From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe
Several quarterbacks are drawing the attention of this Eagles Outsider as the 2015 NFL season unfolds. I’ve got my eyes on the three Eagles QBs:
- Sam Bradford
- Mark Sanchez
- Stephen Morris
Plus two former Eagles:
- Nick Foles
- Matt Barkley
One Chip Kelly heartthrob:
- Marcus Mariota
And two QBs who stink – in my opinion:
- Johnny Manziel
- Jameis Winston.
This week, Stephen Morris and Matt Barkley were inactive, and Mark Sanchez dressed but didn’t play. Although, had I been coach, Sanchez would’ve played the entire second half for the Eagles – if not more. So that leaves me with five quarterbacks to watch and evaluate in this second week of NFL action.
JOHNNY MANZIEL
For the first time in his NFL career, Manziel resembled the collegiate Johnny Football.
To begin with, he led one of the worst teams in the league to an upset victory as the Cleveland Browns beat the Tennessee Titans 28-14. The Browns jumped on the Titans after Marcus Mariota went three-and-out on the first drive of the game.
On the Browns second play from scrimmage, Manziel connected with Travis Benjamin on a 60-yard TD pass that was right on the money. And after the Titans fumbled on their second possession, Football drove the Browns 50 yards in seven plays to make it 14-0 Browns at the end of the first quarter.
Benjamin returned a punt 78 yards shortly before the end of the first half to give the Browns a 21-0 lead going into the intermission.
After the Titans closed to 21-14 late in the fourth quarter, Manziel led the Browns on a seven-play drive that covered 80 yards. The crowning strike was a nice 50-yard pass to Benjamin that closed the scoring at 28-14. Benjamin finished with:
- Three catches for 115 yards and two TDs.
- Plus the scintillating 78-yard punt return.
Manziel threw just 15 times, completing eight passes for 172 yards and two TDs. He did not throw an interception and – and how I hate to admit it – but he looked good. His QB Rating was a gaudy 133.9.
The Browns were 2-point home underdogs.
JAMEIS WINSTON
Jameis Winston won his first NFL game by upsetting the New Orleans Saints 26-19 – on the road.
I didn’t think he was outstanding, but his numbers were good – 14-for-21 for 207 yards, one TD, and no INTs. He also ran one in from a yard out.
Sorry, but I don’t feel like devoting any more time to a quarterback who I don’t think is very good.
The Saints were 10-point home favorites.
I picked the Saints – not because I thought the Saints were better, but because I thought the Buccaneers were worse. The Saints need an major overhaul and a new quarterback.
The Bucs are going nowhere.
NICK FOLES
After a fine performance in Week 1, Nicky Football dropped off in Week 2.
The Redskins jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the half before Foles rallied the Rams to within seven points – 17-10 – in the third quarter. It took Foles just two plays to move the Rams 49 yards to pay dirt. The big strike was a 40-yard TD pass to Kenny Britt. At that point, I thought the Rams were going to come back to win – but they didn’t.
Foles and the Rams failed to put a drive together in their three remaining possessions. Meanwhile, the ‘Skins put together a 12-play, 77-yard drive that sealed the 24-10 win.
Foles went 17-for-32 for 150 yards total. But take away the TD pass to Kenny Britt and his other 16 completions covered just 110 yards – not good enough to win.
The Rams were 3½-point road favorites.
MARCUS MARIOTA
As good as Marcus Mariota looked in Week 1 – a perfect QB rating of 158.3 – that’s how bad he looked in Week 2 as the Titans lost to the Browns 28-14. His QB rating dropped to 96.3.
His numbers look OK on the surface – 257 yards passing and two TDs without an interception. But his numbers are deceiving. He threw 37 passes, completing 21, to amass those 257 yards. That’s a paltry 6.9 yards/completion and he was sacked seven times.
After being shutout in the first half, Mariota rallied the Titans to within seven points at 21-14 early in the fourth quarter. After Cleveland scored to up the lead to 28-14, and with time running out, Mariota tried to rally the Titans again. He moved the team into the Red Zone but was sacked for the seventh time and stripped of the ball.
There were stretches when Mariota looked like he never played before.
The Titans were 2-point road favorites.
SAM BRADFORD
Putrid was Sam Bradford’s play against the Cowboys.
Effete was the Eagles offense that was shut out for the first three quarters – yet trailed by just 13-0 because the Eagles defense played well enough to keep the team in the game.
That said, after finally getting on the board 13-3 in the fourth quarter, the Eagles had an opportunity to turn the game around when Byron Maxwell stripped the ball free from Gavin Escobar and Malcolm Jenkins scooped up the loose ball and returned it 34 yards to the Cowboys 30 yard line.
But on the next play, Jason Kelce – over-rated in my book – snapped the ball prematurely. Bradford was surveying the field when the ball hit his upper body and bounced free. The Cowboys recovered and soon scored to put the game away 20-3.
The Eagles then drove 80 yards in 11 plays – but it was much too little and much too late.
Throughout the game, Bradford took turns:
- Holding onto the ball too long.
- Missing open receivers.
- Badly misfiring on many throws.
The interception he threw to Sean Lee in the end zone was horrific. Nelson Agholor was never open. The only one who could’ve caught the ball was Lee – and the ball sailed on a line form Bradford’s hand to Lee’s midsection. Meanwhile, about ten yards to the left, Riley Cooper was wide open in the back of the end zone – but Bradford never saw him.
Riley Cooper was wide open
Sam Bradford played as if he’d never played a game in the NFL before. On paper, Bradford completed 62% of his passes for 224 yards. But he averaged just 6.1 yards/completion and threw two interceptions.
And Andy Reid – er, uh – Chip Kelly called plays as if he’d never coached a game in the NFL before.
It was the worst exhibition of:
- Offensive game-planning.
- Play-calling.
- Execution.
I’ve been watching the Eagles since Chuck Bednarik’s first game and I’m not sure if they were ever worse.
The Eagles were 5-point home favorites.
Yet all my doom-saying and negativity aside, the Eagles are far from cooked. The Cowboys – despite being 2-0 – have lost their two best offensive weapons in Dez Bryant and now Tony Romo; and the Redskins (1-1) and Giants (0-2) are both bad football teams.
So it remains to be seen if this “genius” of a coach and questionable evaluator of talent can make the mental adjustments necessary to transform the Eagles from yesterday’s pathetic losers into contenders for the division crown.
To me, it looks like the Eagles have the talent to win the NFC East – but will they?
Video of Tony Romo’s injury below.
In addition to being an official Eagles Outsider, Barry Bowe is also the author of:
- Born to Be Wild
- 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
- 12 Best Eagles QBs
- Soon-to-be-published novel Caribbean Queen
- Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
- Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow
- Soon-to-be-published Birth of the Birds
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