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Foles Made Money Throws at Arizona
Posted by: Bernie Miklasz
http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/06/daily-bits-foles-made-money-throws-at-arizona/
In Sunday’s 24-22 upset win over the Cardinals on Sunday at Arizona, I thought Rams quarterback Nick Foles was superb when it mattered most. For all of the talk about Foles being steady and smart — words normally used to describe game-manager QB types — let’s not underestimate his ability to make big plays.
On third-down plays against the Cardinals, Foles completed 6 of 11 for 58 yards, which doesn’t jump out at you. But his three TD passes came on third-down throws, and he had a third-down passer rating of 109.1 in the game. In the Rams’ two wins this season Foles has a 123.8 passer rating on third down. Through four games this season Foles ranks 7th among NFL quarterbacks with a third-down passer rating of 114.2. Moreover, Foles leads the NFL with four touchdown passes on third down.
And then there was Foles’ play in the red zone at Arizona. He completed 5 of 6 passes for three touchdowns, averaging 9.76 yards per attempt, with a passer rating of 146.5.
Foles was terrific in the opening wing over Seattle, not so good in the Rams’ dreary loss at Washington, and he threw a careless interception that sealed the Rams’ fate in their loss to Pittsburgh. But he’s also operating behind an inexperienced offensive line, and throwing to (mostly) young receivers, and the Rams’ rushing attack was running in place until rookie Todd Gurley took over Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter. Among other issues the Rams have dropped 11 passes already, and they’ll have to clean that up.
According to Pro Football Focus Foles has been under pass-rush pressure on 40 percent of his dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate among NFL starters. It’s been only four games, but I’ve seen enough to be impressed with Foles’ accuracy under fire. Excluding dropped passes, intentional throwaways and throws batted at the line, Foles’ adjusted accuracy rate of 78 percent on attempts under pressure ranks No. 3 among starting quarterbacks.
Foles doesn’t scare.
“He got hit too many times,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Monday, discussing the win at Arizona. “We have to get better there. I don’t like to see our quarterback on the ground. But when he hung in there, he bought himself time. He trusted a clean pocket and got the ball down the field.”
Another notable aspect of Foles’ game is his skill and effectiveness with play-action passes. He did well with play fakes in Philadelphia and has brought that touch to St. Louis. That’s why it’s essential for the Rams to have a strong rushing game. And that’s why Gurley’s 146-yard breakout at AZ was so important.
The more the Rams offense can make defenses wary of Gurley’s threat to break away, that will help Foles. He can fake the handoff to Gurley, con the defense into thinking it’s a running play, and then wheel to throw downfield. It can be a beautiful way for the Rams to attack a defense.
Foles completed 6 of 8 play-action throws at Arizona, averaging a big 11.6 yards per passing attempt.
For the season (according to Pro Football Focus) Foles has completed 22 of 30 play-action passes (73.%), for an average of 12.2 yards per attempt, with one TD and no pickoffs. His play-action passer rating of 125 ranks third among quarterbacks, exceeded by Derek Carr and Cam Newton.
“I will be the first one to say we have a long ways to go,” Foles said after Sunday’s game. “We still have a lot of room to improve. I know the guys are hungry to improve. This was a great team win … it starts with converting third downs. I believe we did a better job today. We were able to sustain some drives and really march it down the field. We just have to stay hungry, keep working and pay attention to detail. It is all those things and just putting in the extra time. We are a young team so we have to put in that extra time every single day to get better and take the next step forward.”
=======
Gurley had nine carries for 106 yards in the fourth quarter Sunday, becoming only the second NFL running back to churn for 100+ yards in the fourth quarter in a game since the start of the 2013 season. Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell (110 yards) did it last season in a Dec. 7 game at Cincinnati … Foles’ true accuracy rate (80%) ranks fifth among NFL starters this season.
And Finally …
The debacle at the end of the Detroit @ Seattle game was ludicrous on so many levels. How can an officiating crew miss such an obviously illegal “bat” of the ball out of the end zone by Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright on a Calvin Johnson fumble caused by Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor? This was much, much worse than the error made by the replacement officials in that famous Seattle-Green Bay end zone catch/INT in 2012. This was a full-time crew.
And there’s no doubt this was a blown call. NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino confirmed that on the NFL Network late Monday night. Had the illegal batting been cited and called correctly, the ball would have gone back to Detroit via penalty, with a first and goal inside the 1-yard line. At that point, the Lions (trailing 13-10) would have had an 81 percent chance of winning the game according to the “Win Probability” odds.
What I don’t understand is this: Blandino and his staff monitor every game, every play, live. They’re also connected to the officiating crew working the game and have the means to communicate directly with the head official. So why didn’t Blandino intervene? He’s done that before this season — clearing up the officials’ initial mistake on that tricky Seattle onsides kick attempt that began the overtime period in St. Louis.
The back judge on the play told Blandino that the batting was “inadvertent.” Which is absurd, of course. Wright even admitted that he batted the ball intentionally.
This was just a massive screwup by a league that should never, ever allow such a critical play to stand without a review — no matter what the inadequate rules state about replay-review protocol. Or whether a play is a “judgment” call and therefore not reviewable. (Makes no sense … isn’t it a judgment call when the officials decide whether a receiver caught a pass or not? Those plays can be reviewed. So what’s the difference?)
Result: Ballgame, and a tainted victory for Seattle. And the Seahawks were able to escape with a win that leveled their record at 2-2. With a defeat, Seattle would be toting a 1-3 record into a tough road game at Cincinnati on Sunday. So this call not only dumped the Lions to 0-4, but it conceivably impacted the Rams, Cardinals and 49ers in the NFC West. If the race for first place is close, the officiating blunder and Blandino’s failure to be proactive and get the call right may end up costing one of the Seahawks’ division rivals.
But let’s not forget about the Lions role in this … first of all, Johnson has to do a more reliable job of protecting the football. He made it easy for Chancellor to dislodge the ball and cause the fumble. Second, it’s obvious that Detroit coach Jim Caldwell was oblivious to a rule that’s been in the books for a long time. Gerry Austin, ESPN’s officiating advisor, confirmed as much after the game. “I spent 26 years in the league,” he said on ESPN. “The (intentional batting) rule has been there the entire time.”
If Caldwell knew the rules, he could have called timeout to get the officials’ attention. Or he could have made a ruckus to get the officials’ attention. But he did nothing. “What can you do, know what I mean? We’re not going to cry about it, that’s for sure,” Caldwell told reporters after the game.
What you can do, Coach, is know the rules.
As former New England linebacker Rosevelt Colvin tweeted Monday night: “I PROMISE YOU BILL BELICHICK KNOWS THAT RULE…’CAUSE WE PRACTICED IT IN OUR SITUATIONAL PRACTICES… #wedabest #chesswhileyouplaycheckers “
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Posted by: Bernie Miklasz
http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/06/daily-bits-foles-made-money-throws-at-arizona/
In Sunday’s 24-22 upset win over the Cardinals on Sunday at Arizona, I thought Rams quarterback Nick Foles was superb when it mattered most. For all of the talk about Foles being steady and smart — words normally used to describe game-manager QB types — let’s not underestimate his ability to make big plays.
On third-down plays against the Cardinals, Foles completed 6 of 11 for 58 yards, which doesn’t jump out at you. But his three TD passes came on third-down throws, and he had a third-down passer rating of 109.1 in the game. In the Rams’ two wins this season Foles has a 123.8 passer rating on third down. Through four games this season Foles ranks 7th among NFL quarterbacks with a third-down passer rating of 114.2. Moreover, Foles leads the NFL with four touchdown passes on third down.
And then there was Foles’ play in the red zone at Arizona. He completed 5 of 6 passes for three touchdowns, averaging 9.76 yards per attempt, with a passer rating of 146.5.
Foles was terrific in the opening wing over Seattle, not so good in the Rams’ dreary loss at Washington, and he threw a careless interception that sealed the Rams’ fate in their loss to Pittsburgh. But he’s also operating behind an inexperienced offensive line, and throwing to (mostly) young receivers, and the Rams’ rushing attack was running in place until rookie Todd Gurley took over Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter. Among other issues the Rams have dropped 11 passes already, and they’ll have to clean that up.
According to Pro Football Focus Foles has been under pass-rush pressure on 40 percent of his dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate among NFL starters. It’s been only four games, but I’ve seen enough to be impressed with Foles’ accuracy under fire. Excluding dropped passes, intentional throwaways and throws batted at the line, Foles’ adjusted accuracy rate of 78 percent on attempts under pressure ranks No. 3 among starting quarterbacks.
Foles doesn’t scare.
“He got hit too many times,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Monday, discussing the win at Arizona. “We have to get better there. I don’t like to see our quarterback on the ground. But when he hung in there, he bought himself time. He trusted a clean pocket and got the ball down the field.”
Another notable aspect of Foles’ game is his skill and effectiveness with play-action passes. He did well with play fakes in Philadelphia and has brought that touch to St. Louis. That’s why it’s essential for the Rams to have a strong rushing game. And that’s why Gurley’s 146-yard breakout at AZ was so important.
The more the Rams offense can make defenses wary of Gurley’s threat to break away, that will help Foles. He can fake the handoff to Gurley, con the defense into thinking it’s a running play, and then wheel to throw downfield. It can be a beautiful way for the Rams to attack a defense.
Foles completed 6 of 8 play-action throws at Arizona, averaging a big 11.6 yards per passing attempt.
For the season (according to Pro Football Focus) Foles has completed 22 of 30 play-action passes (73.%), for an average of 12.2 yards per attempt, with one TD and no pickoffs. His play-action passer rating of 125 ranks third among quarterbacks, exceeded by Derek Carr and Cam Newton.
“I will be the first one to say we have a long ways to go,” Foles said after Sunday’s game. “We still have a lot of room to improve. I know the guys are hungry to improve. This was a great team win … it starts with converting third downs. I believe we did a better job today. We were able to sustain some drives and really march it down the field. We just have to stay hungry, keep working and pay attention to detail. It is all those things and just putting in the extra time. We are a young team so we have to put in that extra time every single day to get better and take the next step forward.”
=======
Gurley had nine carries for 106 yards in the fourth quarter Sunday, becoming only the second NFL running back to churn for 100+ yards in the fourth quarter in a game since the start of the 2013 season. Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell (110 yards) did it last season in a Dec. 7 game at Cincinnati … Foles’ true accuracy rate (80%) ranks fifth among NFL starters this season.
And Finally …
The debacle at the end of the Detroit @ Seattle game was ludicrous on so many levels. How can an officiating crew miss such an obviously illegal “bat” of the ball out of the end zone by Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright on a Calvin Johnson fumble caused by Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor? This was much, much worse than the error made by the replacement officials in that famous Seattle-Green Bay end zone catch/INT in 2012. This was a full-time crew.
And there’s no doubt this was a blown call. NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino confirmed that on the NFL Network late Monday night. Had the illegal batting been cited and called correctly, the ball would have gone back to Detroit via penalty, with a first and goal inside the 1-yard line. At that point, the Lions (trailing 13-10) would have had an 81 percent chance of winning the game according to the “Win Probability” odds.
What I don’t understand is this: Blandino and his staff monitor every game, every play, live. They’re also connected to the officiating crew working the game and have the means to communicate directly with the head official. So why didn’t Blandino intervene? He’s done that before this season — clearing up the officials’ initial mistake on that tricky Seattle onsides kick attempt that began the overtime period in St. Louis.
The back judge on the play told Blandino that the batting was “inadvertent.” Which is absurd, of course. Wright even admitted that he batted the ball intentionally.
This was just a massive screwup by a league that should never, ever allow such a critical play to stand without a review — no matter what the inadequate rules state about replay-review protocol. Or whether a play is a “judgment” call and therefore not reviewable. (Makes no sense … isn’t it a judgment call when the officials decide whether a receiver caught a pass or not? Those plays can be reviewed. So what’s the difference?)
Result: Ballgame, and a tainted victory for Seattle. And the Seahawks were able to escape with a win that leveled their record at 2-2. With a defeat, Seattle would be toting a 1-3 record into a tough road game at Cincinnati on Sunday. So this call not only dumped the Lions to 0-4, but it conceivably impacted the Rams, Cardinals and 49ers in the NFC West. If the race for first place is close, the officiating blunder and Blandino’s failure to be proactive and get the call right may end up costing one of the Seahawks’ division rivals.
But let’s not forget about the Lions role in this … first of all, Johnson has to do a more reliable job of protecting the football. He made it easy for Chancellor to dislodge the ball and cause the fumble. Second, it’s obvious that Detroit coach Jim Caldwell was oblivious to a rule that’s been in the books for a long time. Gerry Austin, ESPN’s officiating advisor, confirmed as much after the game. “I spent 26 years in the league,” he said on ESPN. “The (intentional batting) rule has been there the entire time.”
If Caldwell knew the rules, he could have called timeout to get the officials’ attention. Or he could have made a ruckus to get the officials’ attention. But he did nothing. “What can you do, know what I mean? We’re not going to cry about it, that’s for sure,” Caldwell told reporters after the game.
What you can do, Coach, is know the rules.
As former New England linebacker Rosevelt Colvin tweeted Monday night: “I PROMISE YOU BILL BELICHICK KNOWS THAT RULE…’CAUSE WE PRACTICED IT IN OUR SITUATIONAL PRACTICES… #wedabest #chesswhileyouplaycheckers “
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
