The more we learn from recent days of Philadelphia Eagles' practices, the more it seems we all need to come to grips with reality.
When the Eagles kick off their 2015 season on a Monday night in Atlanta, Mark Sanchez – not Sam Bradford – will more than likely be under center.
Let's be realistic with what we've learned so far. There was this report from Jeff McLane and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bradford continues to be limited in practice. This in itself is not a bad thing, nor is it surprising. All indications are that Bradford is on schedule with his rehab, but he's unable to really practice with his new team.
Then Monday came this report from Les Bowen and the Philadelphia Daily News. It was an interesting look at the rehab that goes into ACL injuries and the history of guys who, like Bradford, have torn the same ACL twice.
Most interesting, at least to me, was this quote from Dr. Art Bartolozzi, the former team orthopedist for the Eagles and the Flyers.
"What happens when you do it twice is that the muscles take a hit; they don't always recover their full function after a year," Bartolozzi said. "They have another major whammy, there could be some residual muscle weakness or laziness. That's why it does take more time the second time."
The primary concern with Bradford has to be his health and this is no easy fix. His twice surgically repaired knee is going to take even more time to be NFL ready given the weakness that has undoubtedly set in with the muscles in the affected leg. The Eagles would be foolish to rush him into practice on a leg not physically ready to withstand the pounding of professional football.
Add to that the fact we're talking about a player who hasn't played in an NFL game since the middle of the 2013 season, and that was under very different circumstances. The Eagles are a team with playoff and Super Bowl aspirations. The 2013 St. Louis Rams were not. Even so, a quarterback must develop a relationship with his offense line and skill position players. Bradford can be the most cerebral guy around, but those relationships are built on the field.
If Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly believes Sam Bradford is his answer at quarterback, it makes no sense to rush this. Allow Bradford to continue rehabbing. Don't even think about putting him out there for the preseason and roll the dice for the first quarter of the regular season. After the Falcons the Eagles are back home for Dallas, then to the road for the Jets and Washington Redskins.
Oct. 11 they return home to face the New Orleans Saints. That seems a much more likely, much more realistic projection for the return of Sam Bradford. And if the Eagles are off to a hot start under Sanchez, well, we can all cross that bridge when we get there.
This isn't all about this year. The Eagles and Chip Kelly know that. It's time we come around to knowing that, too.
Get ready for Sanchez 2.0.
