After three weeks of lackluster offensive outputs, the blame game continues in Philadelphia. The offensive line has struggled mightily to open running lanes. DeMarco Murray’s uselessness has somehow vindicated the Cowboys for letting him go. Chip Kelly's drastic offseason changes haven’t come close to paying dividends.
Sam Bradford isn’t free from responsibility. While the running game finally clicked against the Jets and receivers finally found separation, Bradford mustered just 118 yards and one touchdown while completing only 50 percent of his passes.
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After a near flawless preseason, excitement over Bradford has transitioned to frustration and is edging closer to the benching discussion. While drops and a lack of running game have inhibited the passing game at times, Bradford is running out of time to get by on offensive excuses.
Placement woes stifling drives
Since his time at Oklahoma, Bradford’s best attribute as a passer has been his ball placement. While concerns persisted over whether he could transition from the Oklahoma offense into a pro-style system, all scouts felt he could not only make every throw, but make each one with remarkable accuracy.
With the Rams, the excuse for his sub-65 percent completion rating was his offensive line and poor supporting cast; at the time, it appeared valid. And while his offensive line did him no favors to start this season, his placement issues were inexcusable in the team’s unnecessarily narrow victory over the Jets.
In the two plays below, Bradford has ample time to set his feet in the pocket and work through progressions. On both occasions, his poor timing and placement resulted in missed first-down opportunities. In the first, Bradford substantially short-arms a dig route by Nelson Agholor, and in the second example, he throws too early and behind the quick inside slant that’s nearly an interception.
Even on the play below, a dropped wheel route to Ryan Mathews that had the opportunity to go for a long touchdown, Bradford’s placement makes this throw far harder than necessary. The offense creates throwing lanes thanks to consistently spread alignments and a variety of roles for his receivers, tight ends and running backs. But it’s on the quarterback to maximize these windows for yards after catch.
Can Bradford’s accuracy improve? It almost has to, especially on routes other than screen and swing passes. But Bradford’s discomfort under perceived pressure is a mental hurdle that may not be fixed in 2015.
Poor decision-making and timing
More worrisome than Bradford’s accuracy issues is his poor decision-making and timing at the helm of the offense. Neither was a concern during the preseason, but these issues go back to his St. Louis days.
To steal a line from Shane Falco in “The Replacements,” Bradford’s biggest fear on the field is quicksand. As the offense struggles and mistakes happen, Bradford gets stuck in the moment, leading to further mistakes. Poor blocking turns to a lack of trust in his offense, leading to poorly thrown passes.
The offensive issues have led him to making ill-timed aggressive throws (see the game against Dallas), as well as overly conservative decisions from the pocket.
In the first play below, Bradford pre-determines which route he’ll lock on pre-snap, and doesn’t go through his necessary progressions — likely due in part to frustrations in the offense thus far. As a result, he doesn’t see his outside receiver beating the cornerback vertically and ignores the linebacker in front of him that nearly (and should have) intercepted the pass.
And while the Eagles' offense does put a priority on pre-snap expectations, Bradford has struggled more than Nick Foles in the past in adjusting his read, stepping up in the pocket and still making a safe throw. Bradford, whether because of a comfort issue with pressure or a severe lack of confidence in his receivers, needs to improve his pocket presence and progressions.
Reason for optimism?
Even though his stats aren’t as dreadful as this article may suggest, Bradford’s play continues to severely hinder the offense. Against the Jets, the line played far better than the previous two weeks, particularly in the running game. Mathews found ample success, and play-calling balance seemed to be restored. It was Bradford alone keeping the offense from being more productive.
But since he was drafted in St. Louis, Bradford has repeatedly had his confidence shaken. Between three major injuries, prolonged losing since entering the NFL and even considering retirement before joining the Eagles, Bradford has certainly been tested mentally.
Kelly continues to build up his quarterback, and it’s only a matter of time before that either pays dividends and Bradford shows a resurgence, or we finally call it quits on him.
His next two games are against a lackluster Redskins secondary and a Saints defense that’s in the bottom third in every major defensive category. Weeks 4 and 5 could be Bradford’s coming-out party.
If they’re not, the time for excuses will be over, because at that point, the fate of the Eagles in 2015 will fall on Bradford’s shoulders.
Eric Galko is the owner and director of scouting at Optimum Scouting and OptimumScouting.com, as well as a Sporting News contributor. Follow him on Twitter: @OptimumScouting.