Philadelphia Eagles Still Have QB Concerns for Short-Term And Long-Term Future
By Kevin McGuire
The Philadelphia Eagles are in first place in the NFC East, but it sure does not feel that way. Despite beating the New York Giants by 20 points on Monday night, there are many questions surrounding the state of the Chip Kelly's Eagles. None are more pressing that the quarterback situation, where Sam Bradford continues to struggle to live up to the expectations placed upon him out of college.
Sam's still the man
The Eagles took a risk in moving Nick Foles to acquire Sam Bradford from the St. Louis Rams, a move that was thought to be a step toward getting in position to draft Marcus Mariota. That last part never panned out, for whatever reason, and now the Eagles are stuck with Bradford as the starting quarterback for better or worse. Monday night against the New York Giants was anything but a confidence boost despite a 20-point victory and questions about Bradford have continued. Despite struggles, Chip Kelly is standing by Bradford moving forward.
"Sam is our quarterback," Kelly said during his routine day-after press conference. "We have full confidence in Sam."
Kelly feels the numbers suggest this is not the norm for Bradford and he and the team will continue to address errors, and Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com outlines the numbers and trends to support that idea. Bradford has been picked off nine times, four of those coming in the end zone. Whether or not this is a blip on Bradford's radar, those are disturbing numbers that will only come back to haunt the Eagles down the road.
Sam's not the man for the long-term future
Despite moving Foles to acquire Bradford, it never felt likely he would be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and head coach Chip Kelly. No, the reality is Kelly will continue to search for his franchise quarterback to build around in his fourth NFL season. That is the opinion of Joel Corry, a former sports agent now contributing to CBSSports.com. Of course, this also assumes Kelly sticks around in the NFL instead of returning to college football, but that's another story entirely.
It would be realistic enough to expect the Eagles to look for a quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft, possibly in the earlier rounds. There may not be a perceived crown jewel like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota to be drafted, but one player to keep an eye on may be TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin. He currently has a very late-round draft grade from Optimum Scouting, but he could end up being a nice late-round pickup. A couple of other names to keep an eye on while watching college football could be North Carolina State's Jacoby Brissett and Mississippi State's Dak Prescott.
Eagles continue to climb power rankings
With two straight wins and after taking over first place in the NFC East, the Eagles are starting to win back some respect from the national voices following the NFL on a regular basis. The latest power rankings have the Eagles continuing to move up. NFL.com's latest rankings jumped the Eagles up seven spots up to No. 11 after beating the New York Giants on the strength of the defensive play. FOX Sports bumped the Eagles up six spots to No. 12. CBS Sports also ranks the Eagles at No. 12 this week after moving the Birds up five spots. Pro Football Talk also has the Eagles at No. 12.
ESPN is much more optimistic about the Eagles lately, having the Eagles ranked just inside their latest Top 10 at No. 9. The Eagles moved up six spots in ESPN's power ranking this week. All of these power rankings also have this week's opponent, the Carolina Panthers, in the top five. This is to be expected as the Panthers have yet to lose a game.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
