DISASTER or heartbreak? Which one do you want? If you’re a Sam Bradford booster, you’re about to be force-fed one or the other. As a fellow Eagles fan I’ll almost feel bad for enjoying your misery. Almost. Because the truth is, I’m sick of folks making excuse after excuse for this guy. The shorthand says that I’m supposed to be a fan of any Eagle on my team, but I can’t support a guy who is a big part of why it got worse instead of better.
Let’s start with heartbreak. Bradford’s boosters are sooo happy, that he’s sooo comfy with the system now. “His play has turned a corner!” “He’s become a leader now!” “Just wait until 2016!” That last one is my favorite by far, because it ties together the overarching theme of what the boosters are thinking. They expect Bradford to perform better within this system next year. They actually expect him back here next year.The odds are so stacked against that, that it’s almost ridiculous to envision it at all.
(Let me set the mood: Back when we drafted WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy in 2009, both players alluded to their injury histories playing a role in deciding to enter the Draft early. They wanted to ensure some level of financial security in case the next football injury was their last. As young men still playing college ball, their football mortality was already on their minds. Now back to Bradford.)
After his second ACL injury, Bradford was considering quitting football. He was weighing it as recently as this calendar year. It was his college coach who talked him out of walking away from his NFL career. So after collegiate injury to his shoulder, and two pro injuries to his knees, you can bet your ass that financial security is very much on the mind of Sam Bradford. But how much security could he get?
Today Bradford is at the end of a rookie contract where he made 13 million this year. He gets to be an unrestricted Free Agent in just a couple of months, and in a league desperate for signal callers, Bradford on the open market could become a bidding war between the Eagles and teams like Dallas, Cleveland, San Francisco, Houston, possibly the Jets, and maybe even St. Louis again. So perhaps you think we should franchise him to keep him from entering the open market at all?
Franchise tags are the average of the top five contracts at the position, right? That would mean Aaron Rodgers (22M), Russell Wilson (21.9M), Ben Roethlisberger (21.8M), Eli Manning (21M), Phillip Rivers (20.8M). That works out to 21.5M for Sam Bradford next year even on a short-term deal. You may recall that the Eagles were trying to get Bradford to sign an extension during the preseason, but Bradford shot that down because he could see a bigger payday coming if he stayed healthy.
If the Eagles don’t pony up the cash for him, Bradford’s boosters will see him flee Philly over “just money”. All that time they spent defending him and piking him up as the Messiah, only to have him leave them standing at the altar over “just money”. I can already smell the burning jerseys.
Next up we have the disaster. Let’s say that the Eagles write that check. Hooray, right? Only if you’re a masochist. Serioulsy, 21.5M a year for a guy who’s never thrown more than 21 touchdowns in a 16 game season? 21.5M for a guy with fewer playoff wins than Tony Romo?? 21.5M for a guy who has never been on a .500 team??? It would just be 8M more than he’s making this season, but considering how much guaranteed money is tied up in other players, signing Bradford would mean that so much of the roster would have to be bargain bin level players.
Bradford has never proven that he’s a special QB. He has never demonstrated an ability to carry an NFL team. Seriously, when was the last time you heard of a QB attempting 59 passes in a single game with only one of them being a touchdown? His mediocrity is almost statistically impossible. Still, desperate teams will bid for him next year, and whoever gets him will be overpaying and limiting their teams options for adding help.
That team could be us! Oh goodie.
So either the Bradford apologists will have their hearts broken over “just money”; or they’ll get their wish and have to admit this time next year, that they spent the last two years backing an expensive lemon. A lemon whom we may be stuck shoveling years worth of guaranteed money into.
So it’ll be heartbreak or disaster. Either way, find yourself a Bradford booster to follow and screenshot their posts often. Because man, this one oughta be good.
I do not agree with you Beast. I think you have to look at the situation he stepped into. First of all the offensive talent level has been completely diminished this year. He is playing behind a suspect line with very little help at the skill positions. He was much more refined than Foles. Is he as good as McNabb. Not yet and maybe never but he makes his reads and hangs pretty tough in the pocket. What I think you are right about is the read option and Bradford. Why is Chip using it if Bradford never runs. I do not understand the logic of lining up the same way when you know the QB is not a threat. It looks like Kelly wants to keep the scheme so he should get a mobile QB. Grifffin or Kaepernick? I think Bradford would be an excellent fit in Dallas. He is a round peg fitting a square hole here. Unlike you, Im not seeing Bradford as a horrible signal caller. He has skills and makes really accurate throws. Is it his fault then receivers actually suck? Is it his fault we have a lousy running game ? Is it his fault there is no OLine? If you can answer that fairly you have to conclude that he did not get a fair shot to highlight his skills.
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I look at his 2012 season with the Rams and his 2015 season with us ( http://www.nfl.com/player/sambradford/497095/profile ) and do you know what I see? I see a guy in two very different situations and systems, producing pretty much the same thing. He is what he has repeatedly proven to be and wishing for him to be more than that has so far only netted more wishes.
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This says it all to me: “His mediocrity is almost statistically impossible.” It’s gonna be a long few years or more. Ugg.
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He’s just a middle of the road QB. His arm has the talent but he lacks the heart.
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I do not think there is enough information on this guy to make that judgement. I wont say you are wrong. But, you could be very wrong here.
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Then by all means wait for more information on him before you make your decision.
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