Questions Still Linger for Sam Bradford, Eagles, but Huge Potential Surfaces Too

All of Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Eastern Pennsylvania and the greater footballing world held its breath for just a second.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, back out on the field for his first competitive action since last preseason—when he re-ruptured his surgically repaired ACL—was down on the turf, crawling and struggling to get back up. It was the second big hit he'd taken on this series; the first was a controversial low hit by Terrell Suggs after Bradford had given the ball away on a play fake.

"I was a little upset," Bradford said after the game, per Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com. "I'm not sure I could probably repeat what I said to him." Suggs and the Ravens argued Bradford is a running back on a zone-read mesh whether he keeps it or not. Either way, Bradford's knee got an immediate test from Suggs' helmet.

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The second hit was from all 335 pounds of Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams. It wasn't a controversial hit, it was just massive.

Williams had come free after beating a double-team, and Bradford had just let a pass fly toward red-hot rookie receiver Nelson Agholor. Williams launched, connected and drilled the 224-pound signal-caller into the turf.

Bradford's pass to Agholor went high; a weird hesitation during his windup seemed to rob some of the pass' accuracy (though none of its power). A defensive-holding penalty wiped out the play's result, anyway—but it couldn't wipe out the very real power of the very real hit Bradford took. That's the kind of full-body blow quarterbacks must be able to absorb if they want to stay upright for 16 games.

Bradford was not upright.

He was crawling, in obvious pain, struggling for breath and support. Finally, he got to his knees, and center Jason Kelce came over and helped Bradford to his feet. His pads were askew, the "BRADFORD" on his jersey all twisted up, but he was OK.

Then, he led the Eagles on a touchdown drive.

Officially, Bradford was 3-of-5 for 35 yards (the Agholor incompletion, of course, did not factor into that total). As Albert Breer of NFL Network pointed out on Twitter, a tendency to miss high is common for quarterbacks coming off ACL reconstruction; footwork and leg angles are crucial for setting up hips and shoulders correctly:

The good news is Bradford was willing to go deep early and often, yet he knew when to hit the open man underneath.

Darren Sproles made a crucial reception on an early 3rd-and-6 that, had he not held on to through a tough hit, would have stalled the drive. Sproles got two more targets from Bradford, and the one he didn't catch hit him in the hands.

The better news: Whether he went deep or laid up, Bradford went through his progressions and made his decisions quickly. Getting Bradford comfortable in the Eagles offense must be Kelly and the Eagles' top priority; it looks like they've done a great job so far. 

The easiest way to make a quarterback comfortable in any offense—but especially this one—is to get the running game going. We saw all three running backs on the opening drive, each effective in their own way. DeMarco Murray got 17 hard yards on five carries; that's obviously not exceptional, but against the Ravens' front seven, 3.4 yards per carry is sometimes as good as you're going to get.

Sproles wasn't just worked in the air, he had two nice five-yard runs. The capper of the drive, of course, was Ryan Mathews' beautiful 14-yard touchdown run. That the offensive line was able to clear that big of a path through the Ravens' starting front is a very positive sign for the Eagles' running game going forward.

Of course, in Kelly's offense, everything is built off the offensive line's power blocking, the run game and the play action off the run game. That's got to be there if the Eagles are going to move the ball and score points—and Saturday night, it was there.

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Bradford looked comfortable executing the offense and had the confidence to go downfield, and the running backs had daylight to keep the chains moving even when the passes weren't connecting.

As Bradford gets more reps in throughout the preseason and regular season, the passes should be more catchable. If he keeps being fast and aggressive in getting the ball out, Eagles opponents will have no choice but to play soft against Bradford and the tailback troika.

Saturday night we saw proof Bradford's mental game is razor-sharp, his tools are all still there and the execution is coming together. He's clearly the most talented quarterback on Philadelphia's roster, and he is capable of taking the Eagles places Mark Sanchez isn't. All he has to do is keep getting stronger and keep off the ground.

Though he wasn't as sizzling as, say, Matt Ryan was in his first preseason drive, Bradford did what he needed to do and then some. It was a huge first test for Bradford's brain, arm and knee. Eagles fans should be thrilled he passed all three with flying colors, and he should be ready to take another important step forward next week.