Grading the Eagles' offense in the team's 34-28 win over the Rams on Sunday at the Linc.
For the defensive grades, click here.
Quarterbacks (C+)
The first snap of the second quarter epitomized Nick Foles' season. On 1st-and-10 at their 6-yard line, the Eagles came out with max protection. Jeremy Maclin split right and Riley Cooper split left. Foles had time -- as he should with eight-man protection -- and firmly planted his feet before delivering a dart to Maclin for 23 yards on a crossing route. Good play call by Chip Kelly, giving his quarterback a comfortable pocket with his offense pinned inside its 10. The problem is Kelly’s offense isn’t a max-protect, heavy-up-front scheme. His offense is vertical and leans heavily on five-man protections with multiple options. Right now, Foles isn’t trusting his five-man protections. He’s drifting, bouncing and backpedaling even when his offensive line has the defense walled off.
The sloppy footwork is affecting his accuracy. Even though he completed 65 percent of his passes, second-best this season, several of Foles' throws were off the mark. Just before his 24-yard touchdown pass to Maclin, aided by a major coverage breakdown in the Rams' secondary, Foles underthrew a wide-open Jordan Matthews. Foles had stepped into the throw but the ball came out of his hand flat and flubbed before reaching Matthews’ hands, reminiscent of his infamous underthrow of Jason Avant in the end zone last year against Dallas.
Foles’ problems on downfield throws continued on his second-quarter interception. Maclin didn’t have cornerback E.J. Gaines beaten down the right side on a go route but Foles heaved the ball up anyway. Gaines stayed inside on Maclin downfield, so the ball needed to be placed at Maclin’s outside shoulder and toward the sideline. Foles instead left his throw inside and paid the price.
Those who cover their eyes whenever Foles scrambles had their worst fears recognized in the third when he slid head-first after a 14-yard scramble and lost the ball as he hit the ground, resulting in his second turnover. Right now, the blueprint on Foles is forcing him to throw into windows. Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, a relentless blitzer who’s good for a few zero blitzes per game, scaled back on heavy pressure and clouded the field with coverage. Williams’ decision to rush four in the third quarter on 3rd-and-13, a blitz down if there ever was one, symbolized the coordinator’s willingness to challenge Foles to make downfield throws with seven defenders dropping.
Running backs (B)
After two weeks of running dormancy, Kelly swallowed his pride and shelved the outside zone runs that were the bread and butter of the NFL’s best rushing attack in 2013. Without the quickness and athleticism of left guard Evan Mathis and center Jason Kelce pulling into the second level, Kelly leaned harder on inside zones, which develop faster and get LeSean McCoy going downhill quickly. The adjustment led to McCoy's rushing for a season-high 81 yards and Darren Sproles gaining another 51 yards on seven carries. The Eagles averaged 5.0 yards per carry and matched their season high by rushing for 145 yards, 10 yards fewer than the Rams’ defense allowed going into the game.
NFL
Kelly even went to some man blocking schemes that enabled his offensive linemen to execute hat-on-hat blocking and eliminate some of the confusion that had been plaguing the group. With an extra ounce of daylight, McCoy had some of his best carries in weeks. Of course, it’ll be hard to forget the lack of fundamentals he showed on his second-quarter fumble. He held the ball like a loaf of bread while trying to weave through rush-hour traffic during a busted screen.
Sproles again showed an innate ability to hit creases like a power back. The blocking produced a small right-side crevice on his 25-yard run in the fourth on 3rd-and-3, but that’s all Sproles needed as he shot through like a rocket and exploded into the second level.
Receivers (B)
Tight end James Casey had played 32 snaps in the first four games. He played 25 against the Rams as Kelly was determined to find resolutions for his stalled running game. Casey’s “bend-back block,” in which he comes across the line of scrimmage to wall off the backside defensive end, gave the Eagles another competent blocker in the 12-personnel package. For a guy who doesn’t play much offense, Casey brings an instant toughness when he’s called upon. In the third, on a McCoy eight-yard run to the right, Casey sprung into the second level and rode linebacker Alec Ogletree back three yards as McCoy ran behind the lead block.
Wide receiver Riley Cooper snapped out of his fade funk and high-pointed a nice ball from Foles in the left side of the end zone over CB Janoris Jenkins, who gave up five inches to Cooper. On an earlier screen, Cooper ducked out of bounds instead of taking the inside route and fighting for extra yards as Rams defenders converged.
By contrast, WR Matthews showed toughness on a third-down crossing pattern. He supplied a series of stiff-arms to safety LaMarcus Joyner before Joyner eventually rode him out of bounds 12 yards later.
Offensive line (B-)
For all the criticism the patchwork offensive line has received, it should be noted that Foles has been sacked just once in the past four games. The Eagles rank sixth in sacks allowed per pass attempt.
The return of right tackle Lane Johnson after a four-game PED suspension provided a much-needed boost to the rushing attack and screen game. Johnson flattened weakside linebcaker Jo-Lonn Dunbar on the Eagles’ opening play, an 11-yard screen from Foles to Matthews. He drove back middle linebacker James Laurinaitis five yards on a McCoy 19-yard run and smothered Ogletree on a McCoy seven-yard pickup. Johnson surrendered an outside rush to defensive end Ethan Westbrooks on 3rd-and-6 at the St. Louis 9 that flushed Foles outside the pocket and into an incompletion, but otherwise he held up in pass protection in his season debut.
The coaches may have to consider replacing left guard Matt Tobin with Dennis Kelly. They like Tobin’s mobility and see him as a future starter but Tobin sat out several weeks with an ankle sprain and doesn’t look ready yet. Pro Bowl DE Robert Quinn stunted inside on the Eagles’ first third-down pass and left Tobin in the dust as he nailed Foles, who somehow still completed an ill-advised 19-yard pass to Zach Ertz. Concrete feet have been a problem for the second-year lineman. It’s one thing to get beaten; it’s another to give no effort to recover and fight. Tobin also struggled against first-round defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The rookie shed Tobin and smothered McCoy on a 2nd-and-goal run from the 8 that went nowhere. On the next snap, Tobin and Jason Peters didn’t communicate and switch when the Rams stunted, leading Laurinaitis to pressure Foles into a third-down incompletion.
Peters was in All-Pro form against Quinn, who never posed a threat to Foles when rushing strictly against Peters without stunting. Peters had a “bad run” when he allowed inside penetration to defensive end William Hayes, who slowed up McCoy in the backfield on a negative run.