Eagles: Sam Bradford and the West Coast Offense
How will the new system suit Sam Bradford and the offense? The Eagles are transitioning into a new era in the NFL. However, this era might seem a little familiar. That is because the Eagles are going back to the Andy Reid football we all love. Doug Pederson is the new head coach who is bringing this type of football back to Philadelphia. Sam Bradford is the starting quarterback for the upcoming season, so let’s get into how this system will effect him.
Doug Pederson is going to run a west coast system with the Philadelphia Eagles. The West Coast system is known for using short passes to set up the run game. Another big component is the play action plays. You need the defense to respect your run game enough in order for them to bite on the play action. The play action plays are the plays that go for big yards. In order for the Eagles to have a good offense, they need the run game to be very effective not Sam Bradford.
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I think this system is perfect for Sam Bradford. Sam Bradford can make the throws the Eagles are asking him to make. Last season, Sam Bradford was constantly put in bad spots and when the Eagles abandoned the run game, he was left for dead. The Eagles are not asking a lot from him in the new system. In 14 games last season Sam Bradford threw an average of 38 passes per game.
As you can see that is a lot to ask of Sam Bradford. In the Chiefs offense Alex Smith played 16 games and averaged 29 passes per game. The workload of Bradford is going to be a lot less and the throws he is going to be expected to make are easier.
Alex Smith was the Chiefs quarterback last season, so we are going to use him to compare to Sam Bradford. I want to remind you, Alex Smith’s stats are in 16 games while Bradford’s are in 14. Alex Smith was 307-470 for 3486 yards and had 20 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He also managed to have a QBR of 95.4 and a completion percentage of 65.32.
Now let’s look at Sam’s stats for the year. Sam Bradford was 346-532 for 3725 yards and had 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also managed a completion percentage of 65.0 and a QBR of 86.4. We already know in less games Sam was throwing the ball much more than Alex Smith. A lot of that had to do with the Eagles lack of run game, and the abandoning of the run game. Seeing Alex Smith`s stats should make a lot of fans a little less worried about the upcoming season.
All Sam Bradford has to do is manage the game a little better. Alex Smith is pretty conservative, he rarely turns the ball over. I also think that has a lot to do with the system and coaching. Sam Bradford is in a great situation, he can replicate Alex Smith`s numbers easily and maybe even better those numbers. The Chiefs went 11-5 last year and made the playoffs.
In this new system, you will expect the Eagles wide receiver to run a lot drag routes, quick slants, and square in routes. Basically, a lot of routes that are not ran down the field. These routes are dependent on the accuracy of the Quarterback and the run after catch by the receiver. With saying that, it also means the Eagles do not need to have as talented receivers for this offense. The receiver needs to know how to create space and run with the football. Which is good for the Eagles, their current state of wide receivers is not the best. We all know Jordan Matthews is solid, but for the rest of the group there are a bunch of question marks. But, like Sam Bradford at quarterback the Eagles will not be over complicating things for the receivers and I think they will do fine.
The last major thing that is going to lead to the Eagles success and Sam Bradford`s success is of course the run game. If the defense does not respect the Eagles run game, the system sort of fails. As stated earlier, the run game opens the play action. The play action is the big plays you will see in this system, The Eagles do have a couple of good options at running back, and a pretty solid offensive line. Additions like Brandon Brooks and rookies like Isaac Seumalo are great pick ups who can help solidify the line. The offensive line is looking much better than last season.
The starting running back is looking to be Ryan Mathews. The Eagles also have Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, and Wendell Smallwood. I am very high on Barner and Smallwood, but this season if the Eagles let the vets rock I think they can carry the load. The Eagles need this group to be successful. I think with our revamped offensive line and good running back group, we should not have to worry.
As you can see, I think this new yet familiar system coming to Philadelphia really suits this team. Sam Bradford should have a pretty successful season with the Eagles in 2016. With what he is asked of, I do not think there’s any way he could do bad. The running game is what is needed to carry this offense. Unless injury plagues the running back group, I think they will be fine.
If that were to happen, just look at what the Chiefs did last season when Charles went down. The wide receivers are also in a good position. Offensively the Eagles are set to have a nice season. The players are all put in situations where they can all really impact this team. It is not a complicated Chip Kelly offense. The Eagles are back to the West Coast system, the system the has brought success to the Eagles in the past. The Eagles offense and Sam Bradford are in a better situation this season.
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