no doubt that this is Gurley's offense with Austin close behind. But on days like Sunday when an opponent is doing all it can to take the rookie runner out of it, the onus falls on Foles to make something happen. It's a bet that right now, opponents are willing to make.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ot-getting-enough-from-quarterback-nick-foles
MINNEAPOLIS -- On a blustery Minnesota afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings sent a clear message to the St. Louis Rams with a simple choice made after a simple coin toss.
As the team captains converged at midfield before overtime in an 18-18 game, the Rams called tails and the coin came up heads, giving Minnesota the choice. Because of NFL overtime rules, teams almost always take the ball first in overtime because a touchdown on the first possession ends the game without the opponent ever touching it.
But with the wind swirling on the west end of the stadium, the Vikings threw a curveball, opting to have the wind at their back and giving the Rams a chance to win it to open the extra period. Rams coach Jeff Fisher admitted he was not expecting the Vikings to make that decision.
"I was not, no," Fisher said. "It worked out for them."
That it did as the Vikings couldn't have scripted it much better, getting the Rams to go three and out, forcing them to punt into the wind and promptly picking up enough yards to kick a game-winning field goal. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he didn't want to give the Rams the wind at their back because kicker Greg Zuerlein had connected from 61 and 53 yards kicking toward the east goal posts.
What Zimmer didn't say but was implied was that the Rams offense, particularly quarterback Nick Foles, could beat his defense without something special from running back Todd Gurley or receiver Tavon Austin.
"The first thing is I was surprised," Vikings end Brian Robison said. "The second thing is it tells me he has confidence in us to go out there and get the job done. Anytime your coach has that type of confidence in the defense, you don't want to disappoint."
After Gurley lost 6 yards on the first play from scrimmage, the Rams were essentially done. Foles and the passing game had barely pushed the ball down the field most of the day with a couple of notable exceptions. Coordinator Frank Cignetti didn't show much desire to try it in overtime as the next play was a quick screen for no gain and then an overthrow from Foles on third down.
That brought to an end another long day at the office for Foles. While Foles didn't have any turnovers, that was really the only statistic on his final line that looked like a positive. He finished 18-of-33 for 168 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 68.8 and a QBR of 32.0.
Of those 33 attempts, Foles attempted just five passes that traveled 20 or more yards down the field. He converted two of those for 78 yards and should have had another on a deep ball that Austin dropped though that ball was also under thrown.
Foles wasn't fond of his performance in evaluating it after the game.
"Not good enough to win," Foles said. "I put a lot on myself and I have to just keep playing better and growing as a quarterback. We have to get touchdowns, especially on the road. We have to get touchdowns when we get in the red zone."
The Rams aren't going to ask Foles to suddenly start throwing it all over the yard in part because of spotty pass protection and inconsistent receivers but until or unless they can get more from him, it's going to be hard for them to be a complete offense.
Part of that includes Foles taking advantage when he does have opportunities to get the ball down the field. On the game's opening play, Foles had Britt running free for a possible touchdown and didn't throw it. While the Rams were going into the wind on that play, Foles later hit Britt for that 55-yard gain going in the same direction.
For the season, Foles is 12-of-31 on throws traveling 20-plus yards in the air for 448 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for a 94.5 passer rating and an 87.8 QBR. Those numbers aren't bad, actually, but the Rams need to do it more and Foles has to be willing to cut it loose when it's called.
Since throwing for 297 yards in the season opener, Foles hasn't so much as even hit 200 passing yards in the seven ensuing games.
"We're not as productive as we'd like to be on offense," coach Jeff Fisher said. "We made some bigger plays but when it came down to it, we did not continue to keep drives alive. That's been a problem for us here the last few weeks so we have got to keep working on that."
Halfway through the season, there's no doubt that this is Gurley's offense with Austin close behind. But on days like Sunday when an opponent is doing all it can to take the rookie runner out of it, the onus falls on Foles to make something happen. It's a bet that right now, opponents are willing to make.
