Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford played well for the Birds last night in Atlanta, but it wasn’t good enough to get the win. I liked the way he stood strong in the pocket, despite getting hit quite a bit after he let the ball go. I haven’t seen the All-22 video of the game, but it looked like he saw the field fairly well and made good decisions.
It did take him a while to see what the Falcons defense was doing against him, then he got into a rhythm. Atlanta decided to play a deep zone and keep everything in front of them and make the Eagles take the short throws.
“I just felt like we were playing behind the sticks all day,” Bradford said. “It seems like we couldn’t really get anything going on first down. It was second-and-long. Penalties put us in second-and-really-long, third-and-really-long. I think the difference between the first half and the second half is we were much more efficient on first down in the second half. We played from ahead of the sticks. We got things going. Then once we got it rolling, we kind of kept it that way.”
Bradford took all those short throws and wound up completing 36 of 52 attempts for 336 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Eagles can’t make it a habit of throwing the football that much.
I think Chip Kelly will need to stay with the running game longer, because if you abandon it, you become one-dimensional. The Eagles ran the football only 16 times for 63 yards. Darren Sproles had a 27 yard burst on a sweep to the right and DeMarco Murray had a 9-yard touchdown run on the same play. If you take those two runs away, the Eagles, who are supposed to be a running team, were unable to run the football.
I give Bradford a lot of credit for taking all the hits the Falcons put on him and continuing to keep his eyes downfield. I think he did take his eyes off downfield on his first interception. A pass rusher came free and Bradford took eyes off his target and let the ball go. I was surprised that the officials didn’t throw any penalty flags on the Falcons for their low hits on Bradford.
They had one great drive in the second half of the game for 95 yards, despite numerous penalties.
“I think that it shows the fight we have on offense,” Bradford said. “The one drive, the (13)-play drive, I don’t know how many penalties we overcame on that drive, but we just kept going. I think it’s a credit to our guys. Sometimes on offense, you get a penalty and it really puts you back. You kind of stall out. We kept fighting and kept running through them.”
It was a good performance by Bradford, but the first interception was very costly. He can’t afford to make that mistake because it wound up being too costly for the Eagles and left them in a 20-3 deficit at the half.
The second interception wasn’t Bradford’s fault. The pass was very accurate and hit Jordan Matthews right in his hands, but he let it slip through. This is the risk you take when you throw the football, so many times.
Not a good performance, especially the first half, he played up to his body of work previous, he looks nervous, bad body language
I am some hat shocked how Kelly gets a pass for what now appears to be a mess of a team. A carnage is about to follow as per vinnie
Played up to his body of work?? Are you nuts? He passed for 70% completion, got crushed all night and kept going. His last interception was not on him at all. Knocked some rust off early and played awesome down stretch.
This game is exactly what this team needed. Not much time in the preseason means a rusty first game on the road in a tough place to play.
I would bet the house that they beat Dallas next week. The defense sucks but we always knew it sucked. They did their job by getting turnovers. That is all they need to do as they are going to give up points and yards.
I still have very high hopes for this squad.
I don’t blame Parkey. Making that kick would have been irelevant. What on earth would possess someone to think that this piss poor defense could protect a two point lead for almost three minutes?? Chip is supposed to be this smart guy. Why did he not choose to keep the ball away from Atl for a little longer and go for fourth and a half yard? If you miss the kick you lose. If you make the kick, you lose later with your lousy defense. If you get the first down, you might win. Parkey missing is irrelevant. There was a 95% cahnce the Falcons would run the clock out and kick a short FG as time expired. You have to go for first down.
I agree 100$ with J-Bird..
There is no reason to Kick a FG with 3 + Minutes to take a 1 Point Lead on a 4th and 1 Yard play–Go for the Win, Go for the 1st Down, and either go in for a TD putting you up 31-26 forcing the Falcons to have to Score a TD or continue your Drive and Kick the Winning FG to go up 27-26 with little to no time left..
Either Way, with all the Confusion and Panicking on the Sidelines, Chip Kelly at the minimum should have Called a Time Out– He screwed up there big time.. There was little to no doubt that Parkey was missing that FG anyways being rushed out there like that… Dumb Move by the Coach
The beginning of what went wrong for Chip Kelly when he took this job was hiring that D coordinator whose track record showed he was an abject failure. Why would he do that?? Did no one else want this job?? What happened?
As for the team being a total mess, I can’t agree with that. But we have to score points. The defense stinks. A terrific run defense will be absolutely useless. Why run when it is so easy to throw? No pass rush, weak coverage. This team will never contend until we find a beastly pass rusher that teams worry about. We need time to gell. Last night showed rust. But the coach let us down. You do not take a rusty line and QB and look down the barrel of a defense playing at home on a monday night for a shiny new coach pumped on adrenalin (and therefore playing better than they are) and pass and pass and pass. You run the ball and let them get settled in and weather the storm of Falcons adrenaline which would have inevitably burned out by second quarter.
I don’t understand why the Eagles were in zone coverage most of the night. This defensive coordinator just baffles me. It’s very rare seeing Wagner cover a #1 receiver like I saw Kendricks doing last night against Jones. If see watch the giants game plan against Bryant they harassed him One on One all night. Also if Carroll is going to get in a receivers face why isn’t he jamming? Because he is going to get burnt? Guess what he was burned anyways. I will never earn a mutli-million dollar contract coaching but my goodness don’t call stupid coverage plays when you see this guy beating you. Were the Eagles really that scared of Coleman (rookie) as a running back that they couldn’t double cover Jones? We have no pass rush and our best pass rusher outside Barwin is on the sideline watching the game because “he isn’t a true 3-4 player.” When the switch to the 3-4 was made I hated it and I still do. We don’t have the players for that scheme or the toughness that scheme requires you to play in.
A very good performance especially when you consider that it was Bradford’s first game and the Eagles had no running game at all. He stood tall in the pocket, he got rid of the ball, he was smart, he was accurate, he was tough! Bradford only had one bad play in the game…the first interception.
We have to run the ball much more effectively, our offensive line has to play much, much better…but he now can be certain of one thing…we have a Quarterback who can play!
I too thought he had a decent game– what i don’t get is that as a starter he is 18-31== we need some wins!
I think he is clearlythe best QB we have had since McNabb. That’s important. But the coaching has to be better, the O line has to be better and the run game has to be better. The defense is hopeless. We will need about thirty a week to win games. But we aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs with this defense. We will need to start all over again next year with a new coordinator which is not good. I wonder if they are thinking of giving it over to Azzinaro next year?? That might be the best call to avoid major upheaval and he has been the best position coach on the team.
You were spouting a very different story after the Jacksonville game last year Koolidiot.
No mentioning the oline then, or the absolute lack of a running game, or excusing terrible ints that lead to opposition points…..
But here they all come in to play? Hmmmm…..oh and they won the Jacksonville game….yet you were merciless. Now its all excuses?
Vinniedafoolass…look at the tape of this game and compare it to the Jacksonville game last year..fool! The Eagles were at home against an inferior team that has no where near the talent that Atlanta has who the Eagles were playing on the road in a noisy dome.
Its Bradford first game in two seasons…Foles wasn’t rusty…he took sacks in the game doing what he normally did…holding the ball, confused unable to make a decision…in many cases the offensive line protected him well…this wasn’t the case with Bradford…Bradford avoided sacks despite quick pressure from an aggressive Atlanta defense.
Bradford made plays to win the game…we got Atlanta on a 3rd and 15 on there own 7 yard line…their defense is gassed! We stop them on that play…get the ball back…Sam can deliver a knock out blow…
Matthews catches an easy pass we pull out a tight win against a good team on the road.
Bradford’s performance left little doubt that he is a significant upgrade over Foles and all we need is better support around our new QB.
So now you’re trying to convince the board that:
Peters Barbre Molk Gardner Kelly
was a superior offensive line that pass protected better than
Peters Barbre Kelce Gardner Johnson
Sorry buddy. No one believes that.
BTW jackass Jacksonville was 8th in sacks last year….Atlanta? 30th.
Aggressive indeed.
Your delusions clearly know no bounds.
No Vinnie. His agenda knows no bounds. He’s a fool.
I thought Bradford was accurate on short stuff over the middle (like Sanchez was last year). Many of his passes down the field were high or wide. I’m not certain if he’s better than Foles.
Both lines played pretty poorly. The defensive line did a terrible job getting pressure which left the DBs exposed. The offensive line failed to open holes, got called for a fair amount of penalties, and allowed Bradford to get knocked around.
Team didn’t look prepared (just like last year’s opener). Chip turned into Andy Reid in the first half by not running the ball enough.
Every week has to be another nail in Bill Davis’s coffin. I can’t see any way this guy can save his job. And he will NEVER get this opportunity again. 2005 Niners 32nd on defense, 2006 Niners 26th defense, 2009 Cardinals 20th defense, 2010 Cardinals 29th defense, 2013 Eagles defense 29th, 2014 Eagles 28th defense, 2015 Eagles, 22nd defense. Glowing resume if I ever saw one. What a stupid, stupid hire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rumor Mill
University of Texas Fired their Athletic Director Steve Patterson after 22 months on the Job clearing the Way for a New Athletic Director to be Hired and then Fire very unpopular Football Coach Charlie Strong, whom Patterson hired last Year… In the End, the New Athletic Director will offer Chip Kelly a 5 Year $75 Million Contract that Chip will not be able to refuse and turn down.. Chip Kelly will be heading to Austin,Tx to take over the University of Texas Program right after the New Years…You heard it here First….
Boones favorite attention seeking Chimp is up early.
Shut up fraudman lol you’re predictions are so lame but hilarious.
Stars of the Game
Offense – Bradford, Sproles, Jordan Matthews & Lane Johnson
Defense – Bennie Logan, Malcolm Jenkins
Goats of the Game
Offense – Chip Kelly, Jason Peters, Andrew Gardner, Zac Ertz, Josh Huff
Defense – Billy Davis, DeMeco Ryans, Byron Maxwell, Brandon Graham
Special Teams – Cody Parkey
3 Huge Plays
1) 3rd Down & 18 Run by Tevin Coleman late in the 3rd Quarter from Deep in the Falcons end in which they went on to get a FG to increase their lead to 23-17.. How do you give up a Run up the Gut on a 3rd and 18 play!!!
2) Center Jason Kelce 2nd Holding Call on a Screen Play which negated a Big Play which then resulted in the fiasco sequence of Running Plays by Matthews after Bradrford was dining and dunking them right down the Field
3) The 4th Down Call to Kick the FG was horrible.. You play to Win the Games and you go for it on that 4th Down to keep the ball and hopefully go on to score a TD or Kick a Closer FG while eating the Clock.. Protecting a 1 Point Lead with 3 + minutes left for QB Matt Ryan and WR Jones is a losing proposition where their Kicker was $$$ all night.. Dumb Call by Chip Kelly
4 Huge plays –
———————-
1)Bradford misses TD to Miles Austin,
2)Bradford misses TD to Zach Ertz
3)Bradford throws interception in 2 minute drill at end of half,
4)Bradford throws interception in 2 minute drill to end game.
Eagles Team Stats after Week #1
Offense
Total Offense – Ranked 7th
Rushing Offense – Ranked 31st
Scoring Offense – Ranked 16th
Defense
Total Defense – Ranked 23rd
Rushing Defense – Ranked 20th
Scoring Defense – Ranked 19th
1 of 6 Teams in the NFL not to Register a Sack
2 Int’s which Ties them with 10 Teams with 2 and Zero Forced Fumbles
Lets see how these Team Stats move over the course of the Season
but if the Eagles do not significantly improve their Ground Attack then Chip Kelly’s Plan is a major failure …
My concern is that the Falcons do not even have what is considered a Good Front 7 on Defense .. What Happens when the Eagles attempt to Run against the BIlls,Jets,Patriots,Dolphins, Panthers, Cowboys, Redskins, Cardinals ,etc,etc…
Kelly has rebuilt this entire Offense around the ability to Run the Ball and if they cannot do this behind this suspect interior of the OL with down hill RB’s, then they are in for a train wreck of a season… Eagles WR’s bring no Fear to any Defensive Coordinator outside of Jordan Matthews, the rest will catch the ball and then pretty much go down with minimal gain..
I stated mid-summer that a lack of a true deep threat was a concern of mine for this Eagles Offense where Teams will creep in 8 and sometime 9 in the box for no one on the outside really scares anybody..
Kelly trying to fix both the Secondary and Offense in the same Off-Season was a stretch to begin with and especially by keep DC Billy Davis..
Its back to the drawing board for Chip after this Season I am afraid and Year 4 could very well have its 4th QB in Control of the Eagles Offense, How are you supposed to build a Winner switching QB’s every Season.. Just Ridiculous as Chip Kelly is just too used to the College ways of running a Program but not Building a true Core of Players thru the Draft..
Paulman have you ever questioned why legit defensive coordinators have chosen not to come to Philly?
Who wants a lateral move ? Most of the D-Cood everyone mentions are looking at HC jobs..the ones that move laterally are usually 2nd tier looking to improve their resume
Sam Bradford did not play well –
he failed in the 2 minute drill twice –
once at the end of the half resulting in an interception and
again at the end of the game in the 4th quarter resulting in an interception.
Bradford is a check down chump. When forced to throw distance because of time constraints BAM ! Kaboom ! 2 interceptions.
Eh..
He’s not The Problem.
But I don’t know is he’s The Answer either.
However, he’s not interesting enough (good or bad) to spend too much time talking about. He’s not even top 5 of problems right now.
Problem 1) secondary
Problem 2) pass rush
Problem 3) play calling/coaching
Problem 4) O line
Problem 5) running game
Problem 6) lack of receivers outside of Mathews
I agree.
Though I might put oline higher than 4.
Pass rush is not a problem. People have to realize you are not always going to get to the qb, because the other team’s first priority is to protect the qb. There was a lot of 3-step drops and max-protection, which is why Ryan wasn’t touched.
if you’re make a list, the problems are:
1) DC/overall defensive strategy
2) secondary
3) O line
4) Lack of receivers
The Eagles were second in sacks last year, and also top 2 or 3 in plays where the qb was affected by pressure. The pass rush is not a concern. Some teams are going to take measures to keep the qb clean. You have to make adjustments accordingly, which this DC is unlikely to make. That is the biggest problem.
Problem 1) billy davis
Problem 2) billy davis
Problem 3) billy davis
Problem 4) billy davis
Problem 5) billy davis
the players are new with the warts and problems still exactly the same. its billy fucking davis. he gotta go. he shouldve been gone year 1, then year 2, the guy is putrid and clueless and has always sucked.
anyone notice cary williams and bradley fletcher playing good ball this weekend? both made more plays with their new team then they did last year here.
billy freaking davis is the problem
Wow, on the same page with Mhe….wtf? haha
Henski, I can’t argue with any of those 5 reasons. Hahahaha.
Wonder what the Point Spread is for the Cowboys/Eagles Game..
There had a to be a Ton of $$$ riding on the Eagles Last Night
and this week there will probably be a lot of $$$ riding on the Cowboys in Vegas depending on what the Spread is Eagles + 2 1/2 to 3 Pts I would think
eagles are -7 you flip floppin dildo. dont you know how to use google or do you not visit any sites but gcobb.com
I don’t pay attention to Point Spreads — The Eagles are Favored by 7 at Home vs the Cowboys.. I don’t believe that for one second…
-5.5 now. either way, way off from eagles +3
I would Take Cowboys Plus 5.5 Points All Year Long with or without Dez Bryant.. It will drop to Eagles – 2.5 to – 3 by the end of the Week
QB Matt Ryan Record is now 11-0 Dating back to his Boston College Days on Season Opener Games… Henski, you have to do a better Job in your Homework when Picking Games.. Overlooking a Simple Fact like this Cost You
$300 betting on the Eagles which I’m sure goes over real well with the Family…
Betting Is Foolish.. .
Hard to believe we are in must win mode on September 20th??
Pman you will take nothing all year long, thats not in the flip floppin handbook
lmfao at zilents. you havent figured out how to reply to a post with the new site format yet ?
still cant get over skayne saying “hang them out to DRIVE”
haaaaaaaaaaaa
I have mhenski but it makes me refresh everytime i reply back under someones post so i just put it at end of comments…..im always doing something so im super impatient
Malcolm Jenkins better be hitting the jugs machine this week.
Real you see that damn 3rd and long billy d let happen then of course he draws up a perfect play for malcolm jenkins on 3rd and 2……the guy is driving me crazy
haha…thats the issue Z…its the inconsistency…he just doesn’t mix it up enough..I think you’re referring to the play where he stopped the run? right?
The one play I was surprised to see from Davis was the corner blitz, I believe he sent Carroll on…don’t see DB blitz often in Davis defense, I was surprised to see that call and it was a productive one…
I guess hes learning after 10 billion years in nfl to mix it up….lol…..I hate him