What to expect from Nick Foles, Eagles offense in Week 6
By John Adair
The inevitable occurred in the Eagles match-up with the New York Giants on Sunday; Mike Vick went down with an injury. After tweaking his hamstring, Nick Foles stepped in and got the job done in an Eagles’ victory.
Chip Kelly has stated that the game plan does not change with Foles under center, and the offense will run the same way that it has with Vick. However, with two very different skill sets, we know that there are changes to be made.
For starters, while Foles is athletic enough to escape and scramble for first downs on occasions, he is not the dynamic runner that Vick is. That has been a major element of the Chip Kelly offense to this point, so the offense will already have to change to some extent.
More than anything, the Eagles gain presence in the pocket. Foles has proven that he is less prone to making costly mistakes than Vick has in his time in the league. While it has been said over and over again, Vick holds on to the ball for too long more often than not. Through five games, he is the only quarterback in the NFL to average over three seconds before attempting a pass.
In addition, they gain a little consistency. While Vick has proven to be more a big play threat to this point in Foles’ career, the bad games of the youngster do not compare to those of the veteran. Vick is turnover prone to say the least, and Foles has established himself as better in that area.
Last but not least, Foles may very well be better in the red zone. In his five starts, Vick is 3-for-19 on throws inside the 20. On the other hand, Foles looked good in that area against the Giants on Sunday. While it is the 0-5 Giants, it may be a significant difference. Good teams score touchdowns in the red zone. Mediocre teams settle for field goals. If there is one area that Foles can win the job as a result of, it may very well be his efficiency inside the opponent’s 20.