What to expect from the Philadelphia Eagles on offense in 2016
By Ryan Neal
The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense is going to control the game in 2016, rather than take risks.
What we saw from Sam Bradford on Thursday gave us a good glimpse of the type of football the Philadelphia Eagles are going to play this season. The Eagles are not going to take a lot of risks, rather, they are going to control time of possession. People were very critical of Bradford Thursday, but truthfully, he did what was asked of him and played very well.
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Bradford ended Thursday completing 14 of 19 passes for 115 yards; however, it isn’t the statistics that matter. What matters is the other things we saw. We saw the Eagles different plays out of multiple formations. The goal of the offense is not to dazzle anyone. No, this offense has a different goal.
The goal of the offense is to control time of possession and and to handle each drive methodically. To accomplish that, they will use variety in the passing attack. That includes a mixture of drop back passes, play action passes, and some screen passes. Again, the goal isn’t to dazzle you. They want to use a lot of different looks. They are going to make it hard for defenses by presenting different looks in different situations.
The Kansas City Chiefs had the same approach on offense last season. The Chiefs ended the season in last place in passing yards. They also found themselves in last place in the AFC in the category of passing plays that went for more than 20 plus yards; however, the Chiefs took what the defenses they played gave them. By taking this approach in the passing game and relying on the run game, the Chiefs were able to march into the playoffs.
You can say what you want or call it boring, but this type of offense has normally been successful historically. We have seen teams win the Super Bowl with this approach. Bradford is not going to blow your socks off and throw for 400 yards. What he is going to do is this. He’s going to pick up the yards needed in order to keep the drives alive. Occasionally, if there’s a chance down the field, he will take it. He is not going to force any bad throws. He is going to be a consistent quarterback who focuses on keeping the drive alive and taking advantage of what the opponent gives him.
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Sam Bradford and the offense are going to control the football game. Bradford is set up to have a nice season. He is a quarterback who is very accurate and can deliver a nice football. This is a great offense for Bradford to be in based on his skill set . Possession football is the name of the game, and the Eagles are setting up nicely to do just that in 2016.