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Sam Bradford

Bradford not getting it done in Philadelphia's offense

I have re-watched a lot of Philadelphia’s first two games, trying to figure out what’s wrong with that offense. They didn’t go anywhere, recall, early in the Monday night opener at Atlanta. Then they got it cranked up in the second half, with Sam Bradford throwing for 336 yards. The Falcons had been run ragged and couldn’t put any pressure on him.

In Week 2, the offense simply went nowhere against Dallas.

The running game isn’t working, of course. DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews combined for carried 25 times for only 15 total yards. That’s almost unbelievable. Who would have thunk, that two weeks into the season Murray wouldn’t be on pace to finish the season with 100 yards?

But I think Bradford is part of it. To me, he seems way too comfortable checking the ball down for safe completions. Everything is sideways passes to running backs and dinks to wide receivers for underneath completions.

Wind back to 2013. Chip Kelly’s first year. His offense was new, and at least some defenses weren’t ready for it. They’d use their up-tempo approach, firing off plays and running plays from sideline to sideline. They turned games into track meets, and were able to gas opponents.

But also included in that style were the dagger shots in the passing game. While the Eagles were running teams ragged, they would also consistently try for big strikes downfield. With Michael Vick and Nick Foles at quarterback, they averaged 14.2 yards per completion. In the last 10 years, only one team has been within a half yard of that mark.

PASSING DOWNFIELD (2005-2014)
YearTeamComYardsAvg
2013Philadelphia310440614.2
2012Carolina 284392713.8
2011NY Giants359493313.7
2011Green Bay 376516113.7
2005Pittsburgh 228310413.6
2008Carolina 246328813.4
2006Philadelphia323430913.3
2009San Diego 338450613.3
2012Tampa Bay 311414413.3
2010San Diego 359474613.2
2013San Francisco244321013.2
2013Seattle 267350813.1
2006Dallas 310406713.1
2011Carolina 312408913.1
2011New England 402525713.1
2011Oakland 315411913.1
2009Philadelphia335438013.1
2010Pittsburgh 298389013.1
2008Atlanta 265344013.0
2011Philadelphia330427613.0
2005Carolina 269348513.0

You look at what they’re doing now, and it’s pitiful. They’re averaging 9.4 yards per completion, a bottom-10 number.

PASSING DOWNFIELD, 2015
TeamCompYardsAvg
Pittsburgh4769914.9
Cleveland2637514.4
Arizona3649213.7
Tampa Bay3037512.5
St. Louis3542212.1
Atlanta5363612.0
Tennessee3440411.9
Cincinnati4148311.8
New England6373211.6
NY Jets3742211.4
San Diego5561011.1
Jacksonville4044211.1
Chicago4043911.0
New Orleans5457310.6
Kansas City3840010.5
Indianapolis4749010.4
Buffalo3738410.4
NY Giants4748110.2
Detroit5151810.2
Houston5353710.1
Miami5252610.1
Dallas616069.9
Green Bay434239.8
Baltimore504849.7
Philadelphia595559.4
Carolina363369.3
San Francisco504639.3
Oakland605348.9
Minnesota373288.9
Washington443798.6
Seattle514248.3
Denver503887.8

Part of this, no doubt, can be attributed to defenses becoming more familiar with this scheme. They’ve gotten smarter.

And part is personnel. Jeremy Maclin and especially DeSean Jackson are gone, and they had more ability to get downfield than what the Eagles have now. Jordan Matthews is more of a possession guy.

But I think some of it can be attributed to Sam Bradford. I think he’s one of those Alex Smith or Trent Edwards type quarterbacks who doesn’t want to throw downfield. He’s not wired that way. Bradford was never much of a downfield passer with the Rams, and he seems to be even more of one of those guys right now.

Bradford’s lack of mobility is a problem. He’s not mobile enough to run the read option, and that’s a staple of this offense. He also doesn’t seem to be much of an athlete – he looks frail, and he doesn’t seem to have a cannon arm.

Strange to say, but I think the Eagles might have to turn back to Mark Sanchez and hope he can give them a spark. I’m not a big Nick Foles fan, but right now I’m of the opinion the Eagles would have been better off sticking with him at quarterback.

—Ian Allan

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