It's easy to forget that Sam Bradford just a few years ago was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
Not just the No. 1 of the Los Angeles Rams. The No. 1 pick in the entire draft. Great things were expected from this pure talent out of Oklahoma.
Then his left knee blew up. Bradford played only 7 games in the 2013 season, one of those being a season-opening loss to the Eagles in Chip Kelly's first game as head coach. Bradford suffered that bane of every NFL players, a ruptured ACL in his left knee.
The next season, he did not even make it to the regular season. Bradford injured the same ACL in a preseason game and it cost him the entire season.
The Rams loved his skill set and the way he played the game. They were less enamored of his ability to stay on the field. They opted to go in a different direction, sending Bradford and his twice-surgically repaired left knee to the Eagles in exchange for Nick Foles and a second round draft pick.
Eagles faithful were apoplectic, wondering what Kelly was up to, and why he would swap a guy who was 14-4 as a starter under Kelly's tutelage for a guy whose knees had betrayed him two straight seasons.
Saturday night we found out why.
I am on the record as saying that if - and granted it's a very big if - Bradford can stay healthy, he is going to be the MVP of the NFL this season.
He didn't do anything Saturday night vs. the Packers to make me change my mind.
All Bradford did in his quarter of work was go a scintillating 10-for-10 with three TD passes.
Bradford has the best arm this town has seen in a long time. Couple that with his uncanny accuracy, hitting receivers in stride, and you start to see why Kelly was not joking when he said the team went after Bradford for a reason, and that all the hype surrounding Oregon QB Marcus Mariota was really just that. The Birds never really had a shot at Mariota.
Yes, we will likely hold our breath every time Bradford drops back, and every time he takes a hit.
But what we saw Saturday night is the quarterback position the way Kelly, and his manic, up-tempo offense, was meant to be run.
Any questions?
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