Week 3 film review: NICK FOLES

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With Nick Foles, the Bears get a QB with a similar philosophy to its head coach. He will kill you with the underneath stuff, force you to come in and stop it, then immediately go in for the killshot over the top of the defense. This is well illustrated in the first possession of the Foles era.

Foles first pass is an easy throw to Jimmy Graham against Tampa 2 coverage. Tampa 2 is basically cover 3 with a linebacker as the middle safety. One thing noteworthy on this play is Jimmy Graham’s body language. This is the next possession right after a soul crushing INT down big. Not only that, Graham is a finesse player yet he tries to barrel right through a defender while dragging another one. It looks like some sort of inner fire has been lit with Foles on the field...

***CLIP***

Screen pass into a blitz. Perfect timing by Nagy...

***CLIP***

After driving the field on underneath stuff, Foles gets his chance on 3rd down. As the ball is snapped, the deep safety creeps over to help on Jimmy Graham. Without hesitation, Foles immediately lofts it to Robinson on the sideline...

kUIq4M9_d.jpg


***CLIP***

With Foles, the Bears get a QB who is incredibly active pre snap. He is always looking to find an edge. Here he sees something and believes the Falcons are going to be in man. He changes the play from a run to a play action pass looking for a deep shot. The Falcons end up going into a cover 2 zone so Foles immediately checks it down...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

It possibly could have worked out for the best that Foles didn’t get this throw off cleanly, as he was going to Mooney and the safety may have been able to cut it off if he didn’t put enough on the ball...

zJNVS4n_d.jpg


***CLIP***

Foles sees both LB’s in the A gaps, leaving Cohen potentially wide open past the line of scrimmage. He checks to a swing pass to Cohen, but the LB’s bail back to the sidelines at the snap...

BQZWfYM_d.jpg


***CLIP***

One of the keys to a successful short game is recognizing the defense quickly and getting the ball out as early as possible to help the ball carrier. Nothing flashy really, but very important. Tom Brady has made a career of it. Here Foles recognizes the cover 2 and gets it out to Robinson for 7 and a face mask...

***CLIP***

Foles recognizes the Tampa 2 and gets it to Mooney on the crossing route...

***CLIP***

Another thing on this particular play. When you’re in a motion of throwing, you’re body is in a vulnerable position. There are 3 defenders aboot to hit Foles here from every direction. To expose your ribs here knowing that takes a lot of guts...

kfbUEam_d.jpg


***CLIP***

This is what a bad defense looks like. It looks like the Falcons are in a cover 3 zone. But the middle safety doesn’t get back in time, so the wide side safety has to go and cover Miller out of the slot. This essentially leaves Mooney wide open once he clears the trailing defensive back...

***CLIP***

It’s hard to criticize this play given the circumstances, down big in the 4th quarter trying to make something happen...

***CLIP***

But I’ve seen and read that Foles is prone to throw balls up for grabs...

***CLIP***

Foles really seems fearless, but that’s not always a good thing. There is nothing here, Graham is being doubled. Yet Foles holds the ball until the very last moment and gets crushed...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

This is a big time throw, Miller’s gotta come down with it. At second viewing, should have known he dropped it when he just immediately ran off the field. Nice job by the offensive line...

***CLIP***

Foles had Robinson here. He tried to loft it over the defender sidearm and under threw it...

***CLIP***

That’s another thing aboot Foles, he throws out of various arm angles from play to play...

***CLIP***

I love the aggresiveness here. The Falcons are guarding that 1st down marker on 4th and 6 and Foles throws it 25 yards downfield. Great route by Ginn splitting two defenders...

***CLIP***

This is a pretty bad miss but they score on the very next play...

***CLIP***

Here Foles knows he doesn’t have much time, so he sidearms it to get the ball out of his hand quicker for the TD...

***CLIP***

The game winning TD was sort of Nick Foles signature play. It’s his great equalizer to not having exceptional arm strength and no mobility. Early throws lofted into spots where his receivers will eventually arrive.

What I’m speaking to in particular are the longer extended routes where you have to either buy yourself more time to allow the route to develop or gunsling it in there at max velocity. Foles bypasses this by getting the ball out early in the route progression to a spot at the eventual conclusion of the route.

Foles did this to the Bears in the playoff game. It was on a long developing full field crossing route to Alshon Jeffery. Danny Trevathan came scraping through the line on a blitz unimpeded before Alshon Jeffery’s route had a chance to materialize. So Foles flung the ball into a zone where Jeffery would eventually run under into...

***CLIP***

The current play was sort of a half assed all out blitz. It was a desperation play by Atlanta to try and get the Bears out of field goal position. The reason I say half assed is because without a safety, the slot CB really has no chance on this play. He has to guard his man inside and outside with no help. So the Falcons have to either get to Foles or they are going to get burned. But then they only send 6 blitzers.

All that being said, they actually did get to Foles in time. But he was able to get the ball off because he was prepared. He was so prepared that he didn’t even have to set his feet in the direction of the pass. He throws this ball with his front foot facing the opposite pylon...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

It’s going to be hard for Foles to live up to Bears fans expectations following this game. He’s pretty much a career back up for a reason. It’s the same reason most back ups are not starters. Inconsistency. Its Nagy’s job to limit the inconsistencies, and now we’ll see what he’s really made of.
 
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Mdbearz

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Great stuff Adi... I have a friend that is an Eagles fan, and we were talking about Foles. He too said that Foles will have these games where he just blows your mind, and makes you think that he is the man. But then he will turn around and have a terrible game.

The thing that stood out to me is that he is taking a lot of hits.....earlier, in the week we were talking about how the line has improved this year, but they are going to have to find a way to reduce those hits or we will be seeing Trubisky back on the field really soon.
 

iueyedoc

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Thanks Adi.
Few things.

For all the shit he gets here, Leno does a great job here getting out on the DB.
https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-01-2020/te4KJl.mp4

Would love to see Foles to have floated one to Cohen on the wheel route there.
https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-01-2020/bSBJaL.mp4

Foles definitely missed a few times, but with a week to prep hopefully he tightens it up a bit, since they will be going against the antithesis of the ATL defense this week.

Foles caught lightening in a bottle in 2013, maybe he can do it again.?????????
 

Visionman

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I’m hoping some of that aggressiveness works in our favor once he starts to develop more chemistry and trust with our receivers moving forward. And hope it will be used to get us some leads, rather than in desperation comebacks!
 

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Great stuff Adi... I have a friend that is an Eagles fan, and we were talking about Foles. He too said that Foles will have these games where he just blows your mind, and makes you think that he is the man. But then he will turn around and have a terrible game.

The thing that stood out to me is that he is taking a lot of hits.....earlier, in the week we were talking about how the line has improved this year, but they are going to have to find a way to reduce those hits or we will be seeing Trubisky back on the field really soon.

 

Bearly

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Yup. Foles in a nutshell but he does understand where's he's at and this game was out of reach without taking those risks.

"This is what a bad defense looks like. It looks like the Falcons are in a cover 3 zone. But the middle safety doesn’t get back in time, so the wide side safety has to go and cover Miller out of the slot. This essentially leaves Mooney wide open once he clears the trailing defensive back..."

***CLIP***

Mooney was a good choice here but to be honest, there were no bad choices. That said, The ball could have been throw 5 yards further. It was an incompletion due to being short. Not complaining here as he was impressive in his control of the O and decision making. Also impressed with Mooney and how quickly he tracks the ball coming out to slow up and high spot the ball to make it harder to defend but it was Foles that brought the DB back into a play where Mooney could have trotted in. Everyone knows I liked Mooney in this draft but he's done better than that. He just gets it. His routes and adjustments are those of a season vet.

So much luck in that game but Foles makes his own breaks. Why I said he'll have multiple INT games this year but he'll keep coming at you. Something I wanted to see from Mitch who seemed more aggressive but not in the same sort of smart way. Nick makes mostly good informed choices and it's only his slow arm and legs that hold him back. I don't see how Nagy had any other choice but to put him in this game and roll the dice on him for a while. This O was built for him as much as one can be.

The O is all about good decisions and risk/reward and it's difficult to evaluate in camp. When various Ds mix it up like they don't in camp, Foles will make better choices. Things that fooled mitch were quickly picked up by Foles this game. Hopefully Mitch will finally get to learn something from a smart QB in live action because the odds are that we will need him at some point this year.
 
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TexasBearfan

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i think Foles is a chessmaster with limited physical ability....I think Trubisky is a checkersmaster with strong physical ability.
 

Jack Lantern

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i think Foles is a chessmaster with limited physical ability....I think Trubisky is a checkersmaster with strong physical ability.

A #2 overall NFL QB led his college team to a 8-5 record. That's it! He also threw for just 30 TD's in a pass happy system where the QB lines up in shotgun 100pct of the time.

Hopefully the field scout who initially fed his boss Pace this lie that Mitch was "The Guy" playing a "The Guy" position was given his walking papers or demoted to scout punters instead.
 

tgmxd

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Mooney was a good cho
Great stuff Adi... I have a friend that is an Eagles fan, and we were talking about Foles. He too said that Foles will have these games where he just blows your mind, and makes you think that he is the man. But then he will turn around and have a terrible game.

The thing that stood out to me is that he is taking a lot of hits.....earlier, in the week we were talking about how the line has improved this year, but they are going to have to find a way to reduce those hits or we will be seeing Trubisky back on the field really soon.

The thing with Foles is all his biggest plays come from holding the ball until literally the last second over his career, regardless of how good the offensive line is.

He's a little like Rodgers and Watson in the sense that he's going to hold the ball until the last second sometimes (for a chance at a huge play) because that's just who he is and makes his offensive line look worse than it is

His issue staying healthy is in large part because he plays like this
 

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Awesome work as always Adi, feel like you could definitely make some beer money by doing this on Patreon.

Screen pass into a blitz. Perfect timing by Nagy...

***CLIP***

Water under the bridge now, but disappointed Cohen cuts the screen outside. He has the entire field open to his right, but instead cuts outside and lets the sideline become a 12th defender, granted after a big gain. Still, I feel like a player as dangerous as him in the open field should be seeking out the open field...

After driving the field on underneath stuff, Foles gets his chance on 3rd down. As the ball is snapped, the deep safety creeps over to help on Jimmy Graham. Without hesitation, Foles immediately lofts it to Robinson on the sideline...

Great example of the difference in the processing speed on reads between the 2 QBs. Foles makes this read with 1 step, and although the result of the play was bad - he correctly diagnosed the coverage and got a 1 on 1 with his #1 WR who until the last 2 weeks you figured would win those jump balls more often than not.


Don't believe Foles is a long term solution by any means, I expect him to prove to be a better option than Trubisky was for however many games he can stay healthy for. But the Bears almost certainly need to use a high pick in the next draft to take another swing at the QB of the future.
 

remydat

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The thing with Foles is all his biggest plays come from holding the ball until literally the last second over his career, regardless of how good the offensive line is.

He's a little like Rodgers and Watson in the sense that he's going to hold the ball until the last second sometimes (for a chance at a huge play) because that's just who he is and makes his offensive line look worse than it is

His issue staying healthy is in large part because he plays like this

Well to be fair I think he gets rid of it quick when he knows there isn't much of a chance for a big play. He holds it until the last moment when he thinks based on the D, someone can get open for a big play. That is the difference between him and Trubisky ie he generally has a reason for holding onto the ball as he is anticipating someone getting open. By contrast Trubisky seems to hold onto the ball because he doesn't have a plan and is just hoping someone breaks open.
 

Les Grossman

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Awesome work as always Adi, feel like you could definitely make some beer money by doing this on Patreon.



Water under the bridge now, but disappointed Cohen cuts the screen outside. He has the entire field open to his right, but instead cuts outside and lets the sideline become a 12th defender, granted after a big gain. Still, I feel like a player as dangerous as him in the open field should be seeking out the open field...
Just mentioned this in the other 'Review" thread. Cohen also did the same thing on the draw play for a big gain which could have been even bigger. He's drawn to the sideline.
 

remydat

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Foles to me can be a good QB with a little bit of luck. He knows what he is doing and he does take some ill advised gambles and so it boils down to whether he gets lucky enough on the ill advised gambles that they don't kill him. I think he knows this about himself and is basically gambling that it works out more often than not.
 

remydat

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Just mentioned this in the other 'Review" thread. Cohen also did the same thing on the draw play for a big gain which could have been even bigger. He's drawn to the sideline.

At this point you gotta accept that is who Cohen is. He will gravitate towards the sideline because there is safety for him in knowing if things get too dicey he can get out of bounds rather than take a massive hit.
 

TexasBearfan

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A #2 overall NFL QB led his college team to a 8-5 record. That's it! He also threw for just 30 TD's in a pass happy system where the QB lines up in shotgun 100pct of the time.

Hopefully the field scout who initially fed his boss Pace this lie that Mitch was "The Guy" playing a "The Guy" position was given his walking papers or demoted to scout punters instead.
let's face it, Pace committed the cardinal sin of drafting....DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH A PLAYER....IMO with a number 1 you need to have people challenge you with dissenting opinions to build a case....

I may be wrong here but IMO, had they sat trubisky for a year like the Chiefs did w/ mahomes....he would still have the same processing issues.
 

tgmxd

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Well to be fair I think he gets rid of it quick when he knows there isn't much of a chance for a big play. He holds it until the last moment when he thinks based on the D, someone can get open for a big play. That is the difference between him and Trubisky ie he generally has a reason for holding onto the ball as he is anticipating someone getting open. By contrast Trubisky seems to hold onto the ball because he doesn't have a plan and is just hoping someone breaks open.

Not saying its bad he holds onto the ball when he thinks he can make a big play, speaking more to his play style in general and what people should expect. It's a calculated trade off when he thinks he sees something and thats exactly what this offense needs right now.

There's just a lot of risk/reward to it like him fumbling or getting hit while throwing a ball that doesn't get where he wants it.

And for Foles the added injury history where one of those hits could put him on the bench again like last year

There's no doubt he's our best hope right now though
 

tgmxd

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let's face it, Pace committed the cardinal sin of drafting....DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH A PLAYER....IMO with a number 1 you need to have people challenge you with dissenting opinions to build a case....

I may be wrong here but IMO, had they sat trubisky for a year like the Chiefs did w/ mahomes....he would still have the same processing issues.

The way things have been trending of late with QB's taken after the 1st QB taken in the draft having lots of success makes me think that sitting a QB who isn't ready and the environment they come up in from Day 1 (top offensive mind around them, a great system, talent on offense, roster quality etc.) are more important than ever when it comes to who these young QBs become as players.

We've seen a lot of these non #1 overall prospects developing out of some of there bad traits identified coming out of the draft in good situations

Whereas, the top QB's who come up in bad environments get these negative traits magnified where only the elite of the elite prospects aren't broken by it and can overcome it
 

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I’m hoping some of that aggressiveness works in our favor once he starts to develop more chemistry and trust with our receivers moving forward. And hope it will be used to get us some leads, rather than in desperation comebacks!
My biggest hope is that he continues his accurate passing, especially with Miller. Miller lost a lot of long TDs because Trubisky almost always overthrew him.
 

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The thing with Foles is all his biggest plays come from holding the ball until literally the last second over his career, regardless of how good the offensive line is.

He's a little like Rodgers and Watson in the sense that he's going to hold the ball until the last second sometimes (for a chance at a huge play) because that's just who he is and makes his offensive line look worse than it is

His issue staying healthy is in large part because he plays like this
He throws on time. He's just not buying more and willing to wait for a route as opposed to ditch early.
 

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With Nick Foles, the Bears get a QB with a similar philosophy to its head coach. He will kill you with the underneath stuff, force you to come in and stop it, then immediately go in for the killshot over the top of the defense. This is well illustrated in the first possession of the Foles era.

Foles first pass is an easy throw to Jimmy Graham against Tampa 2 coverage. Tampa 2 is basically cover 3 with a linebacker as the middle safety. One thing noteworthy on this play is Jimmy Graham’s body language. This is the next possession right after a soul crushing INT down big. Not only that, Graham is a finesse player yet he tries to barrel right through a defender while dragging another one. It looks like some sort of inner fire has been lit with Foles on the field...

***CLIP***

Screen pass into a blitz. Perfect timing by Nagy...

***CLIP***

After driving the field on underneath stuff, Foles gets his chance on 3rd down. As the ball is snapped, the deep safety creeps over to help on Jimmy Graham. Without hesitation, Foles immediately lofts it to Robinson on the sideline...

kUIq4M9_d.jpg


***CLIP***

With Foles, the Bears get a QB who is incredibly active pre snap. He is always looking to find an edge. Here he sees something and believes the Falcons are going to be in man. He changes the play from a run to a play action pass looking for a deep shot. The Falcons end up going into a cover 2 zone so Foles immediately checks it down...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

It possibly could have worked out for the best that Foles didn’t get this throw off cleanly, as he was going to Mooney and the safety may have been able to cut it off if he didn’t put enough on the ball...

zJNVS4n_d.jpg


***CLIP***

Foles sees both LB’s in the A gaps, leaving Cohen potentially wide open past the line of scrimmage. He checks to a swing pass to Cohen, but the LB’s bail back to the sidelines at the snap...

BQZWfYM_d.jpg


***CLIP***

One of the keys to a successful short game is recognizing the defense quickly and getting the ball out as early as possible to help the ball carrier. Nothing flashy really, but very important. Tom Brady has made a career of it. Here Foles recognizes the cover 2 and gets it out to Robinson for 7 and a face mask...

***CLIP***

Foles recognizes the Tampa 2 and gets it to Mooney on the crossing route...

***CLIP***

Another thing on this particular play. When you’re in a motion of throwing, you’re body is in a vulnerable position. There are 3 defenders aboot to hit Foles here from every direction. To expose your ribs here knowing that takes a lot of guts...

kfbUEam_d.jpg


***CLIP***

This is what a bad defense looks like. It looks like the Falcons are in a cover 3 zone. But the middle safety doesn’t get back in time, so the wide side safety has to go and cover Miller out of the slot. This essentially leaves Mooney wide open once he clears the trailing defensive back...

***CLIP***

It’s hard to criticize this play given the circumstances, down big in the 4th quarter trying to make something happen...

***CLIP***

But I’ve seen and read that Foles is prone to throw balls up for grabs...

***CLIP***

Foles really seems fearless, but that’s not always a good thing. There is nothing here, Graham is being doubled. Yet Foles holds the ball until the very last moment and gets crushed...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

This is a big time throw, Miller’s gotta come down with it. At second viewing, should have known he dropped it when he just immediately ran off the field. Nice job by the offensive line...

***CLIP***

Foles had Robinson here. He tried to loft it over the defender sidearm and under threw it...

***CLIP***

That’s another thing aboot Foles, he throws out of various arm angles from play to play...

***CLIP***

I love the aggresiveness here. The Falcons are guarding that 1st down marker on 4th and 6 and Foles throws it 25 yards downfield. Great route by Ginn splitting two defenders...

***CLIP***

This is a pretty bad miss but they score on the very next play...

***CLIP***

Here Foles knows he doesn’t have much time, so he sidearms it to get the ball out of his hand quicker for the TD...

***CLIP***

The game winning TD was sort of Nick Foles signature play. It’s his great equalizer to not having exceptional arm strength and no mobility. Early throws lofted into spots where his receivers will eventually arrive.

What I’m speaking to in particular are the longer extended routes where you have to either buy yourself more time to allow the route to develop or gunsling it in there at max velocity. Foles bypasses this by getting the ball out early in the route progression to a spot at the eventual conclusion of the route.

Foles did this to the Bears in the playoff game. It was on a long developing full field crossing route to Alshon Jeffery. Danny Trevathan came scraping through the line on a blitz unimpeded before Alshon Jeffery’s route had a chance to materialize. So Foles flung the ball into a zone where Jeffery would eventually run under into...

***CLIP***

The current play was sort of a half assed all out blitz. It was a desperation play by Atlanta to try and get the Bears out of field goal position. The reason I say half assed is because without a safety, the slot CB really has no chance on this play. He has to guard his man inside and outside with no help. So the Falcons have to either get to Foles or they are going to get burned. But then they only send 6 blitzers.

All that being said, they actually did get to Foles in time. But he was able to get the ball off because he was prepared. He was so prepared that he didn’t even have to set his feet in the direction of the pass. He throws this ball with his front foot facing the opposite pylon...

***CLIP #1***

***CLIP #2***

It’s going to be hard for Foles to live up to Bears fans expectations following this game. He’s pretty much a career back up for a reason. It’s the same reason most back ups are not starters. Inconsistency. Its Nagy’s job to limit the inconsistencies, and now we’ll see what he’s really made of.
@Adipost
you have to hit the big yellow gif button and then share gif link..lmao.

all that clicking is gonna break my finger pointing/nose picking/trigger finger.
 

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