Nick Foles Not on Same Page with Philadelphia Eagles Wide Receivers so Far

Nick Foles may be piling up yards at a prolific rate, but the Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller hasn’t exactly looked sharp while doing it. With a 58.5 completion percentage and 86.1 passer rating through two games, Foles has been nowhere near as efficient as he was in 2013.

A number of factors are contributing to Foles’ woes. He’s been inaccurate or flat-out not seen wide-open targets. He’s held the ball too long at times, while injuries along the offensive line have increased the pressure. Perhaps most troubling, though, has been Foles’ inability to connect with his wide receivers on a consistent basis.

As far as the third-year quarterback’s struggles with his receivers are concerned, it’s a two-way street. Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper and Jordan Matthews have been able to create some separation from defensive backs, yet are dropping passes at an alarming rate.

GM	CMP%	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	RAT
Wk 1 vs. JAC	60.0	322	7.2	2	1	87.5
Wk 2 @ IND	56.8	331	8.9	1	1	84.4

So far, Foles has completed 31 of 39 passes (79.5 percent) to his running backs and tight ends, but has only hit on 17 of 41 attempts (41.5 percent) to wideouts. Of the club’s three primary receivers, none has caught even half the passes thrown their way.

With eight receptions on 21 intended targets, Maclin has one of the worst catch rates among NFL receivers after two weeks—80th out of 85 qualifiers, according to metrics site Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That’s what passes for the No. 1 option right now in Philadelphia.

Cooper has hauled in five of the 11 that have come his way, while Matthews, a rookie, has pulled down just three of eight. The two of them combined have produced just 87 total yards.

Maclin, at least, does have 142 yards and two touchdowns. However, his biggest grab of the season—a 68-yard scoring play—was the result of a blown coverage.

PLAYER	TAR	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Jeremy Maclin	21	8	142	17.8	2
Riley Cooper	11	5	37	7.4	0
Jordan Matthews	8	3	54	18.0	0
Jeff Maehl	1	1	12	12.0	0

The issue seems especially prevalent this week with Washington making the trip to Philadelphia. After all, Foles wasn’t having any trouble hooking up with DeSean Jackson last season, to the tune of 82 receptions, 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns. Jackson, of course, was released during the offseason and will be wearing burgundy and gold this Sunday.

It’s difficult to argue the Eagles offense wouldn’t be better off with Jackson, although that doesn’t appear to be the root of the problem. The opportunities to make plays are still there—the quarterback and wideouts that remain on the roster simply have to make them.

NFL Game Rewind

While breaking down Foles’ issues with turnovers against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, we showed one play where Maclin was streaking down the seam all alone for what would’ve been a surefire TD—had the quarterback seen him in time.

NFL Game Rewind

In the same game, Foles threw behind Matthews on two separate plays, either of which would’ve easily gone for 20-yard gains or more.

NFL Game Rewind

In Week 2, against the Indianapolis Colts, Foles overlooked Cooper running free on a crossing route on a crucial third down. Not only would a completion have resulted in a much-needed conversion, the receiver could’ve picked up a lot more after the catch.

It certainly hasn’t been all Foles’ fault, though.

NFL Game Rewind

Against the Colts, Foles had Cooper with a step on his man for a 20-yard touchdown, but the pass clanked off of his hands and fell incomplete. Cooper appeared to misjudge a fly ball the previous week as well, granted one that would’ve been a tough over-the-shoulder pull.

NFL Game Rewind

Also in Indianapolis, there were a number of passes it looked like Matthews could’ve come up with. The rookie has been battling a slight case of the dropsies ever since he suited up for his first NFL preseason game back in August.

NFL Game Rewind

NFL Game Rewind

Meanwhile, Foles and Maclin simply do not appear to be on the same page. They don’t seem to have the timing down on the deep ball yet, as a number of tries have either been overthrown or underthrown. But even on screen passes, which the team practices and employs quite a bit of, the timing is off on what should be an easy completion.

There are any number of plays at all levels of the field these past two games where the connection is just “off.”

Maclin missed all of last season with a torn ACL, but he and Foles aren’t exactly unfamiliar. They had all summer to work on their rapport after initially getting acquainted during Foles’ rookie year in 2012.

It’s difficult to put your finger on any one thing, because it isn’t one thing. In his day-after press conference following Philadelphia's 30-27 win over the Colts in Week 2, head coach Chip Kelly made it clear both quarterback and receiver have been at fault, as transcribed by PhiladelphiaEagles.com:

"Yeah, we had a few drops at the wideout spot. Also had a couple balls that could have been placed a little better, so they've got to come up with the catches and we've got to play some ball a little bit better."

Foles needs to hit open receivers, and the receivers need to catch the football—nothing complicated about that. The sooner those two things start happening, the sooner the Eagles’ passing attack will be firing on all cylinders.