Sam Bradford finally took to the field against the Baltimore Ravens last week and just two more weeks of pre-season lie ahead for the former number one pick to get ready for his first season in Midnight Green. But with just two games remaining, how much of Sam Bradford can fans expect to see?
Baltimore Bruiser
Bradford played 14 snaps against the Ravens last weekend and within those 14 snaps he took two huge hits. He said in the past that he wanted to get hit so he’s ready for the league..Suggs took that a little too seriously! But regardless of anyone’s view on the tackle itself, he took the hit and he got straight back up to finish the drive. Any concern over his health was surely swept under the carpet after taking two big hits and then continuing his way down the field. He’s shown he’s ready and is surely capable to going one further and playing a whole quarter.
History repeating itself
Last year Nick Foles played 38 snaps in the Eagles third preseason game whilst Steelers backup Mike Vick played 46 in 2013. Zach Berman pitched this to Chip Kelly who remained closed on if that would have an impact on Bradford’s numbers. Chip is a system guy however, so the projection of 25-45 snaps wouldn’t be such a bad guess.
Bradford HAS to play more snaps
The way I see it is this. Training camp is one thing, one drive in pre-season is another. One drive in pre-season is one thing, a whole quarter is another. One quarter in Pre-season…(you get the gist) but if Bradford comes out and plays under ten snaps again..that will leave him one more pre-season game to fully prepare for the season opener against the Falcons in which the starter will be expected to play the duration of all four quarters. We have seen what Bradford’s laser arm can do and we know he can sustain it over one drive. But if he continues to play (lets say for arguments sake) under a quarter of football, he will have to endure more than four times the amount of snaps that he did in pre-season when he plays Atlanta in week one where the consequences are huge.
How much we’re going to see of Bradford remains a mystery, but the fact is he simply has to pick up more snaps over the final pre-season games. To sustain any kind of momentum in the NFL is hard but in an Offense as demanding as Chip Kelly’s, physical fitness is absolutely imperative. Bradford has to pace himself and show he can go an entire game without wearing out, losing mental focus and making silly mistakes. It’s great that he began to look comfortable towards the end of his opening drive, but this is the game where we need to see at least one quarter of play from the Eagles Quarterback. We predict that 40 snaps is going to be approximately how many the former Ram will take, what do you guys think? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @PhiladelphiaSN
