Usually, when an NFL team feels like it has to keep saying the same thing over and over, it’s a lie. And it seems an awful lot like that’s the case with the Philadelphia Eagles these days. Head coach Doug Pederson has said, “Sam Bradford is our starter.” one time too many for me.
It makes me wonder what they told him before selecting Carson Wentz at No. 2 overall. Bradford has been widely criticized for trying to force his way out of Philadelphia instead of just competing. But he could compete anywhere, he stayed with the Eagles to try to revive his career as a starter.
He had a list of choices in free agency and he made his based on what he thought he would be able to do in Philly. His are the actions of a man the realizes that the promises made to him won’t be kept. And the further we go, the sooner it sounds like the promises will be broken.
It’s to the point to where the Eagles are even trying to undo whatever promises were made. When Wentz was first drafted, it at least seemed like Bradford was the bridge starter while Wentz is the future. But now, offensive coordinator Frank Reich sounded like it’s an open competition.
On Wednesday morning, Reich, appearing on WIP-FM, was asked straight up if Bradford was the clear-cut starter. And Reich said, “No, that’s probably not the right impression. I’ve been around this business a long time as a player and as a coach, and one of the things I’ve really come to appreciate is it’s not a contradiction to say you’ve got to have order.
“Because if you don’t order it’s chaos. So, if you’re the head coach you gotta come in and you’ve gotta establish order. There has to be organization, there has to be order, but the other thing that — as coaches — that you’ve got to establish is a culture of competition.
“This is one of the most competitive industries in the world and so, to say that there’s not competition, that’s just the furthest thing from the truth.”
Stay tuned Philly!