Philadelphia Eagles Twitter: Sam Bradford vs. QB Prospects
By Tom Aresco
The Philadelphia Eagles are staring down the barrel of the most important offseason in recent history.
The only birds that don’t fly south are nested on Eagles Twitter. All year, the league’s most rabid fans are gnawing on topics that should have been digested by now. After the Eagles parted ways with Donovan McNabb, the franchise has been searching for a franchise quarterback to replace him. This task, however, has seemingly been a failure so far. The expedition has delivered nothing close to a long-term solution, and the fans are finally growing tired of waiting.
The fan base hasn’t been exactly “patient” in this discovery period, but it hasn’t been a disaster until now. A revamped Mike Vick led the Eagles for a few years, riding a glimmer of hope that surfaced during his playoff campaign with the team in 2010. The oft-injured Vick flashed, but eventually faded and has been a backup since leaving the Eagles.
Nick Foles took over in 2013 under new coach Chip Kelly and soared back to the playoffs with impressive numbers that made him an MVP candidate. Ultimately, neither of the two proved to be long-term answers for the team moving forward. Although Kelly’s acquisition of Sam Bradford was set up for failure, the fans are sick of excuses at this point.
@SeventyEagles Tweets:
There’s no game changing QB in this upcoming draft…stop forcing yourself to think that there is.
That’s the scariest part about this whole process. Sam Bradford is a proven commodity, although he has been mediocre from a production standpoint his entire career. With that being said, he has never had anything more than a mediocre supporting cast around him. Given his average production with an average group of players, I would like to see what he could do with an above average group. On the flip side, there is no telling what a soon-to-be rookie would do; he could be bad with a good supporting cast and stunt the growth of the entire regime.
@ulquorra35 Tweets:
I’ll take my chances drafting a QB in the 1st round
There are some fans who are willing to ditch the stale donuts in hopes that fresh ones will arrive. Giving Bradford an extension would indeed limit the Eagles financially, and could keep them attached to a QB that hasn’t ever been very productive in his 6-year career. Not to mention, Bradford has torn his ACL twice. A fresh start may not be the worst thing to try, but that doesn’t mean it will work.
@Bless3d1230 Tweets:
With a rookie you know they are rebuilding and give time for growing pains!!
This is a classic case of “Processitis”, the disease made famous by the Philadelphia 76ers. The description of the virus is as follows: Fans believe losing is fine, as long as the team confirms that they aren’t trying to win.
“Trying to win, yet you aren’t winning? Blow it up. Blow it all up, because 7-9 is just as bad as 2-14 if you were trying to make a playoff run! Now, if you would have acquired Sam Bradford and told the fans that he’d take a few years to develop, it’d be a different story. With a rookie, the writing is on the wall. A rookie means you aren’t trying to win, so losing is fine. If Adam Schefter says the Eagles are going to win the Super Bowl, though, then the Eagles better win the friggin’ Super Bowl or this whole regime is a bust!”
Eagles
@GregSKennedy Tweets:
I truly think that Roseman doesn’t want Bradford back, but the overwhelming support & lobbying from his teammates is making him think twice.
This is one of the better takes that I’ve seen on Twitter about Sam Bradford. Greg doesn’t specify whether or not he wants Sammy Sleeves back, instead he speculates from Roseman’s POV. It is hard to imagine a scenario in which anybody wants to be attached to a retread QB from Chip Kelly’s disaster project, but for some reason the players have been in full support of Bradford.
His pre-game pep talks and his laser arm are two reasons to believe the offensive players like his potential here. Most of the receivers probably feel like they failed him, dropping a league-leading 41 passes in 2015. Most of the fans on Twitter call that Bradford’s “excuse”, but if you asked the players they’d put it on themselves. It’ll be very interesting to see what Bradford’s future holds.
@DatMartinezFam Tweets:
Do you think the Eagles should pursue OG Jeff Allen, then build the rest of the OL in the draft?
Finally! Here is a question about the Eagles’ biggest need. I believe this would be a great way to attack the weakness on the offensive line. Jeff Allen, or any free agent guard, would be a great addition. The rest of the line needs to be revamped with youth, so hitting the draft for a few linemen is probably the best route. No matter who the quarterback is, the offensive line needs to produce a clean pocket and a reliable run game. Those are two things that could really aid the quarterback’s production.
While most are focused solely on the quarterback position, I have spent more time thinking about the team’s weaker weaknesses. If I am not mistaken, Sam Bradford was arguably the Eagles’ best offensive player in 2015. That could be enough to convince me that the offensive line and the wide receivers are a bigger issue, and that Bradford’s production could improve as the team does. If you want to debate otherwise, find me on Twitter here: @TomAresco. Make sure you go follow all of the Twitter accounts mentioned in this article, too!