Minshew Foles and A Mistake
Watching the New Orleans Saints the other night I saw former Jaguars offensive lineman Patrick Omameh starting at left tackle in front of Drew Brees. Omameh is a solid backup who was making his first start ever at left tackle. It’s a tough job to begin with but having your first start out there on national television is no picnic. The announcers said Brees told them he was planning to “help Patrick and those guys up front out” by getting rid of the ball quicker and slightly altering the game plan with shorter routes and quick passes.
That’s where Jaguars Offensive Coordinator John DiFillipo and Quarterback Nick Foles failed last week against Tampa Bay. They knew the only thing the Bucs can really do is get after the quarterback so the plan should have included shorter routes and getting rid of the ball in 2 ½ seconds. Five step drop, pat and throw. Not a reset back there because at 3 ½ seconds Foles is going to the ground. Add into the equation how the current Jaguars offensive line is struggling, and you’re down 25-0 at halftime.
Crossing routes, quick dumps and flares in the flat to the running backs will be part of the offensive game plan with Gardner Minshew in at quarterback for the Jaguars. With Nick Foles, it was all downfield. That left him with no place to go with the ball quickly based on what was happening in front of him on the offensive line, and that’s a mistake. Putting Minshew back in at quarterback is the right call based on the current state of efficiency and imagination, or lack thereof, in the Jaguars offense.
This week the Jaguars VP of Football Operations Tom Coughlin said, “It won’t be easy for Nick but he’ll do what he can to help Gardner in these last four games. There will be another summer and another season for Nick Foles.”
While that statement has some ambiguity in it, one interpretation could be that Foles is coming back to compete for the starting job again in 2020. He’s a pure pocket passer and if the Jaguars offensive line is revamped to control the line of scrimmage, at least in pass blocking, he’d be the right guy as the starter.
Is Minshew a full-time starter in the NFL long into the future? The jury is still out on that but he has the moxie for the position. His arm is fine and the development for him looks like what Seattle did with Russell Wilson. They revamped their offense to get the most out of Wilson’s skills. Remember, when Wilson was drafted, the job was Tom Flynn’s, just acquired as a free agent. But Wilson was so good in camp, the Seahawks decided to change everything. And it worked.
Would the Jaguars be willing or able to do that? With the current front office it would be doubtful. Head Coach Doug Marrone would have to find an offensive coordinator to come up with a new scheme centered on Minshew.
That’s if any of those current decision makers are still around.
By the way, prop bets already being taken for the 2020 season by Sports Betting Dime have Foles as a solid favorite to be the Jaguars starter next year.
