Brick wrote:
veganfan21 wrote:
Who said I wanted Foles as the replacement?
Nick Foles is who they got. You can replace him with "hypothetical Bears QB" and the question is the same. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky + New Bears QB is better than Bray + New Bears QB if the goal is the best chance to win when this defense is as good as it will be.
veganfan21 wrote:
Did you see the Bears play last year? I don't believe in blind faith.
Did you see Foles play yesterday?
You believe Foles is better than (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky. I want to know what you have seen to make you feel that way.
You continue to assert that retaining Trubinsky somehow gives the Bears a good chance at winning yet have submitted absolutely no evidence whatsoever to back that up. In fact, the horrid performance the offense turned in last year against all important metrics suggests Trubinsky is barely a NFL-level QB, and certainly not one you want to pin your hopes to like you inexplicably do.
Foles has a better track record. I believed that coming in and the numbers prove it. Foles will throw more INTs and is not the same running threat, but he knows how to read defenses, go through his progressions systematically, and hit the open man. This is stuff Nagy famously said Trubinsky - a veteran at this point - needed to "study up" on last offseason. That's a little like defending a car mechanic who still doesn't understand the role of oil in a car engine. You're just not a mechanic.
Here is some more supporting evidence for Foles over Trubinsky:
Quote:
What do the advanced stats of Nick Foles say about the Chicago Bears signing?
Over the past two seasons, we have done an advanced stats review of Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky to dive into his strengths and weaknesses. A lot of the underlying issues found in 2019 were expected from his 2018 deep dive. So, with the Chicago Bears signing Nick Foles, it is a perfect time to dig into those stats for him and look into how they compare to (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky.
Although the sample is small, we are going to look at the last three years of Foles as it is much more recent. With that in mind, how has Foles looked compared to Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky?
Pressure vs. No Pressure
Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky unsurprisingly was worse against pressure than in no-pressure situations. Most quarterbacks are, the question is how big is the drop-off?
For (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky, his completion rate dropped 21.4% going from a clean pocket to under pressure. Foles completion rate dropped just 16.8% when he is under pressure. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky’s yards per attempt goes up 0.1 when under pressure, which seems nice, but Foles saw an even greater rise, with a 0.3 increase. It is true that under pressure can cause fewer completions, but bigger plays off of it.
When looking at touchdown rate, Foles touchdown rate improved under pressure by 0.3%, while (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky dropped his TD rate by 0.1% under pressure. However, the trade-off is that (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky had a 0.3 INT rate increase under pressure while Foles had a 1.4% INT rate increase. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky does take 3% more sacks than Foles under pressure, but it is fair to note that Foles plays a bit more dangerously under pressure, resulting in bigger plays, but more turnovers.
Blitz vs No Blitz
Pressure can come from anywhere. When a blitz comes, more than four rushers are coming. How a quarterback recognizes a blitz can be vital in getting the ball out before pressure comes. How do the two handle pressure?
(Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky saw a 10.8% decrease in his completion rate against the blitz. Foles saw a decrease, but only 1.8%. This is what a lot of analysts have noted with the Bears liking Foles over (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky. Foles gets the ball out quick and on time and can recognize the blitz.
In yards per attempt, Foles also increased his average by 2.4 yards per attempt against the blitz. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky only saw a 0.1 increase. Foles also had a 4% TD rate increase, while (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky had just a 0.6% increase.
Beyond that, Foles did not throw a single pick against the blitz. He saw a 3.2% decrease in his interception rate. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky saw a 0.6% increase in his interception rate.
Nick Foles is not very good against pressure, but his work against the blitz is impressive. When he recognizes more than four are coming, he gets the ball out and on schedule. This is clearly what the Bears want from him.
Directional Passing
Left side
Remember when throwing to the left side was an issue for (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky? How about this, (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a 64% completion rate and averaged 6.4 yards per attempt to the left side. Foles has a 61% completion rate and averages 6 yards per attempt. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky is better throwing to the left side. That is one of the few areas to his advantage.
Middle
(Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a 72% completion rate to the middle of the field with 7.3 yards per attempt. Foles is better, with a 76% completion rate to the middle of the field, and 8 yards per attempt. One thing we noted in the Tarik Cohen and Allen Robinson statistical reviews were that these two struggled more in the middle of the field in 2019 than in 2018. Can Foles bring that back?
Right
To the right side, (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky completes 64% of his passes, 6.4 yards per attempt. Foles completes 73% and averages 6.8 yards per attempt. Foles is better to the middle and right than (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky, while (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky was better throwing left.
10 yards or less
Throwing the ball 10 yards or shorter, (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has an 81% completion rate and averages 8.2 yards per attempt. Foles has an 80% completion rate but averages 5.1 yards per attempt. Does the huge difference in yards per attempt compared to the similar completion rate speak to Matt Nagy scheming up quick passes? Could this help with Foles in this area?
10-20 yards
When the distance starts to get further, (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky gets less efficient. He is completing just 51% of his passes, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt. Foles has a 69% completion rate to this area of the field and 8.6 yards per attempt. Again, this is the area Cohen and Robinson saw a regression in 2019.
20+ yards
This may be the kicker. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a 37% completion rate averaging 11.3 yards per deep pass attempt. Foles completes 60% of his passes 20 yards or deeper. One of the issues with Foles is that similar to against the blitz and pressure, more passes get picked off in this area than (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky. It seems under pressure and against the blitz is when he tends to throw more 50/50 balls where (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky would take sacks or throw the ball away.
It results in more picks, but certainly more completions, yards, touchdowns, and efficiency.
Time to throw
Nick Foles gets the ball out in 2.68 seconds while (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky gets the ball out in 2.64 seconds. This speaks to the Bears wanting to get the ball out quick, and Foles fitting into the type of quarterback they want. For what it is worth Andy Dalton had a 2.51 time to throw last year, which was quickest in the league.
Air Yard Differential
Air yard differential looks into the air yards completed subtracted from the air yards attempted. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a -2.7 air yard differential, Foles has a -2 air yard differential. It is fair to note that (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky averages 8.8 air yards per attempt, while Foles is at 6.7 air yards per attempt.
Aggressiveness
Aggressiveness looks at the percent of throws into tight windows. It is good to be aggressive, but not over-aggressive. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has typically been on the more aggressive side. His 17.7 aggressive rate is higher than Foles at 14.9, who is much closer to names such as DeShaun Watson and Russell Wilson.
Expected Completion Rate
Foles also has a +4.9 expected completion rate, meaning he completes more passes than he is expected to. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky completes 1% more passes than expected.
When looking at their completion rate over the past three years head to head, Nick Foles has a 66.6% completion rate while (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a 63.4% rate.
Touchdown Rate and Interception Rate
Foles has a 3.6% touchdown rate and 2.3% interception rate, (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky has a 3.8% touchdown rate and 2.3 interception rate.
Adjusted yards per attempt and QB Rating
Yards per attempt– (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky 6.7, Foles 6.5
Adjusted Y/A – (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky 6.41, Foles 6.36
Net Y/A – (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky 5.83, Foles 5.81
Adjusted Net Y/A – (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky 5.56, Foles, 5.69
Overall
It is tough to come away from the last three years and think that (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky is better than Foles. They have similar raw numbers, but the biggest discrepancy comes from yards after the catch on passes 10 yards or shorter. (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky also throws fewer interceptions.
However, Foles plays on schedule better beats the blitz at a much higher rate, and while he does throw more picks, he also takes more shots, and that pays off more often.