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) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Com | Yards | Avg |
2013 | Philadelphia | 310 | 4406 | 14.2 |
2012 | Carolina | 284 | 3927 | 13.8 |
2011 | NY Giants | 359 | 4933 | 13.7 |
2011 | Green Bay | 376 | 5161 | 13.7 |
2005 | Pittsburgh | 228 | 3104 | 13.6 |
2008 | Carolina | 246 | 3288 | 13.4 |
2006 | Philadelphia | 323 | 4309 | 13.3 |
2009 | San Diego | 338 | 4506 | 13.3 |
2012 | Tampa Bay | 311 | 4144 | 13.3 |
2010 | San Diego | 359 | 4746 | 13.2 |
2013 | San Francisco | 244 | 3210 | 13.2 |
2013 | Seattle | 267 | 3508 | 13.1 |
2006 | Dallas | 310 | 4067 | 13.1 |
2011 | Carolina | 312 | 4089 | 13.1 |
2011 | New England | 402 | 5257 | 13.1 |
2011 | Oakland | 315 | 4119 | 13.1 |
2009 | Philadelphia | 335 | 4380 | 13.1 |
2010 | Pittsburgh | 298 | 3890 | 13.1 |
2008 | Atlanta | 265 | 3440 | 13.0 |
2011 | Philadelphia | 330 | 4276 | 13.0 |
2005 | Carolina | 269 | 3485 | 13.0 |
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 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | Comp | Yards | Avg |
Pittsburgh | 47 | 699 | 14.9 |
Cleveland | 26 | 375 | 14.4 |
Arizona | 36 | 492 | 13.7 |
Tampa Bay | 30 | 375 | 12.5 |
St. Louis | 35 | 422 | 12.1 |
Atlanta | 53 | 636 | 12.0 |
Tennessee | 34 | 404 | 11.9 |
Cincinnati | 41 | 483 | 11.8 |
New England | 63 | 732 | 11.6 |
NY Jets | 37 | 422 | 11.4 |
San Diego | 55 | 610 | 11.1 |
Jacksonville | 40 | 442 | 11.1 |
Chicago | 40 | 439 | 11.0 |
New Orleans | 54 | 573 | 10.6 |
Kansas City | 38 | 400 | 10.5 |
Indianapolis | 47 | 490 | 10.4 |
Buffalo | 37 | 384 | 10.4 |
NY Giants | 47 | 481 | 10.2 |
Detroit | 51 | 518 | 10.2 |
Houston | 53 | 537 | 10.1 |
Miami | 52 | 526 | 10.1 |
Dallas | 61 | 606 | 9.9 |
Green Bay | 43 | 423 | 9.8 |
Baltimore | 50 | 484 | 9.7 |
Philadelphia | 59 | 555 | 9.4 |
Carolina | 36 | 336 | 9.3 |
San Francisco | 50 | 463 | 9.3 |
Oakland | 60 | 534 | 8.9 |
Minnesota | 37 | 328 | 8.9 |
Washington | 44 | 379 | 8.6 |
Seattle | 51 | 424 | 8.3 |
Denver | 50 | 388 | 7.8 |
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