From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe
JUST TWO THIS WEEK
With Nick Foles and Jameis Winston both sitting out their Bye Weeks, only two QBs I’m watching played this week:
- Sam Bradford
- Marcus Mariota
SAM BRADFORD
The Eagles beat the Giants 27-7 on Monday Night Football – despite Sam Bradford and not because of him. For the sixth consecutive week, indecisiveness and inaccurate passing made me scratch my head and wonder about the ability – or inability – of Chip Kelly to evaluate NFL talent.
How in hell could he bring in this $13-million slouch?
Bradford was high and low, late and early, and off-target on more deliveries than he was on-time and on-target. Even on his one TD pass – a 32-yarder to Riley Cooper – Bradford woefully underthrew the wide-open receiver.
Cooper should’ve been by his lonesome in the end zone when the ball reached him, but he wasn’t. Instead, he had to hit the brakes and stop short of the goal line and wait for the ball to slowly arrive while two defenders caught up to him and came extremely close to swiping the ball away before it reached his open arms.
Watch the video replay below:
Bradford went 24-for-38 (63%) for 280 yards and that one TD. On the surface, those numbers may seem all right. But he also threw three awful interceptions – which now evens off his TD-to-INT ratio for the season at 9-to-9. That’s unacceptable for an upper echelon NFL quarterback – which Eagles fans are quickly learning Sam Bradford is not.
In fact, he’s barely average.
All of that said, the Eagles could now be sitting securely in the driver’s seat of the NFC East and could-and-should win the division crown and advance to the playoffs. But that’s not a commendation on the quality of the Eagles as a team. It’s a condemnation of the quality of the NFC East as a division.
The current quarterback dilemma leaves me with two consternations:
- Who will quarterback the Eagles next season?
- Who will coach the Eagles next season?
MARCUS MARIOTA
Marcus Mariota played poorly as his Titans took a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of a Miami Dolphins – a team that might suddenly be on the rebound after a well-needed coaching change.
On paper, Marcus Mariota’s numbers look OK at first glance – 21-33 (64%) for 219 yards and one TD. But he threw two dreadful interceptions – one of which Rashad Jones returned 30 yards for a TD that upped the lead to 24-3 and sent any thoughts of a comeback into the realm of impossibility.
And it was a rough day for the rookie as well.
The Dolphins sacked Mariota four times – and twice got flagged for roughing the passer. Mariota suffered an injury to his left knee in the process, but thanks to the addition of a knee brace he didn’t miss any plays until Zack Mettenberger replaced him after the two-minute warning and the game out of hand at 38-10.
Mariota suffered a sprained MCL and is Questionable for Week 7 versus the Falcons.
The Titans have now lost eight straight at home and Ken Wisenhunt is 3-18 since becoming head coach of the Titans last season. Which makes me start wondering:
- Who will be the Titans coach next season?
Below is a chart showing the cumulative stats for the entire 2015 season thus far. Some of the stats look uneven because some-but-not-all quarterbacks have already sat out their Bye Weeks.
In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com, Barry Bowe is also the author of:
- Born to Be Wild
- 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
- 12 Best Eagles QBs
- Birth of the Birds
- Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
- Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
- Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow
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