Philadelphia Eagles Surging With Nick Foles Under Center

By Cory Buck | Oct 24, 2014

Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles (43) celebrates his 15-yard touchdown with quarterback Nick Foles (9) against the New York Giants during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia Eagles offensive players said they like how the unit runs when Nick Foles lines up under center, as opposed to the team’s shotgun formations.

Chip Kelly brought an offense to the Philadelphia Eagles that’s primarily run from the shotgun, which caused many to label Kelly as a ‘system coach’ of sorts. That system paid big dividends in 2013, but 2014 was much tougher on the offense. Credit Kelly for adapting, moving his quarterback under center, and once again seeing the Eagles surge with the new game plan.

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CSN Philly’s Geoff Mosher notes that the Eagles struggled mightily running from the shotgun formation in 2014, thanks to injuries along the offensive line, but the team changed its approach against the New York Giants. As a result, LeSean McCoy rushed for 149 yards, a season high, in a 27-0 victory.

“That really helped out,” McCoy said. “Just because, under center, you could see it better. You see the cuts better, the lanes better. If there is some pressure, you can adjust to it — kind of move where you want to move. Where in the gun, you’re already kind of going sideways, and if there is a little pressure, it kind of knocks you back off your course.”

“I like the aspect that it brings to the offense,” right guard Todd Herremans concurred. “I think it helps our bootleg game out a little more and I also think it makes us less predictable about where we’re running the ball.”

Interestingly, the passing numbers for Nick Foles have gone down since the shift in formations. Foles exceeded 300 yards in each of his first three games as the running game floundered. He hasn’t hit that mark since Week 3. That could be a good sign for the Eagles though as it means the team has restored balance to the offense.

At 5-1, the Eagles could just be rounding into the form that won them the NFC East last year. It won’t be as easy this time around as they’ll have to keep pace with the Dallas Cowboys until the two meet on Thanksgiving.

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