Why The St. Louis Rams Should Want Nick Foles

The St. Louis Rams have plenty of questions to answer this offseason, starting with the offensive line especially since they released two of last year’s starters on Monday. However, offensive line aside one of the biggest question is perhaps at quarterback, and it is one that fans and analysts have spent all offseason discussing.

Will the Rams trade up for Jameis Winston? Will they choose Marcus Mariota? Will the trade Sam Bradford? And most recently, Will they trade for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles?

When the idea of Foles coming to St. Louis is brought up, many get turned away, after all, Foles did have a rough 2014 throwing 13 touchdowns to go along with, at the time, a league worst 10 interceptions.

A third-round pick in 2012, Foles has started in 24 games for the Eagles going 15-9, 0-1 in the playoffs. That 15-9 also includes the 1-5 as a rookie on a 4-12 Eagles team. Under Chip Kelly, he is 14-5, which in that span of games, is among the top in the league.

Foles has also proven to be pretty clutch thought his career as he has put together five game winning drives in his short career, three of which came last season. Those three were enough for the fifth most in the NFL, despite the fact he only played in eight games.

Not only that, but Foles also turned it on and drove the Eagles down the field last season against the San Francisco 49ers bringing them literally within a few yards after struggling for much of the game. The same thing happened against Arizona. After leaving the field with a lead, his defense allowed a late score. Foles lead another drive, but once again came up just a few yards short of the end zone.

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Since taking over as the Eagles starter, Foles has led one of the best offenses in the NFL. In the 18 games that he has started and finished with Kelly as the head coach, the Eagles offense averages 402.7 yards of offense.

To put that in perspective, the St. Louis Rams averaged 314.7, almost a full 100 yards less than what Foles put together in Philadelphia.

There is no denying the that presence of Kelly helps Foles. The head coach is considered to have one of the best offenses in the NFL. Still, Foles has done an impressive job, even though the Eagles released arguably the team’s best receiving option in DeSean Jackson.

As a rookie, when he took over for a bad Eagles team and played without running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jackson for the majority of the time, the offense still averaged 331 yards per game with Foles under center.

That 331 yards per game is still better than what the Rams have put together since 2006 when the Rams averaged 360 yards per game. So, what Foles did as a rookie without McCoy and Jackson, is better than what the Rams have done in almost 10 years.

If the Rams did in fact trade for the Eagles signal caller, there is no way that fans could expect him to play at the level that got him to 27 and two, those are unrealistic expectations as that was a historic season.

However, some fans don’t believe Foles has what it takes to be a viable starter in this league, and that statement alone is false. To prove that I’ll break down some film from Foles’ career.

This is week three when the Philadelphia Eagles played the Washington Redskins, and it was arguably Foles’ best game of the season. The Eagles quarterback threw for 325 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, including this elite NFL throw.

Keep in mind, while this was Foles’ best game of the season, it was also the week in which his offensive line was at its worst. Protecting him was Andrew Gardner, who finished as the worst tackle on Pro Football Focus for the week, Jason Peters, one of the NFL’s best tackles, Todd Herereman’s, who finished as the ninth worst guard of the week, Dennis Kelly, who graded at exactly zero, but -1.0 in pass-blocking, and lastly, David Molk, who finished as the league’s worst center that week.

That’s four of his offensive lineman ranking at average or in the bottom of the league.To say the least it was a beat up offensive line considering it is usually one of the best with Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, and Jason Kelce manning the front.

This is not an easy throw from Foles, he has to throw the ball over one linebacker, and another linebacker and the safety to Jordan Matthews who makes the catch for the touchdown. A pass such as this requires pin-point accuracy. Thrown off by the slightest margin and it’s intercepted or is an incomplete pass in a best case scenario.

Taking a look at one more particular throw, this one the long playoff game that Foles has played in. Foles went 23 of 33 for 195 yards in the game, but put his team in a position late to win the game, but the defense was unable to close the deal and allowed Drew Brees to march down the field and win the game.

This play comes in the second quarter with the Eagles down 3-0. In the 2013 Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints, Foles has the time he needs, and delivers a bullet between three defenders to receiver Riley Cooper for a touchdown.

Unlike in 2014, Foles keeps his eyes down the field rather than looking down at the rushing defender, sets his feet and drives. Too much in 2014 did Foles look down at the rush and make a desperate throw off his back foot.

Obviously in the NFL, especially with what the Rams have at offensive line, will you get 4,9 seconds to throw the football, however, this just shows, with a clean pocket Foles can make the elite throw.

Once again, this ball is thrown with pin-point accuracy. Heck, it’s thrown between not one, not two, but three defenders. When Foles sets his feet and has time, he has shown he has the arm strength to drive the ball down the field into some tight spaces.

Granted, Foles struggled in 2014, but he was 6-2 and the two games he lost, he gave his team a chance to win at the end of the game. Foles has dealt with one of the worst defenses in the league in Philadelphia, give him a defense like St. Louis’ and he could win more games.

What the Rams need to decide is, is what Foles brings to the table, better than what Bradford can bring to the table coming off of back to back ACL injuries. The answer to that question remains a mystery.

Bradford’s career numbers include a 58.6% career completion percentage, 225 yards per game and a touchdown to interception ratio of 1.55. Meanwhile Foles’ numbers are 241 yards per game, a career completion percentage of 61.6% and touchdown to interception ratio of 2.7, taking away the 27 and two season it’s 1.26, but it is a small sample size.

The numbers are fairly similar, but when it comes down to winning games, there is no comparison. Bradford is 18-30-1 and has yet to make the playoffs. Foles is 15-9 and was well on his way to a second consecutive playoff appearance this season.

The Rams would free up almost $14-million by releasing/trading Bradford and with Foles, they’d only be paying him $700,000 until they would sign him to a longer term deal which would still be less than what Bradford is making.

Like Bradford, Foles can make all the throws, and to be honest, while he has thrived in Chip Kelly’s system, he could flourish in a system with a more pro style approach that fits his playing style.

The St. Louis Rams have a dilemma at the quarterback position, and it has to do with what they do with Sam Bradford. The team could be better off trading away Bradford and finding a way to bring in the Eagles signal caller.

Next: Rams Leading Contender To Land Nick Foles

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