Chip Kelly caught a lot of heat this past offseason for the moves that he made with the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster. He started it off by dealing LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills, but the move that met the biggest resistance was the trade that sent Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for the injury plagued Sam Bradford. The fans were immediately against him and quite a few were wondering if Kelly had lost his mind.
Bradford is coming off of two straight years where he tore an ACL, and is still looking hobbled as lately as Eagles’ OTA’s. That doesn’t sound like a good combination for a team that is in desperate need of an athletic quarterback that can move around and make plays with the football in his hands.
Signing DeMarco Murray in free agency was a huge step forward for the offense, but they still won’t do much without a legitimate quarterback. What can be stated to prove that Bradford is not the answer for the Eagles’ starting quarterback job?
First of all, Bradford has yet to prove that he can be a legitimate and consistent starter even when he was healthy. He played a full season during 2012, and ended up throwing for 3,702 yards, 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. During the 2013 season, Bradford ended up throwing for 1,687 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions before tearing his ACL in the seventh game of the season.
Secondly, running an offense like Kelly has in Philadelphia isn’t something that comes natural to Bradford. He is a pocket passer to the definition of the term, and isn’t even close to athletic enough to make some of the plays that Kelly expects from his quarterback. Couple that fact along with his back-to-back torn ACL’s and struggle getting back on the field and it is a recipe for disaster.
At just 27 years old, Bradford still has time left to turn his career around and live up to the potential that the Rams saw in him when they drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
At 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, there is no question that Bradford is a very solid quarterback from a physical standpoint. There is a chance that he could change his style to adapt to the Eagles’ offense, but it wouldn’t be easy. Bradford has shown an impressive work ethic throughout his football career, however, which gives him a better chance than some would give him.
Despite those positives that Bradford does have going for him, there are multiple facts that don’t support him turning things around.
His lack of health, inability to play consistently when healthy to this point, change in offensive style and high pressure facing him are all reasons to shy away from believing that Bradford can truly lead the Eagles. Kelly has always proven people wrong throughout his coaching career, but this situation might be one that he can’t fix.
Luckily, the Eagles were able to re-sign Mark Sanchez this past offseason to compete with Bradford. He looked excellent last season after taking over the starting job when Foles went down with a broken collarbone, and is more than capable of starting the season under center this year as well. Tim Tebow is the third-string quarterback with an outside chance of competing for playing time, but does fit the type of build and skill-set that Kelly’s offense needs.
While there will be quite a few fans rooting for him and praying that he will get his act together, the odds aren’t in his favor. It is too early to count him out of the running to win the starting job and take the Eagles to the playoffs, but it would be wiser to bet on either Sanchez or even Tebow before going all in on Bradford.
