All the talk of Nick Foles and whether he was a good move by the Chicago Bears or not pretty much center around one topic. Can you overlook what happened in 2019? Prior to that between 2016 and 2018, Foles was 7-2 as a starter, 4-1 in the playoffs, had a 92.8 passer rating and won a Super Bowl MVP award. Then he got to Jacksonville. With the Jaguars he went 0-4, had an 84.6 passer rating, and missed most of the year with a shoulder injury.
So which guy are the Bears getting?
Was everything really on him for how bad it went down there? The answer isn’t as clear cut as people like to make it. Jaguars sideline reporter Rick Ballou shed some light on this during an interview on Mully & Haugh for 670 The Score. He for one was genuinely surprised it went so poorly.
“He really looked the part. I was surprised at how bad things went for him. You go back to OTAs and minicamp and even when they practiced those three days in Baltimore, he was the best quarterback on the field. He was better than Lamar Jackson for three days.”
So what in the world happened? He went into further detail.
“The offensive line around here has struggled the last couple of years and obviously Nick Foles is not a quarterback who can move in the pocket…We saw early on at least throughout practice that they were going to throw the football more downfield and try to do some things…
…I think what happened is Geoff Swaim was signed as a free agent at tight end. They drafted Josh Oliver in the 3rd round. So obviously a big part of Foles’ game is 10 yards or less with the tight end and also backs out of the backfield. That was working in camp. Then Foles goes down, Swaim gets hurt, Oliver gets hurt and when Foles gets back there’s really not a tight end.”
This is why Nick Foles is perfect for Chicago
It’s true. During the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2017 when Foles took over, star tight end Zach Ertz saw a ton of passes go his way. The quarterback loves to work the middle of the field, pulling defenses in before uncorking a deep shot. A perfect example came in his first game with Jacksonville. On the second drive of the 1st quarter, he targeted the tight ends twice, targeted his running back twice, and then on his final throw delivered a pretty 35-yard strike for a touchdown.
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He drew the defense up and then made them pay. Something Mitch Trubisky never took full advantage of. This is why the Bears signed Jimmy Graham. If he still has some gas left and Trey Burton can stay healthy, they have two tight ends who can catch. Couple that with David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen as pass catchers out of the backfield, the only thing left they need is a receiver who can take it over the top.
