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Eagles gamble Bradford has upside
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c1fcf070-fd0f-54db-a82a-4255814a5ed0.html
PHOENIX • Philadelphia owner Jeff Lurie said the Eagles were gambling on upside when they traded Nick Foles and a pair of draft picks to the Rams for Sam Bradford and, ”You hate to give up a No. 2 (second-round) pick in a future draft — that’s a tough one to swallow,” Lurie told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “But if you can gain a franchise quarterback out of it that puts you in a position for other things — that’s what you do.”
Besides the QB swap, the Rams get a fourth-round pick this year and a second-round pick in 2016. The Eagles get a fifth-rounder from the Rams this year. If Bradford misses the entire 2015 season or plays fewer than 50 percent of the snaps, Philadelphia gets a conditional pick in 2016 from St. Louis.
In doing homework on the potential trade, Lurie said Eagles coach Chip Kelly watched Bradford “hundreds of times. He talked to every coach he ever had. This is well-researched; it wouldn’t satisfy me if it wasn’t.”
Going back to the 2010 draft when coach Andy Reid’s staff was in place in Philly, Lurie said, “We thought (Bradford) was the best young quarterback we had seen in a long, long time. Probably since Peyton Manning coming out of college.
“Rookie of the year his first year. Pat Shurmur had him as an offensive coordinator. We confirmed everything we had heard about him in the draft process. Extraordinary competitor. Incredibly accurate. And needs to stay healthy.”
Shurmur is now Philadelphia’s OC.
WARNER WEIGHS TRADE
Making an appearance a little later in the day at the owners meetings, former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner called the Foles-Bradford trade “interesting to me from a couple of different standpoints.”
Warner continued: “St. Louis has been behind Sam from Day 1, and Coach (Jeff) Fisher taking over we just heard: ‘He’s our guy. He’s our guy. He’s our guy.’ You kind of thought St. Louis would stay behind Sam.”
That changed on the first day of free agency two weeks ago when the trade went down.
“You also understand the health issues,” Warner said. “It’s tough to play without having that position on the field for 16 games or close to it. And him not being able to do that, I think has been tough. So you see it from that perspective.”
The fact that the Eagles re-signed quarterback Mark Sanchez, who played relatively well for them last season, at least gives Philly a backup plan should Bradford stumble or get injured, Warner said.
And from the Philly perspective?
“Here’s a guy two years ago that went 27-2 — 27 touchdowns and two interceptions,” Warner said, speaking of Foles. “That doesn’t happen very often. And I know it doesn’t happen twice very often. (But) last year was a little bit of a struggle.”
The uncertainty with Foles, as Warner sees it, is which Foles are the Rams getting. The outstanding performer of 2013, or the guy that scuffled last season and then got hurt.
“Who is he? What are we gonna get for the long term?” Warner said. “But we’ve seen that he can be really, really good and I think that’s the thing that excites you. . . You just don’t have a very big sample size on what he’s going to be.”
Warner agreed with Lurie’s notion that acquiring Bradford was an upside gamble.
“I think a lot of people have seen that,” Warner said. “Physically, you know that he’s got all the ability to be a top-notch quarterback. He’s a young kid that has the right attitude. A guy that can lead your franchise. I think all that stuff is in play.”
Warner said one of his concerns about Foles “is just the speed by which he plays. I’ve always believed that you have to be able to see and react very quickly.
“I felt in Philly’s system, he thrived because things transpired a little bit slower. A lot of the stuff was down the field where he could take his time to get through reads. And he was very good in that kind of system. But I also wonder how does that translate to another system; a system that maybe wants you to get it out on time.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c1fcf070-fd0f-54db-a82a-4255814a5ed0.html
PHOENIX • Philadelphia owner Jeff Lurie said the Eagles were gambling on upside when they traded Nick Foles and a pair of draft picks to the Rams for Sam Bradford and, ”You hate to give up a No. 2 (second-round) pick in a future draft — that’s a tough one to swallow,” Lurie told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “But if you can gain a franchise quarterback out of it that puts you in a position for other things — that’s what you do.”
Besides the QB swap, the Rams get a fourth-round pick this year and a second-round pick in 2016. The Eagles get a fifth-rounder from the Rams this year. If Bradford misses the entire 2015 season or plays fewer than 50 percent of the snaps, Philadelphia gets a conditional pick in 2016 from St. Louis.
In doing homework on the potential trade, Lurie said Eagles coach Chip Kelly watched Bradford “hundreds of times. He talked to every coach he ever had. This is well-researched; it wouldn’t satisfy me if it wasn’t.”
Going back to the 2010 draft when coach Andy Reid’s staff was in place in Philly, Lurie said, “We thought (Bradford) was the best young quarterback we had seen in a long, long time. Probably since Peyton Manning coming out of college.
“Rookie of the year his first year. Pat Shurmur had him as an offensive coordinator. We confirmed everything we had heard about him in the draft process. Extraordinary competitor. Incredibly accurate. And needs to stay healthy.”
Shurmur is now Philadelphia’s OC.
WARNER WEIGHS TRADE
Making an appearance a little later in the day at the owners meetings, former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner called the Foles-Bradford trade “interesting to me from a couple of different standpoints.”
Warner continued: “St. Louis has been behind Sam from Day 1, and Coach (Jeff) Fisher taking over we just heard: ‘He’s our guy. He’s our guy. He’s our guy.’ You kind of thought St. Louis would stay behind Sam.”
That changed on the first day of free agency two weeks ago when the trade went down.
“You also understand the health issues,” Warner said. “It’s tough to play without having that position on the field for 16 games or close to it. And him not being able to do that, I think has been tough. So you see it from that perspective.”
The fact that the Eagles re-signed quarterback Mark Sanchez, who played relatively well for them last season, at least gives Philly a backup plan should Bradford stumble or get injured, Warner said.
And from the Philly perspective?
“Here’s a guy two years ago that went 27-2 — 27 touchdowns and two interceptions,” Warner said, speaking of Foles. “That doesn’t happen very often. And I know it doesn’t happen twice very often. (But) last year was a little bit of a struggle.”
The uncertainty with Foles, as Warner sees it, is which Foles are the Rams getting. The outstanding performer of 2013, or the guy that scuffled last season and then got hurt.
“Who is he? What are we gonna get for the long term?” Warner said. “But we’ve seen that he can be really, really good and I think that’s the thing that excites you. . . You just don’t have a very big sample size on what he’s going to be.”
Warner agreed with Lurie’s notion that acquiring Bradford was an upside gamble.
“I think a lot of people have seen that,” Warner said. “Physically, you know that he’s got all the ability to be a top-notch quarterback. He’s a young kid that has the right attitude. A guy that can lead your franchise. I think all that stuff is in play.”
Warner said one of his concerns about Foles “is just the speed by which he plays. I’ve always believed that you have to be able to see and react very quickly.
“I felt in Philly’s system, he thrived because things transpired a little bit slower. A lot of the stuff was down the field where he could take his time to get through reads. And he was very good in that kind of system. But I also wonder how does that translate to another system; a system that maybe wants you to get it out on time.”
