Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp Observations

1. Sam Bradford Has the Best Skillset of Any Quarterback Chip Kelly Has Coached in NFL

Aug 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) during training camp at NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

To avoid being berated by those who feel the joy in doing so, this observation is NOT saying that Sam Bradford is better than Nick Foles. I’m well aware that Sam Bradford has not played a regular season game in well over a year. I know that Foles was awesome that one year and went 14-4 as a starter under Chip Kelly. If you feel the need to monkey wrench my observation into a proclamation of Sam Bradford’s superiority, have fun.

With that out of the way, it’s hard to not come away with Bradford’s abilities as a passer and executioner of Kelly’s passing game. Though perhaps not quite as effortlessly explosive as Michael Vick’s release, Bradford isn’t far off from ‘Starship 7’ in that department and is substantially ahead of Vick in the accuracy department. Especially in team drills, when Bradford got to work with the Eagles first team offense (for the most part), the former 1st overall pick engineered several scoring drives and made very few bad throws and even fewer bad decisions.

Aside from his thin legs, Bradford looks the part of a franchise quarterback. He’s tall, statuesque, textbook in his form, and plays in a manner that almost looks as if he’s acting out exactly what the play calls for from his position. Completions are not an accomplishment for Bradford, they are the expectation.

Bradford, if healthy, does seem capable of utilizing the Eagles weapons better than anyone Kelly has had on the roster. He has the arm strength and delivery to make every throw and doesn’t appear to be playing favorites. He delivered big completions to Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Zach Ertz, and the rest of the team’s skill core.

There is quite a bit, for a preseason game at least, riding on next Sunday’s matchup with the Colts. Bradford needs to demonstrate he can deliver when the bullets are flying like he has during training camp. That won’t silence the detractors, but it will mark a huge checkpoint in his recovery from ACL surgery. Until then, one can only go off what they’ve seen from Bradford. What was on display Sunday was a supremely talented thrower whose comfort level seems to be trending upward.