I spent some time today going back and watching every pass Foles through in 2014. Planning to go back through 2013 when I have the chance as well. Here are my general observations:
- Foles doesn't have Bradford's arm strength. He doesn't get the same amount of velocity on the passes outside the hashes(they can hang a bit at times). His arm is middle of the pack but it's definitely adequate. It won't hinder our offense. We just won't have the deep out, deep comeback, and throws like that be as much a part of the offense with Foles as they were with Bradford.
- Foles needs to be more consistent with his timing on routes. Shows great anticipation at times and at other times, he holds the ball too long and forces passes late.
- Foles's decision making needs work. He's definitely got a gunslinger mentality out there. There are too many plays where he should just live to play another day but tries to make something out of nothing. It works on occasion but he also risks a lot of turnovers doing it. Honestly, if he continues to struggle with it and I were Weinke, I might have him at the start of every practice do a drill where he rolls out and throws the ball away just to prove a point. Because he needs to play smarter.
- Foles needs to do a better job with his post-snap reads and coming off his first progression. Made some dangerous throws when he tried to force it to his first progression based on what he read pre-snap.
- Foles's feet should be the Rams' #1 priority in developing his game. I don't think he was a good fit for the Eagles system simply because of how often they had him play-action it out of the gun and then try to transition into a quick pass. And Foles just was not good at resetting his feet quickly after the play-action fake which led to a lot of inaccurate throws. He definitely seemed a lot more comfortable under center. His drops, while methodical, allowed him to be a lot more controlled with his feet. The Rams coaching staff really needs to stress setting and resetting his feet as well as driving the ball with authority. He just is very inconsistent with his lower half and it adversely affects his accuracy.
- His deep accuracy is definitely scatter-shot. Some of it is related to the previous issues with his feet but that's certainly not all of it. He made some beautiful throws including dropping a ball into the bucket from 60+ yards away to Maclin against Arizona(the play linked). However, he also overthrew open WRs and TEs quite a bit on deeper throws. It's an area where he needs to really improve because you can't squander opportunities like that in the NFL.
- Foles needs to show better composure under pressure. The Eagles OL was Rams OL bad in some games this year. They just were a sieve. But Foles needs to do a better job of hanging in the pocket and creating space within the pocket. He flashes that ability but I swear the guy thinks he's Michael Vick with how often he tries to scramble towards the sidelines to buy time. He's not athletic enough to outrun most DEs in this league but certainly tries to. The Rams really need to fix the interior and get it to a point that Foles is comfortable with it so he'll step up in the pocket rather than looking to scramble.
- I have a feeling some might be concerned that Foles will be hesitant to test tight windows coming out of Kelly's offense...don't be. He showed no fear when it came to putting the ball into very tight spaces and generally did an effective job of it...especially when he was sound in the lower half.
- Foles is surprisingly hard to sack. He's a big guy and while he looks skinny(especially in the arms), he's surprisingly strong and difficult to get off his feet. He broke quite a few tackles in 2014 and extended plays by refusing to go down. Although, he also coughed up the ball on a few plays when he did that. He was also able to throw out of some sacks due to his ability to stay on his feet with guys holding onto him.
- Definitely not afraid to take off and run for yardage if there's a lane. That was an issue that I had with Sam. He'd have a running lane to an easy first down and he'd refuse to take it. Foles will definitely take off if there's a lane there. But he'll also keep his eyes up until he passes the LOS the majority of the time in case something comes open.
Verdict
My personal opinion is that Foles is much better suited for an offense like ours than Chip Kelly's. As I stated above, he seemed a lot more comfortable under center than he did in the gun...especially when it came to play-action fakes. I think our quick passing offense will be something that he's more comfortable with as he seemed at his best when the Eagles let him get into a rhythm with quick passes although he's not a guy to shy away from deep shots. I also think that our coaching staff will give him a bit more freedom than Kelly did. But that's just an assumption I'm making. It seemed like Kelly might have been a bit too controlling with their offense. I think Foles would do better with more pre-snap responsibility and freedom.
Foles is tough, competitive, and is definitely capable of making some wow plays. Those of you hoping for an Alex Smith like game manager are going to have to adjust your expectations because that just isn't how Foles plays the game. But those of you who wanted more aggressiveness and risk taking out of our QB position when compared to Bradford will likely be happy in that regard.
How good do I think he can be for us? Realistically, I think he'll offer us 2012/2013 Andy Dalton level play. Some of you might be unhappy to hear that but I think that's about the level he's at right now. He certainly has potential to improve and be more than that, though. But he has to clean up some glaring issues in his game. Ultimately, though, I think that level of play is more than enough for us to win with. And keep in mind that Foles doesn't have Dalton's biggest issue...the tendency to fall apart in high pressure moments and games.
