Marty Readies the Rookie
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagles Blog
Marty Readies the Rookie
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
There was a fair amount of rally-round-the-flag rhetoric from Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg Thursday -- Mornhinweg said he "loves" the situation the team is in, "us against everybody" -- but underneath, it was possible to discern a level of concern about the difficulties of preparing rookie quarterback Nick Foles for his first NFL start, on the road Sunday at Washington.
"He will see some things he hasn't seen before, and how he reacts to those things will be key," said Mornhinweg, who said in his experience, defenses go one of two ways in such a situation -- they pull out all the tricks and try to confuse the kid, or they play it straight and dare him to beat them.
"Nick Foles is bustin' to prepare himself for this ballgame," Mornhinweg said. "There's quite a bit of excitement in this situation."
Of course, the Eagles haven't officially acknowledged Foles is starting, but Michael Vick remains at home resting and the idea that he will suddenly be cleared from last Sunday's concussion in time to play this week is ridiculous.
"There are certain things (Foles) can do very, wery well," said Mornhinweg, who said the gameplan would be tailored to Foles' strengths. (Translation -- Marty will be working from a limited menu.)
"Nick Foles has excellent command. It appears he's an excellent leader," said Mornhinweg, who referenced his experience with rookie QB Jeff Garcia when Mornhinweg was the 49ers' offensive coordinator.
Asked what drew the team to Foles during the draft process, Mornhinweg said: "He's big. He's got a big arm. I thought he carried Arizona as best he could. They really had problems personnelwise, injurywise. Tough both physically and mentally."
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Special teams coordinator Bobby April agonized over the 78-yard punt return touchdown last Sunday that gave Dallas the lead for good in the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 38-23 loss.
"That was as critical a play as we've had all year," said April, who said he blamed himself for not getting the importance of lane integrity "ingrained" in the minds of his coverage personnel. April said the season has been a disappointment, that in several games, dominant special teams could have turned a loss into a victory.
April seemed reluctant to finger the talent level as a problem, though he did acknowledge that once returner Dwyane Harris got past punter Mat McBriar on the sideline, the return became a "footrace" and "genes and chromosomes" take over at that point.
April also was asked about kicker Alex Henery's missed extra point, on which he said Henery's plant foot slipped, twisting him as he kicked.
April also blamed himself for the timeout the Birds had to call before a field goal try, when tackle King Dunlap, upset over a penalty call, left the field with the offense and wasn't lined up to block for Henery.
"I can understand any definition fans might put on the ineptitude of that game," said April, who said he knows from his own upbringing that families work hard to make the money to buy tickets, and they have a right to be angry.
You mean "Marty Ruins the Rookie".— Tyrone Biggums- "Marty Readies the Rookie"
Let's hope he succeeds anyway.
FIRE ANDY!!!— mkat33 - Like he did last week? He had him pass like 8 times in a row. Got a great RB, use him.— Sidewinder7
- Dominant special teams could mean we're 8-1 this year. That's how important they are.— armchairGM
- Nick here are your first four plays of the Redskins game...1st down deep pass to DJAX for 0 yd gain. 2nd down pass to Celek 3 yd gain. 3rd down McCoy run up the middle for 5 yds. 4th and 2...PUNT! Repeat until the game is over.— NC Eagle Fan
- On the espn website, 13 of 14 predictions are for the Redskins. Only Eric Allen says Eagles. Golic and Jaws both say Redskins. Just a few points difference could have made the Eagles losers of every game so far. Too bad there is no Luck in this draft.— 4thand10
- Redskins coming off bye week should be rested and prepared. Eagles are tired, beat and ill prepared. Foles is probably the only Eagles player that is eager and prepared. He can't do it himself.— Taser
- Redskins D stinks so I think Foles can have a good day, Im sure there will be a few mistakes mixed, just depends on how bad those mistakes are. Its the D holding RGIII to a low number I worry about.— peteike
- in this upcoming battle i also worry about the D holding back rg3 foles can have a great game and we could still lose do to the D not stepping up not too mention the horrid special teams... ugh— defroe
- If they players don't understand the importance of lane integrity by now, they never will. Gosh, they teach that in junior high. Or maybe they just don't care.— vipers53
- should read "Marty planning death of rookie QB"— FROM THE BEACH
- Bye bye Marty. Has this guy been successful anywhere?
- Nope
— RAM1162 - Dear Nick....please bear with this organization till it rids itself of failure by firing Reid/Marty and Vick. Marty will be the worst OC you will ever have. He and Reid are in denial of how poor their game plans are..how UNbalanced they are and how little the can react to what a defense is doing to them. As far as Martys concerned he feels he should still be a head coach. Cannot wait to get a new staff in here. Hang tough Nick— RealizticFan
- I wish Foles luck in staying in one piece. He is the only reason to bother watching the game.
Marty is a dumb schmuck. Drinking the Kool Aid, Lurie is dumber still for keeping stubborn-as-an-ox-but-twice-as-smart Reid around.— narkose3535
