Lame-duck Bradford not focused on future
Sautéed in 91 degree heat and unbearable humidity Monday morning, Sam Bradford took another one in the chin for the Eagles.
What’s it like to have a one-year expiration date, Sam?
“I think at this point I’m just trying to come out here, get better each day,” Bradford said after the first day of training camp. “Try to make this team better, try to help this team win games, do my job the best I can. That’s all I can control. And whatever happens, happens.”
It wasn’t the first time Bradford was popped the question. He demanded a trade after the Eagles’ trade up the draft board to select a quarterback.
Bradford knew then he was a lame duck and wouldn’t be completing the second and final year of the two-year, $35 million contract he’d just signed.
It certainly won’t be the last time Bradford gets the question, either.
The way the Eagles are built it’s difficult to imagine them in the
playoff hunt in December. That clearly would be Carson Wentz time.
The date Wentz actually gets the helmet microphone from Bradford is a constant source of debate. Barring injuries to Bradford and veteran Chase Daniel, it won’t occur in the early part of the 2016 season.
That said the Eagles – no matter what many knuckleheads have said — haven’t closed the door on Wentz starting this season, the popular misconception when Pederson said Wentz likely would be the third quarterback, and not dress for the regular season opener. Pederson’s words there were twisted. Not his problem, guys.
No disrespect to Bradford, who was spot-on throwing the ball to rookie no-names Monday, but the Eagles’ quarterback plan is fluid.
Right now, to use Pederson-speak, Bradford is the guy. Wentz has shown too much promise and has cost the Eagles too much in the way of resources for the road map to be any different.
“Our plan,” Pederson said of a sit-down with assistant coaches Frank Reich, the offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach John DeFelippo, “was we were going to have to massage this a little bit. We were going to have to make sure that all three guys understood their roles. Carson fully understands where he’s at. And he knows he’s got to get better. He knows he’s not there yet. It’s going to be a slow process but, um, you know, we don’t have much time.”
Take the time remarks any way you like. In a nutshell Pederson said the Eagles’ assignment is to get Wentz “starter ready.” Not backup ready, starter ready. There is a distinction.
“One thing Carson has going for him is he’s very mature with who he is and where he’s at and what he’s coming into,” Pederson said. “He understands what’s in front of him. And he understands there’s a lot of work in front of him. And we as coaches have got to get him starter ready so that one day, whenever that is, he’s the guy the takes over. Right now he’s just working day by day and we continue to monitor his progress.”
Wentz unquestionably has much to learn. The young man needed outside assistance to escape a locked bathroom at a gas station in South Jersey. The furor he created with a thank-you tweet to his liberator went viral.
“I thought it was funny,” Wentz said. “I’m not even going to mention what happened. I like you guys making up your own stories. It kind of cracked me up. But no, I didn’t think it would blow up like that. But I thought it was funny. It is what it is.”
Wentz, on the other hand, rarely makes the same mistake twice. It is who he is. So, too, is being a good teammate. Throwing Bradford or Daniel under the bus after spending a week with them and other teammates bonding in San Diego does not make a good teammate. To play or not to play … it’s not Carson Wentz’s problem.
“It’s totally out of my control,” Wentz said. “We’ve got a long camp ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of work to put in. The biggest thing I’m focused on is helping this team get better and getting myself better. And I can guarantee that whenever my number is called, I’ll be ready.”
Bradford is ready, as well. Newly married, five pounds heavier and totally focused, the audition for his next job is now.
“Obviously this is probably the toughest part of the year,” Bradford said. “Six weeks of training camp, that’s long. But I think this is really where a team is built. And I think this is where we come together as a team. And I think the good teams are the ones who don’t let the days become monotonous and aren’t just trying to check off the box and aren’t trying to get to the next day.”