On the field, Sam Bradford looks like a much more composed, confident quarterback these days. Off the field, Bradford is growing in his role as the leader of the Eagles' offense as well.
Bradford played his most complete game yet as a member of the Eagles in Sunday's critical 39-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints (see Instant Replay). The sixth-year veteran started strong and finished smooth, completing 32 of 45 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns — and people would be impressed if you just did that.
What we couldn't see was Bradford's pregame meeting with an offense that struggled with consistency through the opening four games of the 2015 season. Teammates revealed the signal-caller gathered the unit into the shower just before stepping on the field to deliver a message.
"Sam brought the whole offense together before the game started and he said, '60 minutes of football, just relentless effort, and let’s show the world how good this offense can be,'" Riley Cooper said. "It was really cool and it was a lot of leadership from Sam."
"Sam pulled us back here by the shower and had an offensive meeting," right tackle Lane Johnson added. "He said, 'It’s time to go. We have the talent, we have the ability, it’s just a matter of going out there and getting it done.' It’s just a matter of executing and that’s what we did."
That they did. The Eagles racked up 34 first downs and 519 yards of total offense in the win (see 10 observations). Their previous highs were 23 and 399, both in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Bradford neglected to mention the meeting during his postgame media availability. Once word got out about the big speech, he had to comment.
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"I just felt like it was a good time to say something," he said. "Just go out there and do what we know we're capable of. It's not going to take anything extra. We didn't have to go out there and do anything extraordinary today, we just had to go out there and be us. I thought the guys responded very well today."
The pep talk must have resonated inside the locker room, particularly with the offensive line (more on the O-line here).
The biggest difference between this week and the previous month was the effort up front. A beat-up and heavily scrutinized offensive line provided Bradford with plenty of time to dissect a porous New Orleans secondary. The unit also paved the way for by far the Eagles' most productive game on the ground this season — 186 yards rushing.
"Those guys were unbelievable today, not only in the passing game, but in the run game," Bradford said. "Our guys up front were phenomenal. I think I went to the ground maybe one time today. When those guys play like that, it makes my job a lot easier.
"I have all the confidence in the world in those guys. We had a great week of preparation. Everyone was on the same page. Those guys up front did a great job. You could really tell they were just wearing [the defense] down and we were able to run the ball at the end of the game.
"Those guys dominated the line of scrimmage today."
Ironically enough, it was Bradford who almost derailed the offense Sunday. The signal-caller threw two red-zone interceptions in the first half, both underthrown balls that probably should have gone for six. As a result, the Eagles went into the locker room with only a 10-7 lead.
Center Jason Kelce admitted those picks in the end zone "devastate" an offense, but Bradford's teammates remained behind him.
"Sam made an extra point, especially in the locker room before the game, to say, 'Let's just go out there and let's play. Don't overthink things. Don't get caught up in the highs and the lows. Just go out there and do your job,'" Kelce said.
"Even though there were turnovers and things like that, we were moving the ball pretty effectively, and whenever you're doing that, especially when we haven't been doing that the first few games, we felt like we were on to something early. Obviously, we finally got the mistakes out of the way, got away from some of the penalties, got away from the turnovers, and finally got something going there."
"So awesome that all the guys just rallied together this game," Cooper said. "It was like, 'No way we’re going to get beat. We’re rallying around the players, around the coaches, around Chip.' The whole thing was an awesome feeling.
"His leadership was unbelievable."
Now that Bradford is progressing both on the field and as a leader, it will be interesting to see where the Eagles go from here. A 1-3 start was not what many players envisioned, but the win on Sunday keeps the club in the playoff picture, particularly in a weak NFC East (see story).
That being said, Bradford realizes there's still work to be done.
"Obviously, the win is nice," Bradford said. "The big thing for us and this team is to build. By no means are we where we want to be as a team, but I think today was a step in the right direction. If we can continue to build on this, then hopefully three, four, five, six weeks, we'll be in a better position."
To think, if the Eagles do go on to save their season, we might be talking about how a postseason run all started in the showers at Lincoln Financial Field. About that ...
"I have done it," Bradford said of holding meetings in the shower. "When you're trying to get away in the locker room, it's hard to find places, so the shower is usually a pretty good place to go."