Sam Is Turning Heads: Why Sam Bradford Will Work For Philadelphia
To be honest, the trade that shook the Philadelphia Eagles world was not LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso. It was not the outright release of Trent Cole or Todd Herremans. It was not even the signing of Tim Tebow. The personnel move that defines the future of the Eagles was the trade that sent quarterback Nick Foles, a 2016 second round draft pick, and a 2015 fourth round pick for quarterback Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth round pick.
In that moment, it became clear that Nick Foles was not the ideal quarterback for Chip Kelly. But the logic was difficult to comprehend. Wasn't Nick Foles the cheapest quarterback on the roster in 2014? Wasn't Nick Foles the quarterback who won games for head coach Chip Kelly? Wasn't Nick Foles the guy who was asked time and time again to win games single-handedly on the strength of his arm when the running games sputtered? Wasn't Nick Foles the quarterback who had won the competition of 2013, placed his jersey in the NFL Hall of Fame, not once, but twice in 2013? And wasn't Nick Foles the young man Kelly "followed throughout his collegiate career"?
So goes the business side of the NFL.
I'm A Fole For The Football
I didn't doubt Nick Foles in 2014. But I did notice an alarming trend, and one more alarming than the "throwing off his back foot". Despite defenders selling out to the running back on read option plays, the quarterback did not keep the ball. It was there on my television week in and week out. At first I thought I imagined it, but the following week would show it again. And then again. The thoughts about the Eagles offensive struggles in the NFL were not simply my untrained eye. It jumped out to many, even to the NFL network, where the NFL mother ship pointed out the flaws with having a quarterback who will not run with the ball in the position behind center.
Nobody was "Foled".
NFL Networks All 22 Analysis 2014 Eagles offense
More Than A Feeling
While the questions piled up in my mind without answers, I began to replay the season film footage, and try to determine the cause of Fole's demise. Yes, there were throws with bad footing, or off the back foot that were horrid once they left his hand. But the part that jumped out at me was the read option plays.
The design of the play is to force defenders to react to a dual threat. And in 2013, that dual threat was alive and well. Michael Vick forced defenders to account for him at all times. And, in 2013, Nick Foles did as well.
But in 2014, Foles changed. When a clear hole in the defense opened up to his running lane, he continued to shed the ball to the running back. As defenses began to analyze the trend, they became more and more adept to feigning a move to the quarterback with the ball and shifting to the running back. In short, they called our bluff. Foles was not comfortable running the ball and the defenders knew it coming in to our game.
Was it Foles fault? To some degree yes. The offensive scheme is clear to both offense and defenses that face it. So it was up to Foles to make the right decision. But his NFL career was filled with a new quarterback coach each year. Each of those coaches were traditional – they believed the quarterback needs to get rid of the football to avoid be tackled with it in his hands.
So when defenders drew near, Foles did what traditional football common sense dictated. He got rid of the ball. Oftentimes, he placed the ball into a running back's hands who was surrounded by defenders, right into their strength. That became clear time and time again. And so, the conclusion became that Foles simply does not "get" the objective of running with the ball. He failed the basic Chip Kelly test of offense. Thus, he became expendable.
But why not Sanchez? Well, he "gets" it. In the same number of games, Mark Sanchez more than doubled Foles rushing attempts. So of the two, Kelly felt he had more potential to run his offense. In 2013, Foles was an adept runner. He rushed 57 attempts, for 221 yards and three touchdowns. In 2014, he rushed 16 times for 68 yards and no touchdowns.
CH Ch Ch Changes, Turn To Face The Strange
So Kelly determined a change was needed. But it is the combination of two changes that set the wheels in motion to improve the offense, to make it "more pure" to the Kelly fundamentals. The first move was to bring on the disciple of the Kelly offense, quarterback coach Ryan Day.
Day was the first quarterback to run the Chip Kelly offense at New Hampshire, and ran it well. He ran it so well that it placed Kelly in the running and the eventual head coaching job at the University of Oregon.
His philosophy is fundamentally different from a traditional quarterback coach. Rather than preach to a quarterback to sit in pocket or scramble when the pocket breaks down, he believes that the quarterback is a ball carrier, a skill position. He preaches that a football in a quarterback's hands can and should be run if that is what defenses give to the offense. And that, in a nutshell, is the fundamental change he brings to the Philadelphia Eagles.
But is it enough to bring in a quarterback coach who is good with a running quarterback? Not exactly. For this to truly work, the team needed to get a quarterback who was experienced in an NFL setting, ideally one who had started as an NFL quarterback for a full season. The specifications for this quarterback would be to get one who ran a spread or read option offense in college. The specifications for this quarterback would be one who can make quick decisions, who can read and react instantly to defenses. And finally, and most of all, the specs would include a quarterback who can threaten with the run, but who would be deadly accurate when it cam time to pass the ball.
Unfortunately, that quarterback did not truly exist.
Man Hunt
And so the Eagles search began for the "next best" option, and one in their price range. Robert Griffen III was in trouble in Washington, but they want to recoup their initial three first round draft pick investment to move him. Michael Vick was available, but we tried and didn't like the results with him running our offense. Johnny Manziel bombed in Cleveland, and then got bombed so often he ended up in alcohol rehab.
So the Eagles turned to the coaches and asked them to identify anyone they had worked with who could fit their specs. Pat Shurmur spoke up. He had worked with Sam Bradford in 2010, the year that Bradford had earned the NFL's Offensive Rookie Of The Year.
Looking back to that year, Bradford had a rough start to the season. After five games, he had thrown 203 passes and completed 115 for 1,159 yards six touchdowns and eight interceptions. But he settled down the rest of the way for a season totals at 590 attempts for 354 completions 3,512 yards 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also rushed 27 times for 63 yards and a touchdown.
The team made an incredible turn around, going from 1-15 to 7-9 in that year. The first-overall pick out of the University of Oklahoma set NFL rookie records for most consecutive passes without an interception (169) and most completions (354). Under Shurmur’s tutelage, Bradford finished the season with a 60.0 completion percentage.
His targets? Wide receivers Danny Amendola, Brandon Gibson, and a cast of less recognizable receivers. His one true offensive weapon was running back Steven Jackson. In 2010, the Saint Louis Rams finished the season at 26th in the NFL. In fact, during Bradford's tenure the Rams offense never finished higher than 23rd in the NFL. But his supporting cast was rock bottom in terms of NFL calibre talent.
In comparison, the Eagles offense currently boasts DeMarco Murray, Ryan Matthews, Darren Sproles, Zach Ertz, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Miles Austin, Riley Cooper, Nelson Agholor, and Brent Celek.
In discussing the opportunity to work with quarterback Sam Bradford, Pat Shurmur said
"Sam Bradford did a terrific job that first year. He helped us win seven games which was a remarkable turn around from the year before, and we fell a few plays short of winning the division that year. He was rookie of the year. He's a tremendous player and tremendous competitor. As you get to know him, he's got this quiet confidence and charisma about him. He's going to play really good football. What you'll find with Sam is that he's a very competitive guy, he's a very talented guy, and he works extremely hard. That's the foundation of what Sam is. He has a rare ability to lead, and when he gets on the football field he's a very good decision maker and a very accurate passer. And HE'S MORE ATHLETIC AND MORE MOBILE THAN YOU THINK.
He comes from a shotgun style offense in college, very similar to the offense we run here. In fact, we put some of the principles that he did very well in college into our offense at Saint Louis that first year. So he's going to come in here and be familiar with what we do. We're going to be able to connect the dots very quickly."
You can see the entire Pat Shurmur interview here:
Pat Shurmur Discusses Sam Bradford
There it is. The key reason why Sam Bradford is a Philadelphia Eagle. His mobility. That key ingredient that Michael Vick had, and Nick Foles didn't. The other ingredient? Decision Making. Nick Foles had and Michael Vick didn't. Combined, we may have what we have been missing since the trade of Donovan McNabb.
Solid quarterback play.
Run Like Hell
The Eagles offense could not be more different in 2015. In 2014, the offense was predominantly a passing offense. The Eagles lived and died on the arm of Nick Foles, and then Mark Sanchez. The team moved the ball despite the familiarity of defenses and the unwillingness to include a quarterback running with the ball as a viable threat.
But the team ended on a sour note. Losers of three straight games, on the playoff stretch run, gave the team more to think about than "we coulda, shoulda, woulda". And so it was back to the drawing board.
First of all, the team began to exchange personnel assets: Foles for Bradford. Running back LeSean McCoy for inside linebacker Kiko Alonso.
And then, free agency hit.
While defense was the major topic for discussion, the scheme remains. Players were simple let go and the hope is that the new players fit what the Eagles want to do.
On offense?
The Eagles lost their bid to retain wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. And wide receiver talent was not readily available in free agency.
So the Eagles did the next best thing and loaded up on talent in the backfield: signing former Charger running back Ryan Matthews and former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray. The latter reunites Murray with his former college quarterback Sam Bradford.
Before the NFL draft, the plan was still a mystery. And after the draft the plan is still somewhat nebulous. But the image of what the Eagles offense will be in 2015 is forming.
It will be a run dominated offense. So why invest in a former first round quarterback?
Some players enter the NFL and the pressure, the money, the fame, or the notoriety are simply overwhelming and they regress rapidly. With Sam Bradford, it was simply two consecutive injuries, and the fact that he led an offense with few play-makers. If he remains healthy, he will have plenty of playmakers in Philadelphia.
The opinion of NFL players when discussing other NFL players weighs pretty heavily in assessing comparisons. In a recent interview with Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz shared his thoughts about Sam Bradford.
“We’ve been throwing for the past three weeks and I can honestly say I’ve thrown with Andrew, Nick and other guys, and I don’t think I’ve thrown with a guy who has a stronger arm than Sam Bradford. He hasn’t been able to really truly get his full legs underneath him. But the ball still comes out effortlessly, and it’s a lot of fun to run routes with him."- tight end Zach Ertz
We know about the risks, as we remind ourselves of those possibilities all the time. But what about the upside? What if the coaches did a good job of vetting Bradford, his health holds out, and he can run the read option blur spread offense the way it is designed? Perhaps Bradford can run when he sees the defense commit to the running back. Perhaps the throws may simply be more accurate, off the correct foot, and the decisions to hurl the ball will be made with the same speed as the snaps. Perhaps the Eagles will run an even faster offense, and that speed will not just translate into a more rapid three and out. Perhaps the combination of runners who hit the hole without hesitation and a quarterback who decides instantly will unleash the potential of the Chip Kelly offense.
Yes we know about the risks. And with a quarterback committee that threw the ball to defenders and struggled in the red zone, it remained a top offense of the NFL.
You can talk about the offensive line of divisional rivals all day and night if you prefer. You can point to the pieces falling together elsewhere. But their plans and schemes are the same old stuff.
In Philly, we've finally added the pieces to run a full offensive playbook. This is the year when page one to the back cover of the playbook are finally in play.
Sam Bradford was not a trading card. He was sought as the best fit for this Eagles team. In 2015, we'll see what a true fit can do for a very good offense. The focus so far has been on Bradford's knees, his legs, his injuries. What happens when fans and media realize what an arm this young man has…? Chip Kelly has an NFL track record of getting the most out of his offensive weapons. It's no huge leap of faith to believe that Bradford, Murray, Matthews, Matthews, Ertz, Agholor, Huff, Celek, Sproles, Cooper, Burton, Tucker , Austin will have great offensive numbers.
Buckle up folks. Sam is taking Chip Kelly's offense out for a spin.
