Conventional wisdom says that the third preseason game usually serves as the "dress rehearsal" game, where most NFL teams let their starters play for at least the first half to get them primed for the regular season.
When it comes to Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles, however, the word conventional becomes moot. While most NFL fans are trained to believe one thing, Eagles fans are being trained to expect the unexpected entering year three of the "Chip Kelly era."
Conventional wisdom suggests that a team vying for a Super Bowl championship would want their quarterback, who has only played seven games in two years, to get the necessary reps to become re-acclimated with the speed of NFL competition.
But remember, this is Chip Kelly we're talking about.
Despite his willingness to go beyond the norm, Kelly is smart enough to know that in this critical third year as the Eagles' head coach, he needs the quarterback he traded a hefty amount for to perform, and to perform well.
With this thought likely lingering in the back of his mind, Kelly will go into Saturday night's game against the Green Bay Packers with the purpose of continuing to bring Sam Bradford up to speed, even if he won't admit it publicly.
Bradford's play is synonymous with the Eagles' success this season, so the more reps for the 27-year-old, the better. He's not Aaron Rodgers, who has won a Super Bowl and two MVP awards. He's mot a player who can afford to sit out Saturday's all-important "dress rehearsal" game, like Rodgers reportedly is.
Kelly's aware of this, which is why Bradford will lead the Eagles' first-team offense in Lambeau Field, as long as a monsoon doesn't rain on his parade.
Bradford talked about what playing Saturday would accomplish for him with NJ.com's Eliot Shorr-Parks.
"Just getting back out there, getting used to bodies around me in the pocket, being able to move away from those in the pocket, and getting a feel for everything."
Bradford's only reps this preseason came in last Saturday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, where he led the Eagles' offense on a 14-play, touchdown-scoring drive. The combination of the length of the drive and the two hits Bradford took steered Kelly to exercise caution with his quarterback, and sit him out the rest of the game.
In Thursday's pre-practice press conference, Kelly told reporters that he is "past the cautious stage" physically with Bradford. If that's the case, then there's seemingly no reason for Bradford to not play at least a half's worth of snaps in Green Bay.
Of course, there'll be many factors that dictate how much Bradford plays. If, for example, he orchestrates two or three drives similar to one he led last Saturday, Kelly could be satisfied and sit him. Also, if Bradford gets hit like he did last Saturday, then Kelly will probably want to get him out of there to spare his body the punishment.
With Kelly, it's almost impossible to predict these things. However, there is precedent for this particular situation.
In 2013, Michael Vick played 46 snaps and into the third quarter of the Eagles' third preseason game, while Nick Foles played 48 snaps and the entire first half in 2014.
The amount of snaps Bradford sees Saturday will depend on a number of things, but it can't hurt the Eagles for him to see close to the number of snaps that both Vick and Foles did in their "dress rehearsal" games.
"The biggest thing would be getting into a rhythm," Bradford said about possibly seeing extended playing time Saturday.
The regular season opener in Atlanta is just over two weeks away. For an Eagles team that is looking to hit the ground running once the regular season kicks off, Saturday's game is critical for the team's quarterback to establish a rhythm that will hopefully follow him to Atlanta on Sept. 14.
