It’s hard for a quarterback to get a team to buy in. Especially when that team is the Chicago Bears. Can anybody name the last QB who had this franchise believing they were ready for a legitimate Super Bowl run? People might say Mitch Trubisky in 2018 but it never felt like he was at that level. One would probably have to go back to Jay Cutler in 2011 before he got hurt to remember that feeling. Has Nick Foles already grabbed the Bears in a similar fashion?
It sounds crazy to think. The 31-year old has played less than three games with the team. His teammates still barely know him since they’ve been together just a few months. How could a guy with a journeyman background make a team filled will plenty of cynics trust he can get them where they want to go.
The answer lay in two key plays he’s made over the past three games. Plays that a lot of quarterbacks don’t make yet he seems to make routinely. Passing game coordinator Dave Ragone told Dave Ragone about them.
“In the pocket, he’s able to stand in there and make a throw under duress to a receiver who, at the time, maybe is not even open,” Ragone added. “He’s throwing them open. I walk away impressed by those type of throws because the reality is those type of throws win you football games.
“With Nick early on (this season), he’s been able to do that. And through the course of his career, you see those throws show up. Those aren’t ones you really practice or talk about. Those are instinctual. And I feel like he has made those plays happen just by having faith and belief that he can make those throws.”
Nick Foles truly does have ice water in his veins
People need to understand this. Making an accurate throw in NFL windows is hard. Really hard. Mitch Trubisky struggled to do it when he had clean pockets. So try to imagine doing it while a 300 lbs defensive lineman is delivering a blow into your chest. Foles has demonstrated this ability on multiple occasions. Not just in Chicago but throughout his career.
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This is a testament not only to his toughness but his remarkable focus. Foles is able to process where the receiver is, how much zip he has to put on the throw, where the hit is coming from, and what arm angle to throw it at. All in the space of two seconds at most. The fact he managed to do this in the 4th quarter of both games and each throw led to a game-winning score?
Yeah, it’s not hard to understand why the Bears are starting to believe they might finally have a quarterback they can trust.
For his part, Nick Foles isn’t satisfied just yet.
While being 4-1 is great, the veteran knows a lot of luck was involved in getting there. In his mind, the offense hasn’t pulled its weight nearly enough. It has scored 105 points so far this season. Good for 27th in the NFL. What makes it look even worse is that 41 of those points came in two quarters against the Lions and Falcons. That means they’ve scored just 64 in the remaining 18 they’ve played. Good for 3.55 points per quarter. Not great.
If this team wants to win a Super Bowl, they need to start scoring more. That would ease the pressure on the defense for one but also result in him not having to take as many dangerous shots trying to lead late comebacks. The next few weeks should determine what this offense will be.