Nick Foles adjusting to vastly different offense
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Nick Foles adjusting to vastly different offense
By Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Since his arrival in the NFL in 2012, quarterback Nick Foles' view of the field has largely come standing upright from a few yards behind the center. Playing for Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly, Foles' experience has been limited to one of the most unique offenses in the NFL.
Now that Foles is taking the reins of the St. Louis Rams' offense, the part of his brain that stores football information is going through a major renovation. Gone are the days of lining up in the shotgun, reading defensive ends on read-option plays and attempting to get in as many offensive plays as quickly as possible.
In its place is an offense that has clearly stated its intentions to be run-first, run-second, pass-third. For Foles, it's an adjustment that's just now starting to take shape as the Rams go through organized team activities.
"We really want to have a great running game, but with that we need to have a great balance in the passing game," Foles said. "We have a lot of talent to really stretch the ball downfield that we’re going to use, but we also have great running backs and an O-Line that’s going to do an outstanding job. It’s a different offense, but I’m loving the offense. I’m learning the offense and it’s going to be a lot of fun to play in."
Make no mistake, when Foles enjoyed his most success in the league in 2013, the Eagles were ninth in the league in rushing. That rushing attack helped open things up for Foles to throw for 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. But it's not so much the results of what Philadelphia did as the approach to how they did it that will cause the greatest adjustment for Foles moving forward.
Take, for example, something as basic as where he takes his snaps. In his two seasons as the starter, Foles lined up in the shotgun on 645 drop-backs and was under center for just 42 snaps in 21 games. As a team, the Eagles had their quarterbacks drop back out of shotgun formation 1,188 times, the most in the league and clear of second-place San Diego by 38 snaps.
The Rams, on the other hand, have had 756 drop backs out of the shotgun over the past two seasons, which is second-fewest in the league. Only San Francisco has spent less time dropping back out of the shotgun formation.
Foles played in a spread-heavy offense at Arizona as well, so while the simple act of taking a snap from under center isn't completely foreign to him, it's not something he's well-versed in, either. That means much of these OTAs will be spent getting back to basics when it comes to footwork and delivery.
"It’s been a little while but I enjoy it," Foles said. "You can do a lot of things. Being under center and in the gun, you have to be able to do both in the NFL. There’s different situations that you need both. I enjoy doing it."
As you'd expect with a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator and no pads on in practice, the offense is already lagging behind the defense in these OTAs. That makes Foles' job that much tougher.
"He’s got a good feel for our offense right now," coach Jeff Fisher said. "He’s got his hands full, because we have great defensive team speed and they’re doing a lot of things over there right now."
As for the difference between the Rams and Eagles' schemes, Foles said he hasn't spent much time looking at what he used to do. There are some things that are similar conceptually, but overall, there's not much that's the same. Which makes Foles' learning curve that much steeper.
"Yeah there’s different concepts, passing concepts, that are similar, that have similar reads, but it’s a different offense," Foles said. "We’re going to have different terminology, different things going on, but that’s the fun of it. I get to learn more football. It’s a great offense to play in."
Whether it becomes a great offense, period, will depend on how quickly Foles can grasp it.
Nick Foles adjusting to vastly different offense
By Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Since his arrival in the NFL in 2012, quarterback Nick Foles' view of the field has largely come standing upright from a few yards behind the center. Playing for Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly, Foles' experience has been limited to one of the most unique offenses in the NFL.
Now that Foles is taking the reins of the St. Louis Rams' offense, the part of his brain that stores football information is going through a major renovation. Gone are the days of lining up in the shotgun, reading defensive ends on read-option plays and attempting to get in as many offensive plays as quickly as possible.
In its place is an offense that has clearly stated its intentions to be run-first, run-second, pass-third. For Foles, it's an adjustment that's just now starting to take shape as the Rams go through organized team activities.
"We really want to have a great running game, but with that we need to have a great balance in the passing game," Foles said. "We have a lot of talent to really stretch the ball downfield that we’re going to use, but we also have great running backs and an O-Line that’s going to do an outstanding job. It’s a different offense, but I’m loving the offense. I’m learning the offense and it’s going to be a lot of fun to play in."
Make no mistake, when Foles enjoyed his most success in the league in 2013, the Eagles were ninth in the league in rushing. That rushing attack helped open things up for Foles to throw for 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. But it's not so much the results of what Philadelphia did as the approach to how they did it that will cause the greatest adjustment for Foles moving forward.
Take, for example, something as basic as where he takes his snaps. In his two seasons as the starter, Foles lined up in the shotgun on 645 drop-backs and was under center for just 42 snaps in 21 games. As a team, the Eagles had their quarterbacks drop back out of shotgun formation 1,188 times, the most in the league and clear of second-place San Diego by 38 snaps.
The Rams, on the other hand, have had 756 drop backs out of the shotgun over the past two seasons, which is second-fewest in the league. Only San Francisco has spent less time dropping back out of the shotgun formation.
Foles played in a spread-heavy offense at Arizona as well, so while the simple act of taking a snap from under center isn't completely foreign to him, it's not something he's well-versed in, either. That means much of these OTAs will be spent getting back to basics when it comes to footwork and delivery.
"It’s been a little while but I enjoy it," Foles said. "You can do a lot of things. Being under center and in the gun, you have to be able to do both in the NFL. There’s different situations that you need both. I enjoy doing it."
As you'd expect with a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator and no pads on in practice, the offense is already lagging behind the defense in these OTAs. That makes Foles' job that much tougher.
"He’s got a good feel for our offense right now," coach Jeff Fisher said. "He’s got his hands full, because we have great defensive team speed and they’re doing a lot of things over there right now."
As for the difference between the Rams and Eagles' schemes, Foles said he hasn't spent much time looking at what he used to do. There are some things that are similar conceptually, but overall, there's not much that's the same. Which makes Foles' learning curve that much steeper.
"Yeah there’s different concepts, passing concepts, that are similar, that have similar reads, but it’s a different offense," Foles said. "We’re going to have different terminology, different things going on, but that’s the fun of it. I get to learn more football. It’s a great offense to play in."
Whether it becomes a great offense, period, will depend on how quickly Foles can grasp it.
