[Stranger]

Let's get Foles some time for his 5 to 7 step drops and it might be a different story for us...

I didn't see tonight's game. Did Sam have plenty of time?

[max]

Let's get Foles some time for his 5 to 7 step drops and it might be a different story for us...

I didn't see tonight's game. Did Sam have plenty of time?

No pass rush from the Giants. They're bad upfront.

Sam still looked average. 61.3 passer rating. 3 picks.

[dieterbrock]

Watch an Eagles game and you see 2 things that are abundantly clear
1) The Bradford supporters were right all along, he flat out throws a beautiful ball and can make all the throws
and
2) The Bradford detractors were right all along, he just cant read a defense and is terribly inconsistant when he's not checking down

What an enigma. I swear its like watching a more athletic Vinny Testeverde

[Elvis]

The important thing is for Bradford to play 2 or 3 more games so we don't have to send a pick to the Eagles...

[Elvis]

http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/20/six ... ord-trade/

Six Weeks In, Neither Side is Winning Foles for Bradford Trade

Posted by: Anthony Stalter in National Football League, Uncategorized October 20, 2015

Through six weeks of the 2015 NFL season we’re no closer to finding out if Sam Bradford is on the verge of a career revival in Philadelphia, or figuring out which one of Nick Foles’ last two seasons was the aberration.

Bradford carries a 63.2% completion rating so far in 2015.

Neither the Rams nor Eagles have taken the lead in March’s Bradford-for-Foles swap. Both signal-callers have been erratic, inconsistent and downright careless at times through the first month-and-a-half of the season.

Undoubtedly there will be fans that suggest Philadelphia is winning the trade because they have one more win than St. Louis, but wins are not, and never will be, a measure of individual success. It’s a team statistic.

Take Monday night, for example.

Bradford completed 24-of-38 passes for 280 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in the Eagles’ 27-7 victory over the Giants. His touchdown pass was slightly underthrown, as he dropped a 32-yard pass into the hands of Riley Cooper between multiple defenders.

But the interceptions were a combination of misreads, overthrows and head-scratching decision-making for a quarterback often praised for protecting the football.

If not for the Eagles’ defensive line dominating the Giants in the trenches and making Eli Manning’s life hell for three quarters, Bradford may have willed New York to victory.

Bradford fans will continue to make the same excuses they did for him in St. Louis: He needs more help. He needs more weapons. His offensive line isn’t good enough. It’s the play-calling. The lights are too dim and it’s hard for him to find open receivers. The concession stands are too long and it’s distracting.

It’s true that Bradford hasn’t received a ton of help in Philadelphia. The interior of the Eagles’ offensive line has signal-handedly destroyed DeMarco Murray and the running game. (Although Murray did rush for over 100 yards against the Giants this week.) Without a strong running game, defenses feast on Bradford because he’s constantly in third and long.

It’s also not his fault that Jordan Matthews fumbled the ball in New York territory on Monday night or had a catchable ball go off his fingertips for a game-sealing interception for Atlanta in Week One. But Bradford hasn’t helped the situation with his sporadic play.

Bradford simply doesn’t look comfortable in Chip Kelly’s offense, which is telling considering it’s a quarterback-friendly system. The offense is designed for the quarterback to make simple reads so it can be run at break-neck speed. Based on the defense, Bradford has up to four options on a given play and because Kelly wants to go fast, that means the quarterback doesn’t have to worry about a complex playbook. Think of a point guard in basketball: Read the defense, distribute the ball efficiently and keep moving.

Foles carries a 57.4% completion rating so far in 2015.

Accuracy was supposed to be one of Bradford’s strong suits and when you look at the stat sheet, you’ll see he’s completing passes at a 63.2% clip – highest of his career. But watch the games and you’ll see a signal-caller that’s constantly overthrowing passes, misreading routes/passing concepts and taking unnecessary risks. Too many times Bradford is confused by a route that one of his receivers just ran and completing the deep ball also remains a problem, as his yards per attempt average is a meager 6.85.

This isn’t to say that Foles is lighting the world on fire.

Foles’ YPA is actually worse at 6.78 and he too has been inconsistent through the Rams’ first five games. One week he’s dropping the ball in the bucket to Stedman Bailey, the next he’s making pre-determined reads in the red zone and firing passes to the other team.

But Foles didn’t cost a second-round pick to acquire. Along with Foles, that was part of the Eagles’ compensation to acquire Bradford, who, as detailed above, hasn’t shown a great return on investment.

Perhaps Bradford is ready to break out in Kelly’s system. After all, more reps means more experience and more experience could translate into production. Given the positives for both teams the last two weeks (strong defensive play, Murray’s 100-yard effort, Todd Gurley’s emergence, etc.), perhaps Bradford and Foles are each ready to catch fire.

But as of now, the Rams might not be winning the Foles/Bradford trade but they’re far from losing it.

There’s no way of knowing how Bradford would be playing right now in St. Louis, but chances are if he can’t find a rhythm in Kelly’s offense, it’s unlikely he’d be succeeding Frank Cignetti’s system.

And given that notion, perhaps the Rams are winning by default.

[dieterbrock]

And of course the Rams get the 2nd round pick this year

[moklerman]

That game last night brought me back to the Rams/49ers game from a few years ago. What would things have been like if Amendola's 80 yard, game-winning TD hadn't been called back?

That's what I wonder now. What, if anything, is this going to mean for Bradford's confidence?

Maybe it's a fluke and it was just one of those things because it was his birthday. But there have been a few articles talking about Sam saying the right things at the right times to his players and last night, Murray said the team was motivated to win the game for Sam so maybe his leadership is being appreciated?

I still don't think he looks loose and comfortable but he's moving around the pocket pretty well and rounding into form.

[Hacksaw]

He does throw a nice ball. One in the 4th even had touch rarely displayed in StL.

[dieterbrock]

That game last night brought me back to the Rams/49ers game from a few years ago. What would things have been like if Amendola's 80 yard, game-winning TD hadn't been called back?

That's what I wonder now. What, if anything, is this going to mean for Bradford's confidence?

Maybe it's a fluke and it was just one of those things because it was his birthday. But there have been a few articles talking about Sam saying the right things at the right times to his players and last night, Murray said the team was motivated to win the game for Sam so maybe his leadership is being appreciated?

I still don't think he looks loose and comfortable but he's moving around the pocket pretty well and rounding into form.

And he was terrible in the 1st half, again...
Awesome in the 2nd and Ot but the 1st Q performance is just dreadful. I think theyve only score like 10 points in the 1Q all season

[moklerman]

He does throw a nice ball. One in the 4th even had touch rarely displayed in StL.

The commentators were even saying that he was dialing it back quite noticeably to try and make it easier for his receivers. That wheel route to Murray down the sideline was perfect but it looked to me like Bradford had to use all his will power and concentration to lob it in there. It got there but it didn't really look effortless. He really guided it in there.

Which is what I've always wondered about Bradford. Does he have that special talent for anticipation that the great one's have? I haven't really seen a lot of touch and/or anticipation from him but I think he's reticent within an offense until he really has it ingrained. Because of that, I think he also waits until a receiver is open instead of throwing it to where he's going to be. I can understand him being that way since so many times he seems to be on a different page than his receiver.

He's made some nice throws this year though and hopefully he continues to get acclimated. I'm still rooting for the guy.