A Second Chance: Nick Foles (My College Evaluation)

In the spring 2012 I wrote this piece about QB Nick Foles as he was coming out of Arizona.

With a few additions… here’s to your second chance to get to know Nick Foles.

QB Nick Foles, Arizona, 6-6, 243

Robert Griffin, the three in one, may be out of reach which, I know, is not going to make one particular Chief Chiefs addict very happy (I refer to RGIII as “three in one” because some people are already treating him like deity). Also, Landry Jones has decided to stay in school for another year and what that means for the Chiefs is that the other top 10 hopefuls move up one notch, but I doubt the Chiefs would have taken Jones in the first round anyway. So, what we can look at is, who the Chiefs may be targeting in the second round. QB Nick Foles fits the bill and I like him more than Landry Jones. No, he’s not RG, the three in one, but he could be a franchise QB.

Someone once wrote that Nick Foles is Dirk Nowitzki and Tom Petty’s love child. Not sure how that’s possible but, you may see a slight resemblance to the two uber-stars. If Foles turns out to have half the star power those two have, he will have had a good career. To Nick Foles credit, I think he has what it takes. More than a few people on the world wide wonder think he looks like Napoleon Dynamite. Yep… I’ll go along with that.

22 year old Nick Foles is the best player on the worst team in the Pac-12. Arizona. Consequently, the East coast biased sporting news base, may have missed the boat on this promising QB prospect. He’s was rated by many ranking outlets as the 4th or 5th best QB in this draft behind Luck, Griffin III, Jones (before he went AWOL) and Tannehill. That may be the correct positional ranking for him but, honestly he could be a first round talent and so, if he’s available in the second round, the Chiefs may want to snatch him up. I think he’d be a steal in the second.

Upside

Foles height is an obvious advantage for him and it never appears that he loses sight of his intended receivers. He moves well in the pocket, sees the whole field well and although his 40 time is not going to blow you down he does what many good pocket passers do, they stay alive until they can get the pass off.

Foles threw for 4,334 yards, 28 TDs and 14 INTs in 2011. 3192, 20/10 in 2010.  2486, 19/9 in 2009. He completed 69.1% of his passes this year with a 145.6 passer rating, never having a passer rating lower than 116.7 in any game. Foles stayed for his senior season and has 3 plus years of experience as a starter.

Foles is sometimes criticized for not going through his progressions and getting too locked in on one receiver. That may happen to a greater degree than can be determined by watching film on him but, I can’t scoff at the fact that he threw to 13 different receivers in 2011. He also threw 354 yards to his running backs and his top six receivers caught, 956, 666, 610, 606, 413 and 311 yards respectively. All those yards distributed between that many players over only 12 games actually seems rather phenomenal.

Still he could get locked onto one receiver he’s going to throw it to… it’s just not apparent from watching film on him.

Nick Foles was a one man show on a team whose defense was horrible and allowed 425 points in 12 games, 35 points per game. So, because Foles was always playing from behind, U. of A. running backs gained a total of 1,134 yards. On the other hand, if his running backs had gained more yards, maybe he wouldn’t always be playing from behind.

When it comes to offensive production, Foles was it. This also means he doesn’t have to have a running game to produce. A positive sign moving forward.

Downside

Nick Foles’ weakness is his foot speed. While his footwork in the pocket is a plus, his overall speed in a minus. Then again, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t the fastest QB in world and he does okay. Foles was sacked 23 times in 2011. However, Big Ben was sacked 40 times this season. The reason I keep comparing him to Roethlisberger is, they are both almost exactly the same size and Foles durability in the pocket also reminds me of Roethlisberger.

The other aspect of Foles game that bothers me is his propensity to throw the ball up for grabs. However, the film I’ve seen on him shows him putting the ball where his receivers can catch it and they usually do. The Chiefs could benefit from a few more jump balls being thrown but, also need someone who is accurate.

Foles is above average in accuracy, not pin-point but, very good. He holds the ball high and tight under his chin as he drops back, while reading the defense, and… from the time he decides to throw the ball… to the time the ball comes out of his hand… is very, very good and even top notch at times. His timing and ability to make many different kinds of throws is part of what makes him impressive.

Foles has a strong arm, a nice high release and can make the deep throws. He is the anti-Tebow and in that he is a pocket passer.. So, he’s virtually never looking to run and makes all his positive moves in the air.

Foles will need to learn to look his receivers off so he doesn’t get intercepted. He’ll have to learn to do a better job of that or get eaten alive in the NFL. As I’ve mentioned before, some of his deep balls appear to hang too long and look like they’re up from grabs.

Demeanor

Foles is more like “Joe Cool” than the extroverted personality types such as Drew Brees or Phillip Rivers. Nor is he as charismatic as Cam Newton but, definitely not as droll as Eli Manning. The question I always have about any quarterback is, can they show themselves to be a leader of a football team? With Foles I think that would have to come from him first showing that he can succeed at the next level, which I believe he can. Then, there will be plenty of guys who want to follow him. You might say that’s true for anyone but, some QBs arrive already exuding strength and power and that’s not exactly Foles style.

While I’m not crazy about the level of competition in the Pac-12 Nick Foles has done well in head to head battles with two of the best QBs in the nation even though his University of Arizona Wildcats defense was sub-standard.

Foles vs. Weeden

On September 8, 2011, Nick Foles was 37 of 51 for 398 yards and 1 TD. Brandon Weeden was 42 of 53 for 397 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Oklahoma State won 37-14.

Foles vs. Luck

On September 17, 2011, in a head-to-head game against Andrew Luck, Nick Foles was 24 of 33 for 239 yards with 1 TD and Luck was 20 of 31 for 325 and 2 TDs. Stanford won 37-10.

Links

Nick Foles highlights for 2010.

A draft profile on Nick Foles. Nick Foles on rehabbing his knee.

The strength of Nick Foles’ game has been buried at the bottom of the Pac-12 and the Chiefs could be the benefactors.

Chiefs fans are always talking about the Chiefs never selecting a talented QB high in the draft and then developing him. Here’s the chance.

Or… here’s their second chance.