*Official 2015 Philadelphia Eagles* - Winning when it doesnt count (2 Viewers)

[Bigboy10182000]

I realize Bradford's low career YPC percentage is one of the biggest issues detractors have with him. I agree with the above that he has a strong arm and can make all the throws with the key proviso or caveat, WHEN HE HAS TIME (which he often didn't). He could have better pocket sense, so some of his troubles are on him. Below is my go to example showing that, in the right situation, Bradford has the CAPABILITY of throwing a nice deep ball with touch and accuracy. He throws a nice catchable ball, and in THAT respect (not necessarily others), reminds me of Troy Aikman, who threw one of the most catchable balls I've ever seen. I'm probably an incorrigible Bradford optimist, so my take should be taken with a healthy grain of salt, but if he can just stay upright, the more I think about it, I don't see how he doesn't do really well with a change of scenery and in offensive guru Kelly's wide open, fast break, up tempo scheme, which is reminiscent of the offense he last starred in while at Oklahoma, leading to his being picked #1 overall.

*Chris Givens 2012 rookie highlights

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Let me try and talk Eagles fans off the ledge:

Bradford has had three stages of his career: The first three years were anywhere from average to mediocre. Those were partly the growing pains of being in the NFL and partly the fact that the first two years were on a team that was historically bad and the third year was with 60% roster turnover and loaded with marginal UDFAs. His job was not to turn WR2s into WR1s, his job was to turn WR4s into WR1s. (Brandon Gibson was a #4 on that offensive juggernaut Miami and Tom Brady couldn't get Amendola anywhere near Wes Welker. The two years after they left St Louis weren't as good as their best single seasons in St Louis.) The third part of his career so far has been the one spent on the sideline.

What the Eagles hope they are getting was the second part of his career. The seven-game window in 2013 had Bradford finally tapping into his potential. His numbers projected out to be a top-ten QB, with 32 TDs and 9 INTs. That is comparable to what Foles put up in 2013. But here's the difference. 2014 showed that those numbers were pretty much Foles's ceiling. For Bradford, it was a threshold. You saw the best you'd get with Foles. The best with Bradford is better than what you would get with Foles.

The question isn't the talent. The question is the injuries.

If you want a comparison of what Bradford could become, look at these numbers:

Year 1:

1 game 55% completion 221 yards 1 TD 0 INT

Year 2:

16 games 60% completion 3284 yards 17 TDs 16 INTs

Year 3:

11 games

57% completion 2108 yards 11 TDs 15 INTs

Pretty mediocre numbers, yes? That was someone who was expected to be the savior of a franchise, and by the time those three years were done, fans were clamoring for his head, and the team obliged by drafting his replacement.

That was Drew Brees. Horrible team around him while they were in the talent-acquiring phase and he went through his growing pains. I am not saying that Bradford will become Brees... just that the capacity is there.

The real problem is Kelly stripping the offense of known commodities and banking on "the system." It's sad to see Bradford go from a team that had no offensive talent when he was on the field to a team that is dismantiling their offensive talent. Guy can't catch a break.

 

[Old Smiley]

Can someone help me out with Eagles injury rates? I think I've heard that they did really well Chip's first year, but that they fell back to the pack in terms of games lost last year. Can someone confirm or dispel that for me?

 

[Insein]

Let me try and talk Eagles fans off the ledge:

Bradford has had three stages of his career: The first three years were anywhere from average to mediocre. Those were partly the growing pains of being in the NFL and partly the fact that the first two years were on a team that was historically bad and the third year was with 60% roster turnover and loaded with marginal UDFAs. His job was not to turn WR2s into WR1s, his job was to turn WR4s into WR1s. (Brandon Gibson was a #4 on that offensive juggernaut Miami and Tom Brady couldn't get Amendola anywhere near Wes Welker. The two years after they left St Louis weren't as good as their best single seasons in St Louis.) The third part of his career so far has been the one spent on the sideline.

What the Eagles hope they are getting was the second part of his career. The seven-game window in 2013 had Bradford finally tapping into his potential. His numbers projected out to be a top-ten QB, with 32 TDs and 9 INTs. That is comparable to what Foles put up in 2013. But here's the difference. 2014 showed that those numbers were pretty much Foles's ceiling. For Bradford, it was a threshold. You saw the best you'd get with Foles. The best with Bradford is better than what you would get with Foles.

The question isn't the talent. The question is the injuries.

If you want a comparison of what Bradford could become, look at these numbers:

Year 1:

1 game 55% completion 221 yards 1 TD 0 INT

Year 2:

16 games 60% completion 3284 yards 17 TDs 16 INTs

Year 3:

11 games

57% completion 2108 yards 11 TDs 15 INTs

Pretty mediocre numbers, yes? That was someone who was expected to be the savior of a franchise, and by the time those three years were done, fans were clamoring for his head, and the team obliged by drafting his replacement.

That was Drew Brees. Horrible team around him while they were in the talent-acquiring phase and he went through his growing pains. I am not saying that Bradford will become Brees... just that the capacity is there.

The real problem is Kelly stripping the offense of known commodities and banking on "the system." It's sad to see Bradford go from a team that had no offensive talent when he was on the field to a team that is dismantiling their offensive talent. Guy can't catch a break.

So they're banking on Bradford being as good as his seven game stretch of above average play out of five years in 2012 but dismissing Foles 11 game stretch in 2013 of historically great play in his 2nd year as a fluke.OK.

 

[dhockster]

Okay, not endorsing anything Chip the GM has done, but to all the doom and gloomers, we still have Chip Kelly the Coach. Consider:

Maclin, Pre-Chip, averaged 65 catches, 863 yds, 8 TD's in 4 seasons. With Chip, 85 catches, 1.318 yds, 10 TD's

Jackson, Pre-Chip, averaged 57 catches, 1,021 yds, 5 TD's over 4 full seasons. With Chip, 82 catches, 1.332 yds, 9 TD's.

Cooper's production significantly increased under Chip, although going from back-up to starter accounts for some of that.

McCoy had a career year under Chip.

Foles had an all time great year in 2013. This will probably exceed anything else he does in his career.

So Chip the Coach should be able to be productive offensively with whoever we have. The thing that bothers me the most is settling for all these guys with injury problems. It is

a very high risk strategy that doesn't seem necessary.

 

[dhockster]

Also, the thing about geniuses, is most people can't understand what they are doing because most people are not geniuses. Let's hope that Chip is a genius and

we just don't understand because we are not. Other than that, I got nothing.

 

[Insein]

When we get to camp I'm sure I'll have calmed down and be ready for he season but this is too soon. This is like Djax but worse. We didn't trade DJax and picks to bring back Crabtree.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

I'm no Bradford fan or apologist, but if he can stay healthy, I won't be at all surprised if he puts together a Pro Bowl type year in Philly this year. He has a solid line in front of him, and a system that appears to play to his strengths better than a traditional NFL offense has. The issue is that I think the difference between Bradford / Sanchez / (insert random other decent NFL borderline backup / starter type) is probably fairly small in Kelly's offense.

I'd also bet that Nick Foles will get the snot kicked out of him and struggle mightily in STL this year and be exposed as a backup level player.

That said, I think a 2nd and a 4th is a lot to pay for essentially one year of Bradford at his salary, but the Eagles clearly just didn't want Nick Foles period, and I think that part of Kelly's call is pretty likely to end up looking like a good one 6 months from now. I think there were likely more teams interested in Bradford than there were in Foles, hence the picks going to St. Louis.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

I mean, this is pretty damn bad

@MikeClayNFL: Complete list of players Sam Bradford has targeted 20+ times in his career. Not even fair. #Eagles http://t.co/NDngNfA5Ee

 

[Amused to Death]

What the heck is Chip Kelly doing?

By Danny Kelly @FieldGulls on Mar 11, 2015, 10:33a +

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chip Kelly has the power in Philadelphia now. Danny Kelly examines just what in the hell he's doing with it.

<snip>

Scenario B: Waiting for the other shoe to drop

This double, three-team trade scenario seems weird as crap on a logistics level, but from a logic point of view it jibes.

Please be this.

 

[dcgangstas]

Be nice to get a shot at Andre Johnson this afternoon.

Odds are that Andre's heading to Indy with Frank Gore.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

 

[Skoo]

Okay, not endorsing anything Chip the GM has done, but to all the doom and gloomers, we still have Chip Kelly the Coach. Consider:

Maclin, Pre-Chip, averaged 65 catches, 863 yds, 8 TD's in 4 seasons. With Chip, 85 catches, 1.318 yds, 10 TD's

Jackson, Pre-Chip, averaged 57 catches, 1,021 yds, 5 TD's over 4 full seasons. With Chip, 82 catches, 1.332 yds, 9 TD's.

Cooper's production significantly increased under Chip, although going from back-up to starter accounts for some of that.

McCoy had a career year under Chip.

Foles had an all time great year in 2013. This will probably exceed anything else he does in his career.

So Chip the Coach should be able to be productive offensively with whoever we have. The thing that bothers me the most is settling for all these guys with injury problems. It is

a very high risk strategy that doesn't seem necessary.

Good post.

He showed this many times at Oregon, pretty sure he made it all the way to the national championship with a backup QB.

As I said in either this thread or another, I trust Chip to have a good offense with mediocre talent a lot more than I trust the defense to improve with the mediocre talent we had there in 2014.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

I think he meant extend.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@SharpFootball: Sam Bradford can succeed in Philadelphia... because Chip Kelly

http://t.co/06lCQl0tP1

Precisely what Kelly will do to maximize his potential

Sam Bradford can Succeed in Philadelphia Because Chip Kelly

Posted on March 11, 2015

By Warren Sharp

Ive long been a Sam Bradford skeptic. I introduced the notion following the 2013 season that there are very quantifiable problems with his production on the Rams:

Since 2010, only 6 quarterbacks (of 151 qualifying) had seasons where they threw for LESS than 3 yards before catch (the opposite of YAC, where the receiver gains yardage after catching the ball). Bradford had two such seasons, in 2010 and 2013, to join CARs Jimmy Clausen, DETs Shaun Hill, JACs Blaine Gabbert, MINs Christian Ponder and JACs Chad Henne.

55% of Bradfords total passing yardage came after the catch in 2013, 2nd most of 41 qualifying QBs.

Bradfords accuracy percentage under pressure dipped to 53%, which was 38th out of those 41 QBs, with only Brandon Weeden (CLE), Matt McGloin (OAK) and Thaddeus Lewis (BUF) worse.

A few weeks ago, I dug into how Bradford performed on the passes where he DID decide to throw deep. Though he didnt throw deep often, those results were equally uninspiring. Additionally, the 2014 season cemented issues with Bradfords deep passing: although he didnt play in 2014 due to injury, his backups threw downfield more often, with greater success. So it wasnt entirely a system or lack of team talent thing as to why Bradford was not throwing deep as often. It was a Bradford thing.

Aside from the what we saw from the stats, what else was not to like with Sam Bradford? The salary and the injuries. In 2015, Bradford hits the Eagles for $13M against the cap (as compared to Foles at just 10% of that). However, as Bradford enters his final year from his rookie deal in 2010, I do think if Chip Kelly really believes Bradford can work for the Eagles, they will do their best to renegotiate and lower that 2015 cap hit and get Bradford under a more reasonable, multi-year deal before the 2015 season begins. And then there are the injuries. Bradford has torn the same ACL twice. He missed all of last year. To say he is injury prone is taking it lightly. Since 2010, Bradford has played in 49 of 80 regular season games for the Rams, meaning he has missed almost 40% of his starts. If that continues, the Eagles should expect him to play in 10 of their 16 games in 2015, and that assumes Bradfords 28 year old body (turns 28 in November) is as durable as his 23 year old rookie body.

In my opinion, it was time for the Rams to move on from Sam Bradford. While I initially didnt anticipate a smart coach like Chip Kelly taking the chance to grab Bradford, I can see glimmers of how it could work in Philadelphia, and how there is an outside shot at Bradford resurrecting his career:

Heavy Use of Play Action

Since 2012 (the first appearance of reliable play action data), on average, NFL teams run play action on 21% of all pass plays. Bradford hit that 21% mark in 2012, but in 2013, ran play action just 19% of the time.

On average, the NFL passer rating increases by 10.5 points for play action passes vs non-play action passes. Thats surely one reason the Eagles under Chip Kelly have thrown play action passes 32% of all pass plays, which is obviously WELL above the league average. Its 2nd most in the NFL, but the #1 most frequent team (Seattle) is only a few tenths more frequent. The #3 team (Carolina) is way down at 28%.

However, unlike Seattle seeing average improvement in passer rating (+11.2) from using play action so often, the Eagles passer rating improves +25.8 points. They are the only team in the NFL to move from sub-90 in passer rating without play action to above-110. The only team who sees a more substantial jump are the Chargers, who move from 96 up to 132 with play action, but they run it ridiculously infrequently using play action passes on just 126 of a total 1,216 passes, or 10.4%. They are the only team below 15%, and well below the league avg of 21%.

So the fact that the Eagles are able to use play action SO frequently, AND see such a HUGE boost in passer rating, really is unthinkable.

Sam Bradford, when using play action, saw a boost in passer rating from 81.7 to 106.5. Thats almost a 25 point increase, EXTREMELY similar to the Eagles average of 25.8, and obviously well above league average.

Of course, to use play action so effectively and efficiently, you need a running game. The Eagles, behind the #1 run blocking offensive line the past 2 years, had one. But they just traded LeSean McCoy, and failed to acquire Frank Gore. So someone will have to establish a strong run game to make defenses respect the run, but assuming that it happens, I highly expect Bradford to use play action more than he ever has in his professional career, with good results.

Increased Deep Passing

This is a case where we simply need to trust Chip Kelly. As mentioned above, Sam Bradford as a Ram threw infrequently down field, and most often, poorly when he did throw down field. But it goes against common sense that Chip Kelly, who has called deep passes more frequently in the NFL than any other team, would invest so much in a quarterback who couldnt throw deep.

Lets examine the Chip Kelly timeline:

In 2012, the year before Chip Kelly arrived, Nick Foles threw 10.6% of his passes 20+ yards down field. That was 24th most frequently in the NFL. Foles was accurate on 35.7% of these passes, with 4 TDs, 2 Ints and 10.4 ypa average.

In 2013, Foles threw 17.4% of his passes 20+ yards down field, the #1 most frequent in the NFL. He was accurate on 45.5% of these passes, with 14 TDs, 1 Int and a 14.6 ypa average.

In 2014, the Eagles lost DeSean Jackson to Washington, and the deep passing game suffered. Foles threw 18.9% of passes 20+ yards down field (still #1 most frequent, even more often than 2013) but was accurate on just 35.6%. Similarly, Mark Sanchez was accurate on just 35.1% of deep passes, but whether by design (Kelly less confident) or by QB read progression (Sanchez less confident), Sanchez threw down field just 12% of his attempts. Combined, the two QBs recorded 11 TDs, 10 Ints and just a 9.8 ypa average.

You can imagine this was not pleasing to Kelly. Surely this offseason he will do things with his receivers, be they personnel moves or offensive strategy, to improve down field passing from 2014.

Sam Bradford attempted just 8.4% of his passes in 2013 20+ yards down field. He was accurate on 40.9% of those attempts, for 12.6 ypa, but recorded a 1:2 TD:INT ratio. Obviously his offense didnt put him close enough to score TDs as often, so that ratio doesnt bother me as much as it might to some. But the accuracy % and the ypa were both superior to what the Eagles did last year.

In 2011 and 2012, Bradfords was better in deep passing than in 2013. In 2012, where he was accurate on 41.7% of attempts (attempted deep passes on 13.1% of throws) for 12 ypa and a 8:6 TD:Int ratio. In 2011, Bradford was accurate on 48.8% of his deep passes (attempted deep passes on 11.5% of throws), which was actually the 7th best accuracy mark in the NFL that season. He again threw for 12 ypa, and recorded a 4:2 TD:INT ratio.

Chip Kelly must see the foundation there to see success for Bradford in the deep passing game, more so than what Foles and Sanchez gave him last year which was 35% accuracy and 9.8 ypa. On the Rams, a team who infrequently ran play action to give the passer more time to let deeper routes develop, Bradford was accurate on 40%+ of his deep throws the over his last 3 seasons. Kelly must believe that there will be ample opportunity to throw deep, and he likely try to rekindle the 48.8% accuracy on these passes that Bradford had in 2011, rather than the steadily declining accuracy he has exhibited from 2012 to 2013.

Bottom Line

There still is a lot to overcome with this trade. If Bradford can stay healthy, I really think he could see marginal success under just a few offensive coaches, and Chip Kelly is one of them. The Eagles could be approaching the contract in a few ways: They could either view it as a 1 year roll of the dice on an injured QB who they could re-sign following next year if he works out, or they could attempt to re-sign Bradford sooner, to lower the 2015 cap hit and then really roll the dice that he will work out. The problem with letting him finish out his deal is that if he excels, given the way the Eagles offense is designed, he will put up big numbers which certainly will help his leverage when trying to sign a deal after the season. The obvious risk is that you re-sign him first, and he gets injured again or doesnt provide any more of a fit for Kelly than Sanchez or Foles. Its a fascinating dilemma but one that certainly the Eagles have figured out, or they wouldnt have made such a move in to acquire Bradford. Perhaps Kelly believes his conditioning and sports science will help keep Bradford healthy?

Im not going to shy from my criticism of Bradford, but I will reiterate (as I introduced above) there are several fundamental differences between the offenses Bradford was in and will now be in. Those are just a few examples of things Kelly will do differently to help Bradford. Am I supremely confident it will work? Are there not still plenty of red flags surrounding Bradford on the field, including his inaccuracy under pressure? (On that note, Foles was accurate on 68% of attempts under pressure in Kellys first year 7th best but that number dipped to 51.9% last year, 37th in the NFL and even worse than Bradfords 53.4% in 2013).

Chip Kelly can maximize Bradfords talent while minimizing his deficiency as well as any coach in the NFL. The question is will it be enough to finally make a trip to the playoffs. Kelly has a long leash, but public sentiment goes a long way, and shipping out fan favorite after fan favorite only works if the team wins. If Kelly passes on Marcus Mariota in the draft because he went after Sam Bradford instead, and Sam Bradford bombs in Philadelphia, fans will not be pleased. But with Chip Kelly and his progressive and aggressive approach both on and (clearly) off the field, Im inclined to reserve judgement until I see what happens on Sundays, and instead, focus on what I think Kelly will do to get the most out of the former #1 draft pick.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Who is the #1 pick next season because the Eagles are picking #1

This is silly.

 

[twistd]

We have seen this time and time again. A coach is convinced he would be a better GM than anyone else. So he muscles his way in to control over player personnel. Once he is in control he does a number of stupid things that get him fired. Chip Kelly has taken his first steps towards a new job. I blame this on Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcels. They were two guys who were able to be terrific coaches, but they were also very good at talent evaluation. In almost every case since then no matter how brilliant a coach is, he falls very short as a talent evaluator. But you have to give Kelly credit, he has made the free agency period this season very exciting.

Devils advocate

What if he wins 10 again?

IFFF his offense is what he says it can be we could be fine.

They're continuing the defensive improvement as well

Maybe he proves to be like Jimmie Johnson and Bill Parcels in terms of talent evaluation. But history shows a lot of coaches have tried being in charge of their own personnel and very few have succeeded. We will see how it plays out, but I think he got fleeced on the Bradford trade. I don't believe there are many GMs around the league that view Bradford as a franchise type QB. And to have swallowed Bradford's $12 million salary plus give up draft picks is crazy to me. Maybe Chip will unlock something in Bradford that other people don't see. Bradford obviously has shown talent to be selected first overall in the draft. But Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, and Jake Locker were all selected in the top 12 of the 2011 draft, and they all obviously showed talent, and they have all failed miserably. It is going to be very interesting to watch.

 

[mquinnjr]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/575687012902174721

Welp, getting Mariota just got a little more difficult.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

We have seen this time and time again. A coach is convinced he would be a better GM than anyone else. So he muscles his way in to control over player personnel. Once he is in control he does a number of stupid things that get him fired. Chip Kelly has taken his first steps towards a new job. I blame this on Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcels. They were two guys who were able to be terrific coaches, but they were also very good at talent evaluation. In almost every case since then no matter how brilliant a coach is, he falls very short as a talent evaluator. But you have to give Kelly credit, he has made the free agency period this season very exciting.

Devils advocateWhat if he wins 10 again?

IFFF his offense is what he says it can be we could be fine.

They're continuing the defensive improvement as well

Maybe he proves to be like Jimmie Johnson and Bill Parcels in terms of talent evaluation. But history shows a lot of coaches have tried being in charge of their own personnel and very few have succeeded. We will see how it plays out, but I think he got fleeced on the Bradford trade. I don't believe there are many GMs around the league that view Bradford as a franchise type QB. And to have swallowed Bradford's $12 million salary plus give up draft picks is crazy to me. Maybe Chip will unlock something in Bradford that other people don't see. Bradford obviously has shown talent to be selected first overall in the draft. But Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, and Jake Locker were all selected in the top 12 of the 2011 draft, and they all obviously showed talent, and they have all failed miserably. It is going to be very interesting to watch.

It does appear we got fleeced now. There's 2 phases to this trade. The one now and the one once we start playing.

It's pretty lengthily but if you have a moment read the article I posted a few spots up. The writer does a great job unlocking why he believes Bradford can have success under Kelly.

 

[Insein]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/575687012902174721

Welp, getting Mariota just got a little more difficult.

I think that ship has sailed. For better or worse, Sam Bradford is our guy.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@UTKevinAcee: Appears Ryan Mathews' time in San Diego is done. Former teammates hear physical all that's left in Philly. They're bummed. Really like him.

 

[Soulfly3]

Mariotta is certainly about 95% off the table now, no?

We all pretty much agree. Wayyyyy too much money being given to 2 qbs for this to happen

plus, the near impossibility of moving up from 20 to 1

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@UTKevinAcee: Appears Ryan Mathews' time in San Diego is done. Former teammates hear physical all that's left in Philly. They're bummed. Really like him.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Mariotta is certainly about 95% off the table now, no?

We all pretty much agree. Wayyyyy too much money being given to 2 qbs for this to happen

plus, the near impossibility of moving up from 20 to 1

I agree that dream seems to be over.

If they did get him they would probably cut or deal Bradford.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@caplannfl: Brandon Graham's contract is really strong: $14 M is fully guaranteed. $9 M in first season.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Is DeMarco Murray still on the table? That might help a little.

 

[twistd]

We have seen this time and time again. A coach is convinced he would be a better GM than anyone else. So he muscles his way in to control over player personnel. Once he is in control he does a number of stupid things that get him fired. Chip Kelly has taken his first steps towards a new job. I blame this on Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcels. They were two guys who were able to be terrific coaches, but they were also very good at talent evaluation. In almost every case since then no matter how brilliant a coach is, he falls very short as a talent evaluator. But you have to give Kelly credit, he has made the free agency period this season very exciting.

Devils advocateWhat if he wins 10 again?

IFFF his offense is what he says it can be we could be fine.

They're continuing the defensive improvement as well

Maybe he proves to be like Jimmie Johnson and Bill Parcels in terms of talent evaluation. But history shows a lot of coaches have tried being in charge of their own personnel and very few have succeeded. We will see how it plays out, but I think he got fleeced on the Bradford trade. I don't believe there are many GMs around the league that view Bradford as a franchise type QB. And to have swallowed Bradford's $12 million salary plus give up draft picks is crazy to me. Maybe Chip will unlock something in Bradford that other people don't see. Bradford obviously has shown talent to be selected first overall in the draft. But Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, and Jake Locker were all selected in the top 12 of the 2011 draft, and they all obviously showed talent, and they have all failed miserably. It is going to be very interesting to watch.

It does appear we got fleeced now. There's 2 phases to this trade. The one now and the one once we start playing.

It's pretty lengthily but if you have a moment read the article I posted a few spots up. The writer does a great job unlocking why he believes Bradford can have success under Kelly.

I think Chip Kelly is a terrific coach. And I think there is the possibility that Chip can make Bradford the QB the Rams thought they were getting when they drafted him with the first pick in the draft. But there is a lot of risk involved. Chip seems to think that anyone can play his system. I'm always suspicious of that claim. When you have good talent they can play about any system. But when you have mediocre talent I don't think a system can mask that. Bradford isn't going to be surrounded by talent much better than what he had in St Louis. The offensive line is better, but the skill position players aren't. So Chip believes the system is the difference. Is he right?

 

[dhockster]

Hey, remember when the Sixers won the title in 1983 and then added Charles Barkley in the draft? Remember how the Sixers then had the first pick in the 1986 draft? And they basically traded Brad Daugherty and Moses Malone for Roy Hinson, Jeff Ruland, and a bag of magic beans?

This kinda feels like that.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

I think he meant extend.

yeah, I would assume that it would mean giving more total money, but spreading it out over years

 

[Insein]

Hey, remember when the Sixers won the title in 1983 and then added Charles Barkley in the draft? Remember how the Sixers then had the first pick in the 1986 draft? And they basically traded Brad Daugherty and Moses Malone for Roy Hinson, Jeff Ruland, and a bag of magic beans?

This kinda feels like that.

To be fair, this team didn't win anything. So its not like they were the 83 Sixers. But yea I get what you're saying. I'm going to loathe the summer when all the gushing over Bradford begins only for him to tear his knee up in the first 4 weeks and we have another lost Sanchize season.

 

[dhockster]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

I think he meant extend.

yeah, I would assume that it would mean giving more total money, but spreading it out over years

Or could they re-do his contract so that the $13 million in salary this year becomes a $10 million signing bonus and a $3 million salary? When they trade him, the Eagles get the cap hit for the signing bonus and the new team gets Bradford at a $3 million salary. Makes him much more attractive to trade for.

 

[unckeyherb]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

Sorry. Extend his contract and take the cap hit when you trade him. One of the biggest knocks on him being a move able piece is the huge contract/cap hit due to being the last pre-CBA #1 pick. Bird sign him to a palatable extension and take a hit to their cap this year if they trade him. That's what i meant.

Also, if they trade him, do they get a fourth from St Louis next year since he won't play 50% of the offensive snaps for us?

 

[twistd]

Sorry but I really don't believe that sam Bradford is the guy chip needs to run his offense. There was a ton of speculation that chip would "sell the farm" to get up to 1-2 for Mariota. So far he's jetisoned Foles and a 2nd. My guess is that they will restructure bradfords contract, take the cap hit internally to take that issue away (they have the space to do so) and package him and a few picks to Tampa-who may very well not like what they see in Mariotas play or Winstons character. Bradford was the number one a few years ago-granted the dude hasn't been able to stay healthy but when he last played he did well with nothing. Him throwing to mike Evans makes that team infinitely better than last year and Lovie doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to deal with a rookie qb. Just my $0.02- this is far from over-Bradford will never put on the midnight.

That's the second or third time I've seen that. How exactly do you restructure a one-year deal?

I think he meant extend.

yeah, I would assume that it would mean giving more total money, but spreading it out over years

Problem with signing Bradford to an extension is that you then have added risk. You lower his cap number this year, but you take on risk next year and beyond. As things stand now, if you let Bradford play out the contract, and he falls flat, you can cut him after this year and owe him nothing. If you extend him there are cap ramifications beyond this year. I'd let him play out the contract as a 'show me' deal. If he begins to develop in to a solid QB, then explore an extension towards the end of the year. This way if he gets hurt again you can cut him after the year and move on.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Can someone help me out with Eagles injury rates? I think I've heard that they did really well Chip's first year, but that they fell back to the pack in terms of games lost last year. Can someone confirm or dispel that for me?

1st two years ago, something like 4th or 5th last year. They were the first team since FO started ranking teams to be 1st one year and appear in the top 5 again the next year.

So it could be that they are great with preventing/treating injuries kind of like the Suns are in the NBA, or they could have been very very lucky and all hell is about to break loose.

 

[B-Deep]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/575687012902174721

Welp, getting Mariota just got a little more difficult.

I think that ship has sailed. For better or worse, Sam Bradford is our guy.

I am not sure, but i think Philly fans need to buy into bradford now

start falling in love with the potential

if you end up flipping him for mariotta you can laugh about how homer it was to think bradford could be the guy, but until then this is your QB so you may as well learn to love him and look for the upside

 

[Insein]

Chip talking at Grahams conference?

Eta: He Speaks!

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Chip talking at Grahams conference?

Eta: He Speaks!

Clears a ton up

 

[unckeyherb]

Chip, when asked about trading up for mariota: "let's dispell that right now. We would never mortgage our future to trade up for Mariota."

 

[unckeyherb]

Sounds like Bradford is our starting QB.

 

[Soulfly3]

Chip, when asked about trading up for mariota: "let's dispell that right now. We would never mortgage our future to trade up for Mariota."

what's it like in Philly right now?

 

[unckeyherb]

Chip, when asked about trading up for mariota: "let's dispell that right now. We would never mortgage our future to trade up for Mariota."

what's it like in Philly right now?

"There's some bad acid going around". That's what it's like in philly right now

 

[MattFancy]

Eagles Insider ‏@EaglesInsider
Kelly said it was "essential" to get Mark (Sanchez) back. The deal with Bradford is that if he never tore his ACL he'd never be traded

John Infanti ‏@John6abc
Chip Kelly says he traded for Alonso because he was worried about having guys at the position who are coming off of injury. What?

 

[unckeyherb]

Just said he was offered a first round pick this morning for Bradford from another team.

 

[Insein]

Chip, when asked about trading up for mariota: "let's dispell that right now. We would never mortgage our future to trade up for Mariota."

what's it like in Philly right now?

The fact that he's speaking is a little help. Very snarky in his answers though.

 

[Insein]

Just said he was offered a first round pick this morning for Bradford from another team.

Yea that sounded like a smart ### answer.

 

[unckeyherb]

Yeah

 

[Insein]

Chip just said Howie had final call on the Marcus Smith pick.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@Mfranknfl: Chip on new role: "The only difference is I have final say." #Eagles

@Rand_Getlin: --> RT @EaglesInsider Kelly said that there were other teams involved in the Bradford sweepstakes.

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip: Gamble firing was on other side, not his decision.

@AlbertBreer: Chip Kelly says he was offered a first-round pick for Sam Bradford this morning.

@LesBowen: Chip says he definitely wanted Maclin back, talked a lot with him over weekend, couldnt go as high as KC

@ZBerm: Eagles were offered a 1st rounder for Bradford this morning. They're keeping him.

@JordanRaanan: Damn!! -->>RT @EliotShorrParks Chip: Let's dispel the Mariota thing now. We won't mortgage our future. #Eagles

@EliotShorrParks: Chip mentioning Bradford's accuracy when asked what he likes about him. #Eagles

@MattLombardo975: Chip: Bradford has an outstanding skill set. Big, physical QB, who throws a very accurate ball when you watch him throw the football.

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip said he didn't know trade would get leaked while details were still being worked out, tried to reach Rosenhaus to get through to Shady.

@LesBowen: Chip: tried to call LeSean got voicemail. Werent happy with Buffalo leaking deal

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip: Thurmond comes in and will compete w/Nolan Carroll, Boykin, others

@Tim_McManus: Chip says DeMeco Ryans will be back

@AlbertBreer: Chip Kelly says Tom Gamble's ouster wasn't his call. "I love Tom." Said he hired Ed Marynowitz, Marynowitz will hire/fire personnel staff.

@EliotShorrParks: Chip says the #Eagles haven't has discussions with any team at all about moving up for Marcus Mariota

@MattLombardo975: Chip: We've looked at every throw Sam Bradford has made in the National Football League. #Eagles

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip said only difference now is that he has final say in draft. Big admission there.

@adbrandt: "We didn't bring Sam (Bradford) in here to be a (trade) chip. I'm the only Chip here." Question had to be a planted..

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip just put last 2 drafts on Howie, said he didn't have final say last two years.

@LesBowen: Chip: I didnt move Howies office

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip drew the comparison between Drew Brees and Sam Bradford given Brees injury.

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip: "When we have news, I'll talk."

@LesBowen: Chip: its not what I didnt see in Nick -- difficult phone call to make...give up something to get something.

@GeoffMosherCSN: But Chip didn't say whether last year's draft woulda been different if he had final say, avoided hypothetical.

@MikeClayNFL: Pretty clear it will be Bradford vs. Sanchez for Week 1 job. Sam seems to be the heavy favorite.

@GeoffMosherCSN: Chip said Howie will be in war room this year for draft and "I value his opinion"

@Jeff_McLane: Chip Kelly said that Howie Roseman had final say on last year's draft. E.g.: Marcus Smith. #Eagles

 

[Bigboy10182000]

If you ONLY believe half of what Chip said you could see how full of sheet our media and their sources are.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@GeoffMosherCSN: Graham: "Best place for me. System I know. I got good at it. One more year and I can take off."

@GeoffMosherCSN: Graham, on Cole's departure and starting: "i gotta pick up the slack, no question."

@GeoffMosherCSN: Graham: Teams trying to get me -- Giants, Titans. I was just waiting on Eagles. Once the Eagles came through...

@GeoffMosherCSN: Graham said "it took time" for Eagles to come back at him w/an offer

@MattLombardo975: Graham:The #Giants and #Titans were in the mix. My eyes were always on the #Eagles. Was serious with the Giants. I couldn't go up the street