By Nick Underhill | The Advocate
Putting Nick Foles on the ground is hard.
The Washington Redskins sacked him three times a couple of weeks ago, but other than that, defensive linemen have had trouble getting their hands on him. Some good ones have tried and failed, including Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald, Houston’s J.J. Watt and Chicago’s Khalil Mack.
It’s hard to get after a quarterback who isn’t holding the ball long enough to get anywhere. Donald had 2.1 seconds to get after Foles, Watt was afforded 2.3 seconds, and Mack faced the same dilemma as Donald. It is hard to generate pressure, let pick up a sack, against a guy who is throwing the ball so quickly.
“It’s fast, for sure. He’s really keyed in on what his first read is, and if he’s open or not,” defensive tackle Tyeler Davison said. “More times than not, he believes he can fit that in even if he isn’t open. There’s that, he gets that ball out quick, and if that first guy isn’t there, he is going to move on to next read or check it down real quick.”
It will be interesting to see how Foles’ quick trigger impacts defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s game plan. The Saints have played in some other games, Baltimore being one, where they used more guys in coverage at various points throughout the game instead of making a significant effort to create pressure against teams that favor shorter routes. ...
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